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Plains Weather Discussion


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Well for me I appreciate this new thread, although I mostly lurk. I'm a novice with time on my hands, here to read and learn. I'm about 50 mi SE of the Cities outside of Red Wing on 'the River', so I guess I'm an outsider looking in...haha . I've really appreciated reading the info related to the Winter storms, model discussion, etc. I look forward to an active thread during the severe wx season.

Hey, glad to see another fellow MN! Feel free to post often--you don't have to be an "expert" to post.

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Wind Chill Warning for part of NW MN. Wind Chill Advisories for the rest of the state. Temp of 7 right now with a wind chill of -7. Gonna be a couple of chilly days coming up. Temps predicted to warm into the 30's by the weekend with the zonal flow. Latest DLH AFD mentions cooling again by early next week.

geez already below zero in parts of SD/ND.

Yeah it is brutal out there today. The wind chill is bad.

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Checking in from southern Manitoba.

I see some mentions already here about the Northern Plains being in a good spot for storms this spring and summer. It'll be interesting to see how the drought conditions develop in the southern Plains in the coming month or two. Would that help in developing a more robust southern US ridge come spring and summer? For my area, I've noted that a southern Plains, even a southwestern US ridge lead to above normal storm activity up here.

South Dakota/North Dakota/Minnesota/Iowa were good place to be last summer. I just hope we can get the jetstream a bit further north this season. Missed out on most of the best stuff last year.

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Checking in from southern Manitoba.

I see some mentions already here about the Northern Plains being in a good spot for storms this spring and summer. It'll be interesting to see how the drought conditions develop in the southern Plains in the coming month or two. Would that help in developing a more robust southern US ridge come spring and summer? For my area, I've noted that a southern Plains, even a southwestern US ridge lead to above normal storm activity up here.

South Dakota/North Dakota/Minnesota/Iowa were good place to be last summer. I just hope we can get the jetstream a bit further north this season. Missed out on most of the best stuff last year.

How many inches of snow have you had up there this season? I can relate to you on the severe weather last summer. Everything was to my south as well. Maybe it will be different next summer.

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How many inches of snow have you had up there this season? I can relate to you on the severe weather last summer. Everything was to my south as well. Maybe it will be different next summer.

Right now we're at about 45 inches since October. Been a clipper fest up here..

Regarding the severe weather, I was quite otpmistic going in. There was a trough sitting just off the West Coast all summer. For some reason, we just couldn't consistently get into the warm sector of the systems that tracked through.

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Right now we're at about 45 inches since October. Been a clipper fest up here..

Regarding the severe weather, I was quite otpmistic going in. There was a trough sitting just off the West Coast all summer. For some reason, we just couldn't consistently get into the warm sector of the systems that tracked through.

I have had about the same. Lots of clippers. Do you get much from lakes cutters very often or is most the snow to your east and south with them?

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Some nice echoes in Nebraska right now. I see Cheyenne, Wyoming reporting mod. snow right now. It looks like some backbuilding going on with the snow in Nebraska. What exactly causes backbuilding? It seems to be the key ingredient when getting sig. precip. Maybe a met. could answer this.

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Some nice echoes in Nebraska right now. I see Cheyenne, Wyoming reporting mod. snow right now. It looks like some backbuilding going on with the snow in Nebraska. What exactly causes backbuilding? It seems to be the key ingredient when getting sig. precip. Maybe a met. could answer this.

What do you mean by back-building? Different things can cause precip to reform behind a line though. Most of the stuff out there is strong frontal developed precip.

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Some nice echoes in Nebraska right now. I see Cheyenne, Wyoming reporting mod. snow right now. It looks like some backbuilding going on with the snow in Nebraska. What exactly causes backbuilding? It seems to be the key ingredient when getting sig. precip. Maybe a met. could answer this.

It looks as if some of the high country east of Laramie along I-80 is getting rocked right now. I've driven through that area and it's gorgeous though a high percentage of trees have become sickened with the infestation...Anyway, Cheyenne is reporting SN at 6/2...

