East Coast Blizzard

A major 983 mb East Coast storm (aka snowzilla) produced up to 42" of snow Friday and Saturday (Jan 23 and 24). Winter storm warnings (pink) were issued from Arkansas to South Carolina to Massachusetts. Blizzard warnings were issued from Washington DC to Long Island:

Here is a time lapse of the blizzard from Purcellville, VA:

Some snowfall totals:

Bowling Green, KY: 11"
Glengary, WV 1 ese: 42"
Dulles Airport, VA: 28.3"
BWI airport, MD: 29.2"
Rehouse, MD: 38"
Dover, DE 5.1 wsw: 18.2"
Philadelphia, PA: 22.4"
Atlantic City, NJ: 13.4"
Newark Airport, NJ: 28.1"
JFK Airport, NY: 30.5"
Nantucket, MA: 11.5"

The 29.2" for Baltimore is their largest on record. Winds gusted to 75 mph at Dewey Beach, DE and Langley AFB, VA. This storm caused 250,000 power outages, and over 12,000 flights were canceled.

Major coastal flooding occurred in New Jersey:

Jason Pellegrini shot this video of flooding in Sea Isle City, #NewJersey, on Saturday. #Snowzilla #blizzard https://t.co/f0cpQHz7DL

— Josh Berlinger (@j_berlingerCNN) January 24, 2016

East Coast Blizzard

A Nor'easter hit the East Coast with blizzard conditions and 3 feet of snow over the last two days (Jan 26-28). Blizzard warnings (red) were issued along the coast from New Jersey to Maine, and hurricane force wind warnings (brown) for an area around Cape Cod:

The heaviest snow (3 feet) fell only 30-50 miles from the coast in Massachusetts (Auburn, Hudson, Lunenburg). Winds gusted to 75 mph on Cape Cod (Chatham), and 78 mph on Nantucket. NAM analysis charts for Tuesday morning indicate a huge mid level trough, and an 80+ knot low level jet going across a 20C temperature gradient:

32.2 foot waves were recorded at buoy 44037 (well northeast of Boston).

British Isles Storm

A 942 mb storm hit the British Isles today:

The UK was hit with thundersnow and 124 mph wind. Buoy 62081, southwest of Ireland, reported 36.1 foot waves at 4:00 GMT today.

West Coast Storm

A storm which affected the West Coast from Wednesday, Dec 10 through Friday, Dec 12 hit California with 14.48" of rain (Whiskeytown), 19.8" of snow (Lodgepole), and a 139 mph wind gust (Benton). Numerous other locations reported very heavy rainfall and 100+ mph winds. From the Weather Prediction Center's storm summary:

...SELECTED STORM TOTAL RAINFALL IN INCHES FROM 900 AM PST WED DEC
10 THROUGH 600 PM PST FRI DEC 12...

...CALIFORNIA...
WHISKEYTOWN 1 SSW                    14.48                    
LAKESHORE SHASTA CO                  11.24                    
HAWKEYE                              11.22                    
BOGGS MOUNTAIN RAWS                  10.24                    
PESCADERO                             9.70                    
GIRARD                                9.64                    
MT. SAINT HELENA                      9.06                    
BOULDER CREEK 9 WNW                   8.89                    
SHASTA DAM                            8.88                    
WHISPERING PINES                      8.76                    
MINERAL                               8.47                    
BIG SUR RAWS                          8.31                    
STIRLING CITY                         8.27                    
YORKVILLE                             7.52                    
SAN MARCOS PASS                       5.23                    
LOS PRIETOS                           4.31                    
SAN FRANCISCO 2 SSW                   4.28                    
LYTLE CREEK RAWS                      3.93                    
ORO GRANDE                            3.73                    
MONTERY NWS                           3.54                    
LAKE ARROWHEAD NW                     3.49                    
SAN FRANCISCO DOWNTOWN                3.46                    
PASADENA                              3.43                    
SAN JOSE ARPT                         3.39                    
SACRAMENTO 2 SE                       3.33                    
OAKLAND ARPT                          3.22                    
SANTIAGO PEAK                         3.00                    
BEVERLY HILLS                         1.91                    
LA DOWNTOWN                           1.58                    
SANTA ANA                             1.58                    

...OREGON...
GOLD BEACH                            2.78                    
SELMA 5 NNE                           2.53                    
OBRIEN 2 SSW                          2.14                    
MERLIN 2 W                            2.11                    
LEES CAMP                             1.90                    
FLORENCE 2 NW                         1.45                    
HASKINS DAM                           1.20                    
DALLAS                                1.11                    

...SELECTED STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL IN INCHES FROM 900 AM PST WED DEC
10 THROUGH 600 PM PST FRI DEC 12...

