Feb 26, 2011

Winter Storm and Damaging Wind Event

On February 20th, a winter storm prompted blizzard warnings (red) for South Dakota and Minnesota, ice storm warnings (purple) for parts of Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa, and winter storm warnings (pink) from the Northern High Plains to Michigan:
A band of heavy rain developed in Illinois ahead of the main system:
On Thursday, February 24th, this storm produced a significant severe weather outbreak across the Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys:
On the north side, winter storm warnings were issued from Kansas to Maine.
The main convective hazard was from damaging wind, but some tornadoes formed on the leading edge of the squall line.

Squall line at 6:18PM CST:
Bow echo moving through the Memphis area:
Squall line at 9:48 CST:
Bow echo hitting the Nashville area, where two EF2 tornadoes were confirmed:
0Z RUC analysis had wind speeds as high as 60 knots at 925 mb, 68 knots at 850 mb, and 87 knots at 700 mb:
With winds veering about 45 degrees from 925 mb to 700 mb, helicity values were off the charts:
A RUC sounding for Memphis shows how much wind speeds increased just above the surface.
By 3Z, the 850 mb low level jet strengthened to over 80 knots, producing even higher helicity values:
The cold which hit the Southwest early this month penetrated well into Mexico causing a huge loss of crops.

The eastern coast of South Korea was hit with up to 31" of snow in one day - the heaviest in 100 years.

Feb 12, 2011

North Atlantic Storm at 932 mb

The 950 mb storm mentioned in my last post dropped to 935 mb near the southern tip of Greenland yesterday morning (12Z on the 11th):
The 957 mb storm to its south is now (12Z on the 12th) at 932 mb:Buoy 62095, west of the British Isles, has reported waves up to 26.6 feet. To the northeast, buoy 62105 just (as of 18Z) reported waves to 28.5 feet.

Feb 10, 2011

Southern Winter Storm and Big Pattern Change

On February 2nd, the low temperature at Laramie, WY was -39, breaking the old record of -30 set in 1956.

On February 6th, this Pacific storm brought another cold front to Hawaii:
The surface low was at 976 mb as far south as 36N latitude:
On February 8th, a storm near the southern tip of Greenland dropped to 948 mb:
A second storm to the southwest at 957 mb, is now (as of 18Z) at 950 mb just southeast of where the first storm had been.

Another major winter storm hit the south yesterday (February 9th), prompting winter storm warnings (pink) from Texas and Oklahoma to Alabama, and more hard freeze warnings (dark blue) for the Gulf Coast:Snowfall amounts were up to 25" in Oklahoma (Jay), and 24.5" in Arkansas. The 5.7" at Tulsa, OK pushed the seasonal total to 26.1", making this their snowiest winter on record (old record 25.6" in 1923/24).

Numerous new record low temperatures were set across Oklahoma on the 10th including 10 new all-time record lows (only 9 are shown), and even a new state record (-31 at Nowata):This storm also left 64.9% of the Contiguous US snow covered:
A major pattern change will occur next week, bringing much warmer air to the eastern US. This is likely related to the fact that the arctic oscillation recently went positive for the first time since mid November:

Feb 5, 2011

Southwest Cold and Gulf Coast Ice

On February 2nd, a storm near Iceland bottomed out at 954 mb:
The low temperature at Tucson for yesterday morning was 18 for the 2nd day in a row. This is 1 degree above the record for February, and 2 above the all-time record low. The low at Bisbee-Douglas Airport yesterday morning was 0, breaking the record of 11 set in 1955, and tying the 2nd lowest all-time. The low this morning was 11. In New Mexico, 30,000 homes are without natural gas.

A storm hit the Gulf Coast with significant ice accumulations yesterday, including Brownsville and Galveston. See map and pictures from the Brownsville area.
This is the same storm which hit Dallas with snow, and the same day that ice slid off of Cowboys Stadium and injured 7 people.

Hard freeze warnings were still effective this morning for the Texas Gulf Coast:

Feb 3, 2011

Low Temperatures Update

This morning's low temperature at El Paso was 1 and at Grand Canyon was -4. No other low temperatures were lower than mentioned in my last post.

Southwest Gas is reporting that customers in southeast Tucson and the eastern foothills are out of natural gas. They are advising customers to lower thermostats and limit hot water usage. The current temperature in Tucson (noon MST) is 29. Tomorrow morning's low is expected to again be around 18.

