Festus

-6 First time I can remember my geothermal system had to kick into auxiliary mode. And it's 5 above in International Falls at this hour. "Icebox of America" - not.

This is the 2016 Warning.

January 2016, saved for posterity...

5.6" total here. 2.3 low this morning. No chance at record cold this week as this is the same stretch of days as the epic 1994 event. Three straight days of -10 or greater lows and the only day in Millersville weather history where the high failed to reach above zero (-2). So when the youngsters go off on how cold it is, you have the "well, back in the day" at your disposal.

And not a flake yet a Lincoln Field. A little bumming about that.

Bailing here or as Eli Stolzfus would say, "it's makin daawn naw". Temp 28, visibility < 1/4 mile.

Considering how much of PA is covered by an Extreme Cold Watch, I can't say I recall that product being used before. Upon further review. as of October 1st: Wind Chill Watches will be renamed to an Extreme Cold Watch Wind Chill Warnings will be renamed to an Extreme Cold Warning Wind Chill Advisory will be renamed a Cold Weather Advisory

And then there's this - Project 2025 also said the National Weather Service should become a “performance-based organization” held accountable for achieving specific results, even if the head of the agency must “deviate from government rules” to achieve those results. Sounds like they'll be breaking out the retroactive Sharpie on the GFS maps.

Not to beat a dead horse but the phrase snow showers is defined as: "Snow falling at varying intensities for brief periods of time. Some accumulation is possible." At least in my neck of the woods, an 8 hour event depositing 4-8" is not brief and exceeds "some". But as mentioned, 4-8" of flurries, snow showers or blizzard is still 4-8". But alas, I remain amused by the terminology chosen is this case.

Agreed but Joe Q Public sees snow showers and thinks what we got yesterday. But then again, does Joe Q Public actually read NWS verbiage?

I mean this really is priceless - A slight chance of snow before 7am, then snow showers, mainly after 7am. High near 33. North wind 8 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.

I see Trump's inauguration has been moved indoors. Guess he didn't want to pull a Harrison. At least there will be no crowd size disputes.

Soft commodities (wheat, corn, soybeans, etc.) are one place very weather dependent where markets are very liquid. Energy markets are another but they are pretty schizophrenic. I actually did pretty good at coffee futures using weather in Brazil like 15 years ago. It's gotten much more sophisticated nowadays but the principle stands.

Mood flakes here. Can still see the grass. Should have mowed lower on that last cut of the season. At this point, I'd say the Total Storm Posts / Total Storm Accumulation ratio is pretty high for this one. We need a bigger denominator!

Yes indeed! I'd plow my way along in my 1970 Chevy Impala. It would get stuck on like a 0.1% grade so the trick was to keep moving at any cost. Drivers nowadays have it too darn easy with front wheel drive, all wheel drive, traction control, ABS, blah, blah, blah. With that said, it's amazing how crappy some folks still manage to do when conditions are poor.