GFK is down to -14F and dropping rapidlycold.gif

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It looks as if some of the high country east of Laramie along I-80 is getting rocked right now. I've driven through that area and it's gorgeous though a high percentage of trees have become sickened with the infestation...Anyway, Cheyenne is reporting SN at 6/2...

GFK is down to -14F and dropping rapidlycold.gif

Haha--GFK was my old "stomping grounds". That is normal for out there Snowman.gif

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Haha--GFK was my old "stomping grounds". That is normal for out there Snowman.gif

Yeah they radiate insanely well, it's only notable when it gets past -30F. GFK, HVR, and CTB are the three stations I watch in the Plains/Prairies for extreme cold during arctic fronts. I was living near Cut Bank, MT this summer, and they do get some wild weather out there; the shifts between sunny and placid and cold/windy are extremely rapid. I'd love to spend a winter in the N. Plains experiencing the brutal cold and hopefully an epic blizzard...it's nice when you consistently have a direct feed of Canadian cold without the Apps to block it as we have here.

I'm sure you had a lot of fun in Grand Forks when it was wintertime, you seem to be an enthusiast for the extreme sort of stuff as I've noted in the NYC metro thread. thumbsupsmileyanim.gif You do regret not being able to experience Nor'easters, however.

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Yeah they radiate insanely well, it's only notable when it gets past -30F. GFK, HVR, and CTB are the three stations I watch in the Plains/Prairies for extreme cold during arctic fronts. I was living near Cut Bank, MT this summer, and they do get some wild weather out there; the shifts between sunny and placid and cold/windy are extremely rapid. I'd love to spend a winter in the N. Plains experiencing the brutal cold and hopefully an epic blizzard...it's nice when you consistently have a direct feed of Canadian cold without the Apps to block it as we have here.

I'm sure you had a lot of fun in Grand Forks when it was wintertime, you seem to be an enthusiast for the extreme sort of stuff as I've noted in the NYC metro thread. thumbsupsmileyanim.gif You do regret not being able to experience Nor'easters, however.

Cutbank has lovely weather with the downslope windstorms. They are a tad E of the divide to get the consistently good windstorms--but the big ones tend to head farther from the divide and crush Cutbank. They also get some spectacular mountain wave clouds under the right conditions. I saw your pics from Glacier in the pictures thread--looked epic! I love the mountains.

I love all weather--but the extremes do get me pumped. Nor'easters are pretty extreme--hence why I head E for the big events.thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

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I love Plains weather, so you'll find me lurking in this thread occasionally. As a born and raised Okie, I love the extreme weather we can get. However, I realize the weather in the region that this thread is dedicated to can be even more extreme.

I look forward to reading some severe weather discussions this upcoming severe weather season!

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Cutbank has lovely weather with the downslope windstorms. They are a tad E of the divide to get the consistently good windstorms--but the big ones tend to head farther from the divide and crush Cutbank. They also get some spectacular mountain wave clouds under the right conditions. I saw your pics from Glacier in the pictures thread--looked epic! I love the mountains.

I love all weather--but the extremes do get me pumped. Nor'easters are pretty extreme--hence why I head E for the big events.thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

I had to drive into Cut Bank one day for a minor case of bronchitis that I needed treatment for, and the downslope winds absolutely crushed me as I left the health clinic. I think we were around SW 30 G 50; you could see the cloud deck banked over the Rockies while it was clear in the Prairies, very beautiful effect. There are also signs by Route 2 (Highline) that say "Cross winds" with wind flags to show if a dangerous wind is blowing..I never had any trouble but driving conditions could get pretty hazardous in winter with the high winds and blowing snow. I was also impressed by the north winds that stampede down the St. Mary Lake Valley just east of Glacier National Park...we had a big cold front in late June with 50 MPH winds and dews in the 20s, never had seen such a low dewpoint in summer before.