Blizzard 2011

A massive winter storm has produced 27" of snow (Antioch, IL), 4" of sleet (Tuscola, IL; Ballwin, MO), 1" of ice (Cashtown, PA), and a damaging squall line (from Texas to Georgia).
The storm bottomed out at 996 mb Tuesday night as it went through southern Illinois and western Indiana:The 20.2" at Chicago's O'Hare Airport was the 3rd largest total on record. Heavy snow, sometimes with thunder, winds gusting up to 61 mph and visibilities as low as 1/16 of a mile were reported.

20" of snow fell as far south as Miami, OK. Here are some more totals from HPC:

...SELECTED STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL IN INCHES FROM 700 AM EST MON
JAN 31 THROUGH 1000 PM EST WED FEB 02...

...CONNECTICUT...
WINSTED 0.7 SE 11.0
ENFIELD 10.7
NORTH GRANBY 10.0
STAFFORD SPRINGS 9.7
WINDSOR LOCKS 9.4
COLEBROOK LAKE 9.0
SUFFIELD 8.4
NORTH CANAAN 8.3
SOUTH CANAAN 2 N 8.3
TOLLAND 8.0
NEW HARTFORD 7.6
WEST HARTFORD 6.5

...INDIANA...
CROWN POINT 1.1 N 18.5
HIGHLAND 1.1 S 17.5
HAMMOND 3.0 SW 16.2
SCHERERVILLE 2.0 WSW 15.9
PORTAGE 0.9 ESE 15.7
PORTER 0.6 S 15.4
LA PORTE 1.6 SW 15.1
DE MOTTE 4.1 SW 14.8
KINGSBURY 5 ENE 14.7
MICHIGAN CITY 0.6 SSW 14.5
SOUTH BEND 4 NW 12.3

...MASSACHUSETTS...
GEORGETOWN 16.0
NORTH GRAFTON 15.3
LITTLETON 14.0
STERLING 13.7
AYER 13.5
CHICOPEE 13.5
FITCHBURG 13.5
WEST SPRINGFIELD 13.5
METHUEN 13.3
DRACUT 13.1
WINTHROP 0.2 N 13.1
BOSTON - LOGAN ARPT 9.7

...MAINE...
HANCOCK 3 NW 14.0
CRANBERRY ISLES 13.5
DEER ISLE 3 N 13.0
SOUTH BRISTOL 3 SSW 12.0
BATH 11.0
CHERRYFIELD 4 W 11.0
WHITING 4 E 10.5
KITTERY POINT 10.0
NORTH WINDHAM 3 SSE 10.0
BAR HARBOR 9.5
PRINCETON 2 SE 9.5
SULLIVAN 9.3
AUGUSTA 9.0
PORTLAND 7.5

...NEW HAMPSHIRE...
GREENFIELD 16.0
PETERBOROUGH 14.0
NASHUA 12.6
ROCHESTER 3.0 SSE 12.0
NEW LONDON 11.0
TROY 11.0
BEDFORD 10.9
SOUTH HUDSON 10.6
MASON 10.5
GOFFSTOWN 10.0
MERRIMACK 10.0
WINCHESTER 10.0

...NEW JERSEY...
WANTAGE 5.0
GREEN POND 4.5
WANTAGE TWP 2.4 SW 4.2
VERNON TWP 1.7 N 4.0
WEST MILFORD 4.0

...NEW YORK...
WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN 14.0
PERU 4 ESE 12.7
GANSEVOORT 11.5
GREENVILLE 11.5
RICHMONDVILLE 11.5
CHARLOTTEVILLE 11.3
PLATTSBURGH 11.3
SARATOGA SPRINGS 11.1
MORIAH 11.0
TROY 11.0
SCHENECTADY 5.6 SSW 10.6
SHAKERS 1 NE 10.6
LATHAM 10.5
HESSVILLE 10.4
WALTON 10.2
NWS ALBANY 9.5

...OHIO...
LINDSEY 0.1 E 12.0
GENOA 1.1 ENE 11.2
PERRYSBURG 6.0 SE 9.5
NAPOLEON 9.2
SYLVANIA 1.4 WNW 7.9
VAN WERT 7.7
TOLEDO 2.4 ENE 7.6
KIRTLAND 0.9 SW 7.5
BEL MORE 4 NNE 6.5
FREMONT 0.4 WNW 6.0
OREGON 2.8 SSW 6.0