...CALIFORNIA...
LODGEPOLE 9 N                        19.8                    
DONNER SUMMIT                        19.0                    
SODA SPRINGS 3 ENE                   19.0                    
CARSON PASS                          16.0                    
SQUAW VALLEY                         16.0                    
BLUE CANYON                          14.8                    
ALPINE MEADOWS                       14.0                    
DEVILS POSTPILE 7 NNW                14.0                    
KINGVALE                             13.0                    
KIRKWOOD MEADOWS 1 SE                13.0                    
LAKE WISHON 4 ENE                    10.5                    
MANZANIA LAKE 1 WNW                  10.0                    
KINGVALE 1 W                          9.0                    
BIG BEAR RESORT                       8.0                    
FAWNSKIN                              6.5                    
BASS LAKE 11 E                        5.8                    
TWAIN 6 S                             4.0                    
FLORENCE LAKE 7 WNW                   3.0                    
OAKHURST 8 N                          2.5                    
YOSEMITE VALLEY 1 NNE                 0.7                    

...SELECTED PEAK WIND GUSTS IN MILES PER HOUR EARLIER IN THE
EVENT...

...CALIFORNIA...
SODA SPRINGS 4 SE                    135                    
WHITE MOUNTAIN PEAK NE               113                    
INCLINE VILLAGE 6 NE                 112                    
MAMMOTH LAKES 3 W                    111                    
ALPINE MEADOWS 1 SW                  109                    
GRAPEVINE 3 SSE                      105                    
SIERRAVILLE 5 SSE                     74                    
KEENE 7 SW                            71                    
MT. DIABLO                            68                    
WOODACRE                              63                    
GASQUET 12 SE                         62                    
WEITCHPEC 11 WSW                      60                    
PETROLIA 4 S                          58                    
CRESCENT CITY 1 ESE                   53                    
KNEELAND                              50                    

...NEVADA...
BENTON 4 E                           139                    
BLUE EAGLE RANCH 11 SSE               96                    
GARDNERVILLE 5 WSW                    93                    
GALENA E                              82                    
GREAT BASIN NATION 3 WNW              78                    
CARSON CITY 3 ENE                     76                    
RENO 4 SE                             70                    
SPANISH SPRINGS AIR 3 W               66                    
VERDI 4 E                             63                    
EUREKA AIRPORT                        60                    

...OREGON...
RUCH 12 S                            117                    
SQUAW PEAK                           117                    
CAYUSE 1 WNW                          95                    
MILTON-FREEWATER 11 ENE               91                    
MT HEBO                               90                    
MT. HEBO                              90                    
PORT ORFORD 5 SE                      90                    
TILLAMOOK 15 ESE                      90                    
SEA LION CAVES                        89                    
MARYS PEAK                            88                    
BROOKINGS 1 SE                        81                    
NEWPORT SOUTH JETTY                   79                    
KOOSKOOSKIE 3 WSW                     78                    
SPRAGUE RIVER 12 NNW                  76                    
PENDLETON 10 SE                       75                    
SUTHERLIN 7 ESE                       75                    
YACHAT NNW                            75                    
ASHLAND 1 ENE                         74                    
PORTLAND ARPT                         67                    

...WASHINGTON...
NASELLE                               77                    
PORT TOWNSEND 3 E                     70                    
DIXIE                                 64                    
WALLA WALLA                           63                    
CAMANO 2 SSE                          61                    
WAITSBURG                             61                    
FREELAND 2 SSE                        59                    
PORT TOWNSEND 1 SE                    59                    
MCCHORD AFB                           58                    
BANKS                                 56                    
VANCOUVER LAKE 2 NNE                  55                    

At Buoy 46015 - 15 nautical miles west of Port Orford, OR (near Medford) - wave heights reached 31.5 feet:

Waves were as high as 15.7 feet as far south as buoy 46047 - 121 nautical miles west of San Diego.

This storm knocked out power to at least 113,000 customers, produced damaging mudslides including this one at Camarillo Springs, and even produced an EF0 tornado in South Los Angeles.

941 MB North Atlantic Storm

On December 9th at 6Z, a storm in the north Atlantic reached a minimum pressure of 941 mb. Buoy 64045 is located about 1/3 of the way from Ireland to Iceland. It reported 45.9 foot waves just two hours ago:

ASCAT data indicates that winds were 60 knots just southwest of Iceland:

Bering Sea Storm Update

Aqua/MODIS image of the Bering Sea at 00:35Z Nov 9

The Bering Sea storm produced 31.2 foot waves at station 46072 on Nov 8 at 3:50 PM AKST. 44.7 knot wind gusts were reported at 6:50 AM on Nov 9 from the same station.

Bering Sea Storm

Aqua/MODIS image of the western Bering Sea at 1:30Z Nov 8

Super Typhoon Nuri was absorbed into an extratropical storm two days ago. Last night (at 6Z), it reached a minimum pressure of 924 mb as it entered the Bering Sea:

This storm went from 964 mb at 12Z Nov 7, to 927 mb at  0Z Nov 8 - an incredible 37 mb drop in just 12 hours. Although buoy data is sparse, station 46035 in the central Bering Sea reported a 44.7 knot wind gust and 26.6 foot waves. Here is the latest satellite imagery:

Halloween Storm

Yesterday, accumulating snow fell from the Great Lakes to the Southern Appalachians:

A 69 mph wind gust was measured at Gary Airport in Indiana. The South Lake Michigan Buoy recorded a 51 knot (59mph) gust, which is the second highest since 1981. It also reported a tie for the second highest wave height - 21.7 feet.

