Thundersnow12 Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 Ah that was so beautiful. I remember NAM/GFS was still spitting out 2.00+ 24hrs before the storm. I think Chicago 20 inches was the lowest it could have gotten with this storm. The snow was not thick or big at all. It was more showery witch I think knocked off 4-6 inches. Still though waking up to 4-5 foot drifts was amazing and that 1hr period of very heavy LES. Ya....3"/hr type showery... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSearsTower25 Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Ya it started 230pm and ended like 3-4am but then a 1hr period of heavy fat LES snow started around 8am and ended like 8:50am. I was hoping we just had those big flat flakes but it was very showery most of the time but still all that wind. I walked during the evening when we were in the middle of it to gas station a block away to get bread and milk and I never seen it so packed there. You could barely park there. My brother freaks out at the same time Jim Cantore did when we saw the flash of lightning and heard the thunder. Man you feel the dynamic of the storm. I have always heard storms of this magnitude are uncommon but this storm proved not so. Like the east coast, all the ingredients have to come play together and it did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSearsTower25 Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 KLOT radar during who blizzard: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted September 26, 2011 Author Share Posted September 26, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdrenken Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 My college closed early that day and then we were closed the next two days after. Mizzou closed for 3 days and I-70 was shut down from KC to St. Louis. Mizzou magazine Missouri School of Journalism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpartyOn Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Yea even though we obviously didn't get as much ad others, I'd still rate it as a 7. Never seen high winds with snow like that. The hype by the media was crazy too. Some local forecasts were saying the potential for 20 inches +. What killed us was flake size. Most of the snow was in the form of crushed and fine dendrites. The winds aloft were literally ripping our flakes apart. Thinking that if somehow we would have managed to not have such small flakes we would have been able to pick up 3-5 more inches. I believe we had 4-6 hours of sustained winds at 30+ mph which was so cool. Not far north of metro Detroit (Saginaw / Tri cites ) They were spared of the dry slot and had a longer duration event. Drifts of 4-5 ft were reported in midland with 15-16 inches. Cant forget about the Lightning in that storm either. So cool! The media hype was justified also. When most of the guidance and general thought was a storm track further east and south we could have very easily been in the 15-20 inch zone like Saginaw. It was that NW tick or "trend" in the last few runs that threw us a curve ball. But needless to say I rank that storm at least 8 out of 10 (just for the fact of the winds). People around here did complain about the "lower" snow totals. But whatever you can't blame these non weather folks for it. I considered that storm like a test run or storm drill for the area. Because one day and (maybe soon because of the 1970s pattern we are in) we will get our 20+ event and it will shock people! Really shock people around here!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csnavywx Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 What killed us was flake size. Most of the snow was in the form of crushed and fine dendrites. The winds aloft were literally ripping our flakes apart. Thinking that if somehow we would have managed to not have such small flakes we would have been able to pick up 3-5 more inches. I believe we had 4-6 hours of sustained winds at 30+ mph which was so cool. Not far north of metro Detroit (Saginaw / Tri cites ) They were spared of the dry slot and had a longer duration event. Drifts of 4-5 ft were reported in midland with 15-16 inches. Cant forget about the Lightning in that storm either. So cool! The media hype was justified also. When most of the guidance and general thought was a storm track further east and south we could have very easily been in the 15-20 inch zone like Saginaw. It was that NW tick or "trend" in the last few runs that threw us a curve ball. But needless to say I rank that storm at least 8 out of 10 (just for the fact of the winds). People around here did complain about the "lower" snow totals. But whatever you can't blame these non weather folks for it. I considered that storm like a test run or storm drill for the area. Because one day and (maybe soon because of the 1970s pattern we are in) we will get our 20+ event and it will shock people! Really shock people around here!! I'm not convinced that the shattering of those crystals actually did that much damage to the totals, especially since there were TWO separate dendritic growth zones, with the upper one seeding the lower one with shattered dendrites over quite a large area. This mechanism likely resulted in some very efficient overall ice crystal production that offset some of the shattering at/near the surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 I'm not convinced that the shattering of those crystals actually did that much damage to the totals, especially since there were TWO separate dendritic growth zones, with the upper one seeding the lower one with shattered dendrites over quite a large area. This mechanism likely resulted in some very efficient overall ice crystal production that offset some of the shattering at/near the surface. Agreed, when it first started in the afternoon some big time flakes were making it to the ground and I wouldn't call the flake size small during the peak of the event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSearsTower25 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Agreed, when it first started in the afternoon some big time flakes were making it to the ground and I wouldn't call the flake size small during the peak of the event. It was not that bad but the I thought Lake Moisture would buff the flakes at night because if you remember the next morning we saw some heavy big LES fakes. C now if were like that during the main sypnotic event, boy we would probably gotten 30-40 inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hm8 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Agreed, when it first started in the afternoon some big time flakes were making it to the ground and I wouldn't call the flake size small during the peak of the event. Maybe there, but here in SEMI I distinctly remember the flakes being very small. IIRC DTX's AFD at one point mentioned something about it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 It was not that bad but the I thought Lake Moisture would buff the flakes at night because if you remember the next morning we saw some heavy big LES fakes. C now if were like that during the main sypnotic event, boy we would probably gotten 30-40 inches. no way we were going to get those amounts. 40"?? are you serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 no way we were going to get those amounts. 