...PENNSYLVANIA...
SUSQUEHANNA 7.1
FRIENDSVILLE 6.8 NE 6.7
STANFORDVILLE 0.4 SE 6.2
MILANVILLE 1.5 SE 6.1
CANAAN 5.6
TOBYHANNA 5.4
CHERRY RIDGE 13A 5.3
MANCHESTER - 7A 5.3
POCONO SUMMIT 5.0
DINGMANS FERRY 3.9 WSW 4.8
ERIE 5.6 SW 4.8
SYLVANIA 3.3 SSW 4.8

...RHODE ISLAND...
NORTH CUMBERLAND 8.0
MANVILLE 7.7
WEST GLOCESTER 7.3
WOONSOCKET 0.3 W 7.0
HARRISVILLE 6.3
PROVIDENCE 6.0
SCITUATE 6.0
WARWICK 6.0
RUMFORD 5.7
CRANSTON 4.1 E 5.0

...VERMONT...
WOODFORD 22.0
WATERBURY CENTE 2 SE 16.5
JOHNSON 14.0
LANDGROVE 13.5
SWANTON 12.0
COLCHESTER POINT 2 E 11.8
S BURLINGTON 2 SE 11.8
WORCESTER 2 WNW 11.5
CASTLETON 2 SSW 11.0
KILLINGTON 11.0
NEWPORT 1 NE 11.0
STOWE 10.5
HIGHGATE CENTER 10.3
SPRINGFIELD 10.0
SW STRAFFORD 10.0

...SELECTED STORM TOTAL FREEZING RAIN IN INCHES WHERE THE EVENT
HAS ENDED...

...ARKANSAS...
WINSLOW 0.25

...CONNECTICUT...
GREENWICH 0.70
NORWALK 0.70
WESTON 0.60
NORTH HAVEN 0.55
BRIDGEPORT 0.50
OAKDALE 0.50
FAIRFIELD 0.40
NEW HAVEN 0.40
DANBURY 0.30
CHESTER 0.20

...ILLINOIS...
MOSQUE 2 S 0.75
EFFINGHAM 0.60
ELLIS GROVE 0.50
FLORA 0.50
NASHVILLE 0.50
NEWTON 0.40
ROBINSON 7 NW 0.30
DANVILLE 0.20

...INDIANA...
INDIANAPOLIS 0.61
GREENS FORK 0.50
LIBERTY 0.50
TERRIE HAUTE 0.30
BATESVILLE 0.25

...MISSOURI...
ROLLA 0.30
HIGHLAND 3 E 0.10
MACON 0.10

...NEW JERSEY...
CLIFTON 0.60
ROSELLE 0.60
WHITEHOUSE 0.55
EDISON 0.50
STEWARTSVILLE 0.50
HOPEWELL 0.38
BASKING RIDGE 0.33
BEDMINSTER 0.30
HAWTHORNE 0.30
PHILLIPSBURG 0.30
RIDGEWOOD 0.30
SOMERSET 0.30

...NEW YORK...
SHOREHAM 0.60
UPPER WEST SIDE/MANHATTAN 0.60
YONKERS 0.60
BRONX 0.50
LINDENHURST 0.50
SCARSDALE 0.50
LEVITTOWN 0.40
NORTH BABYLON 0.40
SOMERS 0.40
UPTON 0.40

...OHIO...
COLUMBUS 0.90
UNION 0.80
COSHOCTON 0.60
DAYTON 0.60
WEST POINT 0.60
GALION 0.50
GREENVILLE 0.50
NEWTON FALLS 0.50
OXFORD 0.50
SALEM 0.50
CINCINNATI 5 NW 0.40
NORTHEAST 6 SW 0.30

...PENNSYLVANIA...
CASHTOWN 5 W 1.00
EMMAUS 0.50
GLENMOORE 0.50
HONEY BROOK 0.50
HORSHAM 0.50
SPRING MOUNT 0.50
WAYNE 0.50
WILLIAMSPORT 0.50
GRATERFORD 0.45
EAST NANTMEAL 0.40
LANSDALE 0.40
MIDDLETOWN 0.40
MILLERSVILLE 0.40
PINE GROVE 0.40
EXTON 0.38

...SELECTED STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL IN INCHES WHERE THE EVENT HAS
ENDED...