This morning (Nov 1), freezing temperatures occurred across Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Northern Mississippi. Tonight, the freeze may reach the Florida Panhandle:

Cold Waters and High Waves on the Great Lakes

Today station 45004 on Lake Superior is still reporting water temperature of just 38F. The normal for late July is in the mid 50s.

On Lake Michigan, 33 knot north winds produced 11.4 foot waves at the Michigan City, IN buoy yesterday morning. The large waves produced enough upwelling to drop the water temperature to 58.8 F at the southern Lake Michigan buoy. Water temperatures were around 61 before the big waves hit, which is already about 10 degrees below normal.

Cape Cod Blizzard Update

The 955 mb storm which hit Cape Cod two days ago also hit buoy 44027 (20 nautical miles southeast of Jonesport, ME) with 103 (118 mph) knot winds:

The next day (Mar 27), buoy 44141 (about 300 miles southeast of Nova Scotia) recorded 54 foot waves:

Cape Cod Blizzard

This morning, a storm hit Cape Cod with heavy snow and hurricane force winds, causing 7,800 power outages. Nantucket was hit with 9.5" of snow and 83 mph winds. The surface low was at 955 mb today, about 250 miles east of Cape Cod.

Current water vapor image:

Winter Storm Today and Continuing Brutal Winter

A major winter storm is underway today from the Southern Plains to the Ohio Valley. Winter storm warnings were issued from Kansas and Oklahoma to New Jersey, and wind chill warnings were issued across the Northern Plains as another arctic air mass comes in:

The arctic air undercut warm, moist air in the Southern Plains today, resulting in temperature inversions over 20C in the 900-800 mb layer as seen in the Norman, Oklahoma sounding this morning:

This strong temperature inversion has allowed heavy freezing rain to fall in very cold temperatures. For example, Mountain Home, AR is now (9 PM CST) reporting freezing rain with a temperature of 14.

This same storm hit California (now suffering an exceptional drought) with 4 feet of high elevation snow (Volcanic Knob), 12.44" of rain at Greenfield, 4.09" of rain at Los Angeles - USC, a 91 mph wind gust at Mount Wilson, and a 102 mph wind gust at Big Bear Lake.

This has been an extremely cold winter with repeated arctic outbreaks for the eastern two-thirds of the US. Temperatures have been as much as 9 degrees below normal in the Upper Mississippi Valley during meteorological winter (Dec thru Feb), and 12 degrees below normal for February:

Chicago has had the third coldest and third snowiest meteorological winter on record. The Great Lakes are now almost completely ice covered:

Northeast Snow

Just two days after the East Coast was hit with a major winter storm, this Nor'easter hit the Northeast with more heavy snow:

This time, areas near to the coast received heavy snow amounts:

8" in Rhode Island (North Kingstown, Westerly)
15" in Massachusetts (Sandwich)
17.5" in Maine (Southwest Harbor)

A 52 mph wind gust was reported at Nantucket.

6 Intense UK Storms

Yesterday (Feb 7), another very intense storm hit the British Isles. This one bottomed out at 941 mb.

This has been at least the 6th storm of 950 mb or lower to hit the British Isles since the 929 mb storm on Christmas eve.

Brutal Winter of 2014 Update

On February 4th, this storm prompted winter storm warnings from the Southern Plains to the Northeast:

This storm produced 2" of sleet at Cape Girardeau, IN, 0.33" of freezing rain at Northeast Philadelphia, and 0.25" of freezing rain at Central Park, NY. 0.50" ice of accumulated at South Ozone Park, Queens, NY; Wilson, AR; Atoka, TN; Martin, TN; Manchester, MD; Metuchen, NJ; and 0.75" of ice accumulated at Marion, KY.

Snowfall amounts include 11.5" at Hutchinson, KS; 13.2" at Topeka, KS; 15.5" at Eskridge, KS; 15" at Sayre, PA; 11.4" at Montague, NJ; 15" at Bainbridge, NY; 12.5" at Torrington, CT; 10.6" at Boston Logan, and 13.2" at Lunenburg, MA. At Chicago, the 7" of snow from this storm pushed the seasonal total to 59.6", already making it the 8th snowiest season since 1884, and the 3rd snowiest up to February 5th.

Also on February 4th, a 944 mb storm hit the British Isles, this time further south than previous storms from this season had:

Yesterday morning (Feb 5), the temperature at Denver dropped to -19. A record low maximum temperature of -1 was set on February 5th.

So far this winter, Waco, TX has had a record setting 53 freezes.

Starting in November, and continuing through January, temperatures have been far below normal for the Midwest, and below normal for almost the entire eastern two-thirds of the US:

In Siberia, temperatures were as low as -73 at Ojmjakon on February 1, and at Verhojansk on February 3 and 4.

938 MB Storm

Yesterday (Jan 31) a storm nearing the British Isles was at 938 mb:

The minimum pressure of Hurricane Sandy was 940 mb. At 01:00 GMT (7 hours after the time of the images above), a buoy about 100 miles off the west coast of Ireland reported 41 foot waves.