40"?? are you serious? Hey, the CLTV graphic said so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSearsTower25 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Hey, the CLTV graphic said so. Ha I remember channel 7 showed a graphic of 38 inches south of Chicago. Maybe 40 is a bit to high, but I think it could have been possible to see 30+ if the storm was slower and the snow was like the LES band the next morning all evening and night. It started snowing at 230pm and stopped around 3-4am and then there was another 1hr period of heavy LES at 8-9am. Obviously, the heavier/bigger snowflakes would accumulate more on the ground thus higher accumulations and I remember Justin mentioned this during the storm it probably knocked off at least 4-6 inches in some areas. Man if this weekend/early week system that is stalling over the Great Lakes deepened furthur south and it were December/Jan, this could of been a epic clipper system. Watch it will happen again this winter but probably not as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdrenken Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Ha I remember channel 7 showed a graphic of 38 inches south of Chicago. Maybe 40 is a bit to high, but I think it could have been possible to see 30+ if the storm was slower and the snow was like the LES band the next morning all evening and night. It started snowing at 230pm and stopped around 3-4am and then there was another 1hr period of heavy LES at 8-9am. Obviously, the heavier/bigger snowflakes would accumulate more on the ground thus higher accumulations and I remember Justin mentioned this during the storm it probably knocked off at least 4-6 inches in some areas. Man if this weekend/early week system that is stalling over the Great Lakes deepened furthur south and it were December/Jan, this could of been a epic clipper system. Watch it will happen again this winter but probably not as much. I remember Skilling's FB page getting hit and hit hard from DT slamming Tom regarding him showing that same model run. IIRC, Tom stated on air that he didn't believe it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 Ha I remember channel 7 showed a graphic of 38 inches south of Chicago. Maybe 40 is a bit to high, but I think it could have been possible to see 30+ if the storm was slower and the snow was like the LES band the next morning all evening and night. It started snowing at 230pm and stopped around 3-4am and then there was another 1hr period of heavy LES at 8-9am. Obviously, the heavier/bigger snowflakes would accumulate more on the ground thus higher accumulations and I remember Justin mentioned this during the storm it probably knocked off at least 4-6 inches in some areas. Yes you've said this like 3 times already....is this weatherguru or someone? thought there was someone from Elmwood Park...Alek would remember this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago WX Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Yes you've said this like 3 times already....is this weatherguru or someone? thought there was someone from Elmwood Park...Alek would remember this. Could be. But it's Elmood Park. Posts:6 Joined:September 24, 2011 Location: Elmood Park, IL (Outside Chicago) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Could be. But it's Elmood Park. Posts:6 Joined:September 24, 2011 Location: Elmood Park, IL (Outside Chicago) lol my bad, but I swear its him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago WX Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 lol my bad, but I swear its him. Ha, no I just thought the mis-spelling in his location under his username was pretty good. weatherguru had ORD listed as his location in his profile, but I think I remember him saying he was from Elmwood Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeastFromTheEast Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Could be. But it's Elmood Park. Posts:6 Joined:September 24, 2011 Location: Elmood Park, IL (Outside Chicago) I always wonder what keeps bringing these types of guys back.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago WX Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I always wonder what keeps bringing these types of guys back.. I'm surprised Moneyman hasn't made an attempted comeback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSearsTower25 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Yes you've said this like 3 times already....is this weatherguru or someone? thought there was someone from Elmwood Park...Alek would remember this. No. My bad if I repeated that. I was just rephrasing everything in one paragraph again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I'm not convinced that the shattering of those crystals actually did that much damage to the totals, especially since there were TWO separate dendritic growth zones, with the upper one seeding the lower one with shattered dendrites over quite a large area. This mechanism likely resulted in some very efficient overall ice crystal production that offset some of the shattering at/near the surface. That's how I remember it. We certainly didn't have parachutes, but I recall it just pouring snowflakes for hours. As if someone just dumped a bag of flour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeastFromTheEast Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 + So many nights(at least a week out) spent looking at those model images lol.. There were quite a few ups and downs from what I remember... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 So many nights(at least a week out) spent looking at those model images lol.. There were quite a few ups and downs from what I remember... Oh yes, plenty of late nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kab2791 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I remember the Thursday morning run of the Euro showing a weak SLP along the SE U.S., only for it to come back fast and furious 12Z run. Fri, the GFS really started coming into consensus of a track through the OV. By then it was becoming likely that someone was going to be hit very hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-L-E-K Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 no way we were going to get those amounts. 40"?? are you serious? It's silly to discuss because we wouldn't have had the insane dynamics without the wind, but had flake size been larger 30+ would not have been all that hard. We saw sand for 95% of the storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago WX Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Nice image from MKX's write up of the storm: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/?n=020211_blizzard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Nice image from MKX's write up of the storm: http://www.crh.noaa....020211_blizzard thats awesome, first time seeing that image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdrenken Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 As I stated in the 'Off-Topic' thread regarding significant others... Before the GHD storm, she was warning people left and right at work because I would tell her how bad it was going to be in Central MO. The Monday before she even had an opportunity to bet some doctors how much snow there was going to be as they were going by the weekend forecasters. Sadly, she didn't take advantage of the situation...she would've made a killing that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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