...ARKANSAS...
BENTONVILLE 5.0
BELLA VISTA 4.0

...IOWA...
DAVENPORT 0.9 SSW 19.7
BETTENDORF 2.2 SE 16.5
PARK VIEW 0.2 WSW 16.1
MARION 1.2 NE 15.4
CALAMUS 2.0 NE 14.6
SPRINGVILLE 0.2 NNW 13.5
DELMAR 2.3 NW 13.0
CENTERVILLE 0.7 NW 12.3
CENTRAL CITY 6.7 W 12.0
FARMINGTON 3.5 W 12.0

...ILLINOIS...
ANTIOCH 2.1 ESE 27.0
GLEN ELLYN 2.3 N 24.3
ST. CHARLES 6.0 NW 22.7
BEACH PARK 1.4 W 21.7
GENEVA 0.9 N 21.5
MARSEILLES 5.6 WNW 21.5
OTTAWA 1.3 NW 21.5
WONDER LAKE 0.8 WNW 21.1
WOODSTOCK 5 NW 21.1
SPRING GROVE 2 N 20.8
WESTMONT 1.2 SSE 20.3
HOFFMAN ESTATES 4.6 W 20.2
ABINGDON 20.0
INVERNESS 1.7 S 20.0
NORTH AURORA 1.5 NE 20.0

...KANSAS...
MCCUNE 1.6 NW 18.2
CHEROKEE 0.3 N 18.0
S FORT SCOTT 18.0
PITTSBURG 0.7 WSW 15.7
FREDONIA 5.9 SW 15.1
ALTA MONT 13.0
ERIE 5 NW 13.0
PARSONS 1 W 13.0
DEVON 0.1 SE 12.5
HUMBOLDT 4.6 ESE 11.1


...MICHIGAN...
TAWAS CITY 0.6 NNE 16.4
GRAND RAPIDS 5.5 NNE 16.0
HART 3 WSW 15.5
WALKER 3.2 W 14.6
HUDSONVILLE 0.3 E 14.3
EAST TAWAS 0.8 WSW 14.0
GREENVILLE 14.0
TWIN LAKE 5.1 SSE 14.0
ADA 1.8 W 13.2
FENNVILLE 0.8 W 13.0
HOLLAND 5.1 WNW 13.0
STEVENSVILLE 1.7 SSE 13.0
WOLF LAKE 3.2 ESE 13.0

...MINNESOTA...
MORGAN 11.0
MARSHALL 0.6 S 10.0
BIRD ISLAND 9.0 NNE 7.0
MONTEVIDEO 0.4 SSW 5.3
NEW ULM 0.8 NW 5.0
MINNEAPOLIS 4.7
MONTGOMERY 3.2 ENE 4.5
SPRINGFIELD 1.7 NNW 4.5
LAKEVILLE 4.4
MINNEAPOLIS 3.0 NNW 4.3
NORTH SAINT PAUL 1.0 NNW 4.3
ROSEVILLE 2.1 NW 4.0

...MISSOURI...
GREEN RIDGE 3.3 SW 22.0
URBANA 2.7 NNE 22.0
JERICO SPRINGS 20.0
LIBERAL 0.7 SSE 19.0
NEW BLOOMFIELD 19.0
JEFFERSON CITY 18.3
ASHLAND 0.7 WNW 18.2
MILLER 6.2 WNW 18.2
BROOKFIELD 0.5 ESE 18.0
COLUMBIA 12 N 18.0
APPLETON CITY 17.0
COLE CAMP 3.5 WNW 17.0
MEXICO 17.0
SHOAL CREEK ESTATES 0.2 SE 17.0
WHEATLAND 5.0 SE 16.9

...NEW MEXICO...
CLOUDCROFT 4.9 NE 5.2
ALBUQUERQUE 8.4 ENE 5.0

...OKLAHOMA...
MIAMI 20.0
OWASSO 1 W 19.0
ADA 0.3 NNW 18.5
AFTON 18.0
PAHASKA 2 S 17.0
TULSA 5.4 SSE 15.0
OCHELATA 5.6 N 13.5
VINITA 12.0
GUTHRIE 4.9 SSE 11.5
GLEN POOL 11.0
HENRYETTA 11.0
HOMINY 11.0
KANSAS 4 E 11.0

