kerplunk

Light snow. 26/23 about 1/4” so far. Expecting maybe an inch. Great for keeping everything looking white!

For temperature, I use a Netatmo that pretty much agrees with the personal stations close by and the airport - which is only a couple of miles away. Have also compared it side-by-side with 3 different AcuRite thermometers. They’re all within a degree. So I have confidence in it for temperature. Humidity is a different story. The Netatmo humidity sensor is somewhat slow to react so I never think of it as real time. Also have the Netatmo rain gauge which I’ve calibrated and seems to be accurate enough when comparing it with surrounding stations. Never bothered with the wind unit since the technology is questionable and I don’t have a good way to properly install it anyway since I live in a town house. The cool thing is it’s compatible with Apple HomeKit so I can just ask Siri for the temperature (in any room or outside) using any of my HomePods. And there’s a killer 3rd-party app for it named Myatmo for detailed info and graphs. If I didn’t live in a town house, I’d definitely consider a WeatherFlow Tempest.

Temps rose here overnight. Was at 13º at 10:30pm and 20º at sunrise. No radiational cooling at all. Overcast all night.

So Weather Underground was onto something after all. At the time, they were the only one I could find forecasting anything remotely like the image I posted. So I was thinking; Okay, it’s still 7 days out, maybe they see something none of the models or any other forecasting services are seeing. But that would be highly unusual. Almost made me think the site was messed up and maybe parsing info for the wrong location! But maybe not...

Thanks for the write up MAG. Always learn a lot reading your comments. Over the years have found Weather Underground to be an accurate source. Interestingly, they’re showing some nice snow around Christmas and following that front. They’ve been steadily increasingly the amounts and lowering the temps since this morning. Am figuring they must be seeing something. Your thoughts? EDIT: Sorry about the double image - can’t seem to remove it!

Good point about no place to park. But they don’t seem to have a problem parking along the side when there’s ice. I once continued driving on Interstate 380 during an ice storm (in a Subaru) and passed by countless semis parked on the side. Not so much of a problem during big storms when you know the roads will be bad and can plan ahead. The tricky times are when there are unexpected squalls. That’s what happened when I got sandwiched between those semis. At least the NWS has recently implemented Squall Warnings. But it has to be a big persistent one to get warned on...that’s my take on it anyway.

So sad. Seems an inevitable occurrence on the interstates. Those semis don’t slow down, and when it’s a powder snow you can’t see a damn thing if you’re behind them. Used to drive I-81 around Hazleton in a Dodge Carryvan and once got sandwiched with a semi in front, one behind, and one alongside. Total whiteout - couldn’t see a thing and just prayed. Scared the hell out of me. Got to the point where I’d just use side roads during snow events.

For UNV Weather Underground is showing 4” of snow with a high of 27º on Christmas. Pretty far out, but that would really be nice!

Uh huh...you do realize that’s about 6 years or so?

Yeah, that explains it. Agreed...very nice storm! And just saw WU calling for 3" or so on Christmas day with a high of 28º. Still pretty far out, but that would be some nice icing on the cake.

Hmm...I'm in Toftrees near the Ale House, so not far from you. Only measured 16", but I didn't clear board, etc. Still, that's a 3 inch difference which could definitely be due to localized bands.

Looks like it's over here. Just measured 16" of beautiful, dry snow. It's a shame there won't be much, if any, wind here. But it was a great storm that locks in a white Christmas!

At 6:30 +SN and 8” - it’s dumping.

Dry slot seems to be filling in as it approaches Altoona. Maybe we can avoid it in UNV? Need these bands to take a more N-S orientation like the one approaching Johnstown.

It is dumping! Just hit 5” and very low visibility.

4” here - 23/20 - another good slug moving in from the SW.

Looking at radar...about to get into some good stuff. Sitting at about 1.5” currently.

First plow just went by (blade down). Roads caved immediately so they must have not done any pre-treating.

Just measured 0.5” - really nice initial band. In a lull now.

Gotta love it when a storm starts off like this. Usually a good sign.

First flakes at 10:30am - 26/14

Think you’re about a flake short for State College.

Thanks for the clarification and analysis. Always have problems getting the "previous" portions straight with the update time. Those CSI band locations are always a crap shoot - even during the height of a storm.

Lewistown

Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service State College PA 315 AM EST Wed Dec 16 2020 SHORT TERM /9 AM THIS MORNING THROUGH 6 PM THURSDAY/... Main changes to the short term grids (the main event) were to nudge the axis of the heaviest accums to the NW by 20-30 miles and add a little, too. This is in line with a slight shift west of the dry slot and best slant-wise instability (for the banded structures). Latest model QPF and SLRs argue for even higher numbers with State College and Williamsport in an axis of 24+" accums. We will not take it to that extreme of a change in either axis of the highest accums nor the SF totals. But, a nudge in that direction seems prudent.