I love Glacier so much, it's amazing! The forest mix of spruce/aspen there is quite beautiful and has tolerated the various infestations better than many other species. Also, the weather was much like the East Coast in terms of heavy rainfall at times during summer, some dry/hot days, some humidity and thunderstorms. 2010 was overall a cold summer for Montana, and probably North Dakota as well, but it was a good variation throughout the season. We even had snow on June 16th, I couldn't believe it when I saw the sleet pellets and flakes in the headlights. The mountains got crushed with like a foot of powder, went hiking with a friend and the scenery up there was unreal for five days before the summer solstice Snowman.gifSnowman.gif

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BTW, some of the record high/low stats from up there amaze me. Especially from 1936, I believe? All-time record highs and record lows set in the same year! North Dakota's all-time record low of -60 is set in February, and 5 months later the all-time high of 121 is set!

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BTW, some of the record high/low stats from up there amaze me. Especially from 1936, I believe? All-time record highs and record lows set in the same year! North Dakota's all-time record low of -60 is set in February, and 5 months later the all-time high of 121 is set!

1936 was an insane year.

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I had to drive into Cut Bank one day for a minor case of bronchitis that I needed treatment for, and the downslope winds absolutely crushed me as I left the health clinic. I think we were around SW 30 G 50; you could see the cloud deck banked over the Rockies while it was clear in the Prairies, very beautiful effect. There are also signs by Route 2 (Highline) that say "Cross winds" with wind flags to show if a dangerous wind is blowing..I never had any trouble but driving conditions could get pretty hazardous in winter with the high winds and blowing snow. I was also impressed by the north winds that stampede down the St. Mary Lake Valley just east of Glacier National Park...we had a big cold front in late June with 50 MPH winds and dews in the 20s, never had seen such a low dewpoint in summer before.

I love Glacier so much, it's amazing! The forest mix of spruce/aspen there is quite beautiful and has tolerated the various infestations better than many other species. Also, the weather was much like the East Coast in terms of heavy rainfall at times during summer, some dry/hot days, some humidity and thunderstorms. 2010 was overall a cold summer for Montana, and probably North Dakota as well, but it was a good variation throughout the season. We even had snow on June 16th, I couldn't believe it when I saw the sleet pellets and flakes in the headlights. The mountains got crushed with like a foot of powder, went hiking with a friend and the scenery up there was unreal for five days before the summer solstice Snowman.gifSnowman.gif

Not from Montana but the Front Range--but same thing. Vertically propagating mountain waves thumbsupsmileyanim.gifthumbsupsmileyanim.gif

Beautiful.

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Another one. This one may be a trapped lee wave in the Front Range.

How does it happen? Is that only possible with larger ranges like the Rockies and Andes, since I've never noticed it here in places like VT's Green Mtns or NYS 'Dacks? I did notice some unusual cloud formation in Santiago, Chile near the intersection of the snow-capped Coastal Range and the majestic High Andes that reach 20k near the city, observing from the valley floor at around 1500'...

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How does it happen? Is that only possible with larger ranges like the Rockies and Andes, since I've never noticed it here in places like VT's Green Mtns or NYS 'Dacks? I did notice some unusual cloud formation in Santiago, Chile near the intersection of the snow-capped Coastal Range and the majestic High Andes that reach 20k near the city, observing from the valley floor at around 1500'...

Mountain waves are crazily complex--but relatively simple to understand. They develop due to a sufficiently strong stable flow over an "obstacle" in the flow. The air parcels are lofted over the ridge then "oscillate" due to the gravitational force.

post-999-0-23645200-1297150494.png

There are two types--trapped waves and vertically propagating. The Appalachians can actually develop both types--but typically they produce more trapped wave varities. Anything that "perturbs" the flow can produce mountain waves. Here is an extreme example.

http://www.americanw...avity-waves-mn/

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Wave clouds are really cool. Thanks for sharing that Youtube video. I have never seen a time lapse like that. I see the lenticular clouds or wave clouds on many days. It's weird, you can see changes in the clouds, but many times the edge is right near my location at Fort Collins. Sometimes they are really beautiful, especially at sunset. Sometimes they are thick enough to block the sunshine, and then it's 10 degrees colder than predicted, if there's no strong wind to mix things up.

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