A very potent winter storm will bring widespread 6″ plus snowfall to the same places that have seen quite a bit of snow the past two winters. The heaviest accumulations from this storm should approach 10″ on an axis from Springfield, MO to Detroit, MI. Synoptically, this storm has a lot of similarities to the March 20, 1996 storm that brought 8-14″ to southern IN. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2008
Snowless winters in Bowling Green
Thus far, winter has been officially snowless in Bowling Green as only a trace of snow has been measured on a few occasions. What is the historical likelihood of a snowless winter in Bowling Green? Continue reading
Cold weekend ahead
I have no major changes to the long-range forecast since my last post on Friday. After a light rain/snow event Wednesday night into Thursday, an arctic blast will commence late Friday and last through the beginning of the workweek with temperatures similar to the early January cold blast (highs lower 20s/lows lower teens). There may be a few flurries around on the weekend but nothing more. Continue reading
Winter half-time report for Mid-South
Going into the winter I predicted a wet and mild winter due to the developing La Nina in the Pacific. At the halfway point of meteorological winter (Dec-Feb) the prediction is right on track. Continue reading
Uncertainty decreasing – Arctic blast set to proceed for northern U.S.
My previous post outlined some caveats that represented uncertainty over the pattern evolution over the 2nd half of January. Recent data has diminished the uncertainty which means that a wickedly cold pattern should begin across the northern plains later next week that will eventually plunge much of the northern tier states into a similar pattern as the December 1-15, 2007 period. In fact, it is possible that for many northern tier states, which currently are around 10F above normal for the first 10 days of the month, January’s early anomalous warmth could be canceled out by anomalous cold. Continue reading
Uncertainty for 2nd half of January
As mentioned in a recent post the see-saw pattern will swing back to cold this weekend. Thursday’s storm will bring more rain and possibly severe weather to the Mid-South and will bring temperatures down to seasonable levels (low 40s/upper 20s). What happens after that is still uncertain. Continue reading
Is the current near-record warmth a sign of global warming?
My wife, who is from northern Indiana where winters are fierce, gets very nervous every winter when the Mid-South has near-record warm weather like today with high temperatures flirting with 70 degrees. She always wonders if these spring-like days are due to global warming. I did a little research today and found that not only is 70 degrees in January not that unusual for south-central KY, it actually occurred twice as often during the first half of the 20th century as it did in the second half of the 20th century. Continue reading
See-saw pattern ahead
See-saw pattern for the next two weeks. Winter should return prior to mid-month after a week-long mild-rainy period. Continue reading
If you like snow, move here
NWS forecast for the higher elevations outside Mammoth Lakes, California for January 4.
Today: Periods of snow. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 25. Strong and damaging winds, with a south wind 100 to 105 mph decreasing to between 80 and 85 mph. Winds could gust as high as 145 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 45 to 51 inches possible.
Tonight: Periods of snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 13. Strong and damaging winds, with a southwest wind 75 to 80 mph decreasing to between 55 and 60 mph. Winds could gust as high as 130 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 39 to 45 inches possible.