...TEXAS...
WICHITA FALLS 2.2 S 7.0
ABILENE 6.0
ROBY 6.0
ALBANY 5.0
BOONS VILLE 3 E 5.0
JACKBOOT 5.0
CISCO 10.5 NW 4.9
MERKEL 5.8 SW 4.6
GRAFORD 8.1 ENE 4.5
AZLE 0.4 WNW 4.0
DECATUR 4.0
FRIONA 4.0
RANGER 4.9 SSE 4.0

...WISCONSIN...
KENOSHA 4.8 NNE 24.0
RACINE 2.3 WSW 23.5
WEST ALLIS 0.7 SSE 22.5
LAKE GENEVA 0.6 ENE 19.1
SUSSEX 0.8 NNE 18.1
MILWAUKEE 3.6 NNW 18.0
WAUKESHA 1.8 SE 17.7
MADISON 3.7 WSW 17.1
JACKSON 1.9 N 17.0
EVANSVILLE 0.4 E 15.5
LAKE MILLS 3.6 WNW 15.3

...SELECTED STORM TOTAL SLEET AMOUNTS IN INCHES WHERE THE EVENT
HAS ENDED...

...ILLINOIS...
TUSCOLA 4.00
DANVILLE 3.00
MATTOON 2.50
CASEY 2.00

...MISSOURI...
BALLWIN 4.00
ROLLA 2.10
SEYMOUR 1 N 1.00
WEBB CITY 1.00

...OHIO...
ARCANUM 3.50
GETTYSBURG 2 N 2.00
KENTON 1.50
VAN WERT 1.10

...OKLAHOMA...
SULPHUR 2.00

...TEXAS...
BOWIE 0.75

The arctic airmass behind this storm is producing record cold across the Southern Plains and even the desert Southwest.Both Lubbock and Midland in Texas had record breaking low maximum temperatures of 14 yesterday. El Paso, TX had a high temperature of 15 yesterday, breaking the all-time record low maximum of 17 set on January 10th, 1962. The temperature at El Paso is 2 as of 7AM MST. The old record for the month of February was 8. Flagstaff, AZ had a high of 12 yesterday, which is the 7th lowest all-time on record. Yesterday morning the low at Flagstaff was -1, the wind chill was -23, winds gusted to 41 mph, and dewpoints both today and yesterday have been as low as -21. The temperature at Grand Canyon at 7AM MST was -1. The high at Tucson yesterday was 42, breaking the record of 43 set in 1956. At 7AM MST, the temperature at Tucson was 18 - within 1 degree of the record for February set in 1899. At 7 AM MST, Douglas Airport was at 6, breaking the record for February of 10 set in 1972.

Winter storm warnings (pink) have been issued from southern Mississippi to southern Texas including Brownsville:
Forecast soundings indicate that significant sleet and freezing rain accumulations are possible in these areas.

Feb 1, 2011

Winter Storm Update

Blizzard warnings (red) have been extended to include Detroit and winter storm warnings (pink) to the East Coast for most of new England.A storm warning (purple) has been issued for southern Lake Michigan, tornado watch (yellow) for Louisiana and Mississippi, Hard Freeze warnings (dark blue) for the Texas and Louisiana coasts including Brownsville, and freeze warnings (light blue) for Phoenix and Tucson.

The main surface low has deepened to 998 mb over Arkansas, and a huge 1055 mb is over Montana:A severe squall line developed in Texas and is now moving through Louisiana:
Airports have been closed in Dallas where winds have gusted to 51 mph with thunder snow. Oklahoma City is currently reporting heavy snow, a temperature of 8, winds gusting to 51 mph and 1/8 mile visibility.

Current indications are that large accumulations of ice are possible in southern Illinois, southern Indiana, central Ohio, central Pennsylvania, and southern New England.

Massive Winter Storm Beginning

A winter storm will affect most of the central and eastern US over the next two days.
Blizzard warnings (red) go from Oklahoma City to Chicago, and winter storm warnings (pink) from New Mexico to New Hampshire.
Most of the central and northern plains are under wind chill warnings (light blue).

This is how the radar looked as San Angelo was hit with thunder snow:
See how strong the temperature inversions are on the RUC analysis soundings for San Angelo:
And Abilene:Abilene continues to report thunder snow even with a surface temperature of only 19.