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Capital Weather Gang 2012-13 winter outlook


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yeah...people forget about that storm (3-3/4?) and there was a smaller one a few days before that...good pattern

 

It really was a good pattern. It's ashame we can't get that kind of set up a little more frequently. March that year saved winter. I don't think we had any measurable snow in February. You might recall the models showing a major storm around Valentine's Day, that of course never materialized. We finally got colder the second half of February but there were no storms that delivered until March. The first half of January that year was very cold with a nice event on the 8th. After the 15th we blowtorched for 30 days.

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The ideas that are getting tangled in this thread are,

 

1.  Higher up in the thread, the chat was more about Winchester, NW Virginia and IAD, now the focus is shifted to DCA.

 

2.  You (DC snow hounds) well know that IAD is really emerging during the most recent six decades as a different snow micro-climate than DCA especially given the proximity to a tidal river that no longer really freezes over and of course the heat island.  It would actually be interesting to know if DCA got easier accumulations during intervals when the river was frozen, especially during events with marginal boundary layer temperatures.  I would think that it would make a difference during events with marginal boundary layer temperatures and in events with little if any CAA.  Are we unlikely to see the Potomac freeze in DC any year soon?   Will it freeze much again during the next two or three decades with ongoing 'climate change'? 

 

2.  Ian:  your chart doesn't show single events over 4 inches in March going back six decades.  Is that certain?

If so, it suggests a change in the local snow climate.

 

You misread the chart

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You misread the chart

 

Obvi....

 

His tabular chart has recent events >4"  but the Excel chart doesn't, or does it?

 

Ah....it is the fooking scale, I thought it would be inches but the y-axis is # of events.

 

So...the years with accumulating March events >3 has a drought going back seven decades.

 

Still something suggesting climate change.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Your winter outlook has been fantastic as well as your short and medium range thoughts ahead of storms. Great stuff man. I still like the Feb 8-10 weekend and really any small event is possible Feb 1-20 with the +PNA in the means. The system we were discussing toward 2/20 could work out if we can get NAO help mid-month. There are finally some signals showing up that this may happen, but I'm not holding my breath. The reason we cannot call for monsters/KUs this month is basically because of the NAO. But that doesn't mean we can't get a few good snow events.

 

Last year we would have killed for cold air and a +PNA, but I know that doesn't justify another lousy winter!

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Your winter outlook has been fantastic as well as your short and medium range thoughts ahead of storms. Great stuff man. I still like the Feb 8-10 weekend and really any small event is possible Feb 1-20 with the +PNA in the means. The system we were discussing toward 2/20 could work out if we can get NAO help mid-month. There are finally some signals showing up that this may happen, but I'm not holding my breath. The reason we cannot call for monsters/KUs this month is basically because of the NAO. But that doesn't mean we can't get a few good snow events.

Last year we would have killed for cold air and a +PNA, but I know that doesn't justify another lousy winter!

Thanks man. I mentioned feb 8-10 yesterday as well as feb 8th a while back though it is all low confidence for me. When do you think we get a block back if at all?

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Thanks man. I mentioned feb 8-10 yesterday as well as feb 8th a while back though it is all low confidence for me. When do you think we get a block back if at all?

 

Well, you can see the models are trying to "dip" the NAO a little bit in our suspect time frame. If these clippers next weekend that help to drop the PV southward can pull up a thumb ridge, it may act to bring a temporary-neg NAO setup for us. As the southern stream / pac low piles into this, it could bring a decent setup. The timing of course will be huge here and we won't have our typical leeway, like with classic -NAO setups, because of how fragile this thumb ridge will be.

 

The stratospheric guidance, while growing colder in the upper levels, is still favorable for a -AO in the lower levels. The latest EC suggest the vortex "reconfiguration" over the N atlantic will try to pull toward Europe by day 10. This could also support a thumb ridge into Greenland. Something to watch.

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  • 2 months later...

I agree with wxusaf. Best I've seen for our yards as well. If grading on a curve then you set the curve. 

 

Nobody was getting this march right (i don't think anyone even includes it anymore). Going -4+ would have been considered counter-intuitive and down right crazy. 

 

Can we get a dang Nino next year for criminy sakes? Even dead neutral would be fine. If enso is even hinting at neg departures in Nov them I'm going with Phin's forecast door to door. 

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Really great job with the forecast.   Set the tone of the winter rather well.  Of course, as you  said, you were way too cold and snowy.   :P

 Your job now is to figure out how we can get a good winter next year without a Nino (doesn't look too promising at this time).

 

 

MDstorm

 

on the contrary.....

 

 

 

 

Cherry picked of course...

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Matt...I think you're forecast was one of the best that I saw, maybe the best.  Certainly on the temps side, hitting the sign of the departures for each month is alone a pretty big accomplishment, IMO.    

 

 

I agree with wxusaf. Best I've seen for our yards as well. If grading on a curve then you set the curve. 

 

Nobody was getting this march right (i don't think anyone even includes it anymore). Going -4+ would have been considered counter-intuitive and down right crazy. 

 

Can we get a dang Nino next year for criminy sakes? Even dead neutral would be fine. If enso is even hinting at neg departures in Nov them I'm going with Phin's forecast door to door. 

 

 

Really great job with the forecast.   Set the tone of the winter rather well.  Of course, as you  said, you were way too cold and snowy.   :P

 Your job now is to figure out how we can get a good winter next year without a Nino (doesn't look too promising at this time).

 

 

MDstorm

 

 

Thanks...FWIW, I would have gone cold in March, but I dont do march anymore, except for including the snow for the entire season

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Thanks...FWIW, I would have gone cold in March, but I dont do march anymore, except for including the snow for the entire season

I think you did a great job. I also think your snow forecast was good. IIRC, you were calling for climo to slightly above. That's exactly what many areas got. It just didn't work out for most of the low elevations.

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