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March 25th Storm: Debacle or Climo Defier? Discussion and Obs


stormtracker

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why?...this isnt a hard forecast....play it down and say some people in the more favored areas may see a few inches on their grass and decks...

 

Why do you keep asking why?   It is a tough forecast....it's not black and white...nobody is saying you have to follow models verbatim and forecast a foot of snow for DC.   All I'm saying is, its tough to simply ignore the fact that all the models are saying there will be significant accumulating snowfall very close.  I'm just remarking that it must be a little nerve wrecking.   An inch or less is far more likely to be right in the end, but still

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Why do you keep asking why?   It is a tough forecast....it's not black and white...nobody is saying you have to follow models verbatim and forecast a foot of snow for DC.   All I'm saying is, its tough to simply ignore the fact that all the models are saying there will be significant accumulating snowfall very close.  I'm just remarking that it must be a little nerve wrecking.   An inch or less is far more likely to be right in the end, but still

I just dont see it being that hard of a forecast because I think getting it "correct" is kind of inconsequential....

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Lol Baltimore, Lol Eastern Shore yea right.

 

487872_528590813859349_1565813419_n.jpg

 

 

They are under intense persistent banding and in the QPF jackpot.   I wouldn't go T-1 there it should be pounding silver dollars for 9 hours straight.

Edit: Okay, cut it in half 4-8" jackpot on the Del Marva.

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Why do you keep asking why?   It is a tough forecast....it's not black and white...nobody is saying you have to follow models verbatim and forecast a foot of snow for DC.   All I'm saying is, its tough to simply ignore the fact that all the models are saying there will be significant accumulating snowfall very close.  I'm just remarking that it must be a little nerve wrecking.   An inch or less is far more likely to be right in the end, but still

remember the day when we had model consensus like this we would be psyched?

instead, all we do is doubt them

but that's the diff between here and further north....when the models predict snow, they get it and we don't, at least not lately

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why?...this isnt a hard forecast....play it down and say some people in the more favored areas may see a few inches on their grass and decks...

I wouldn't be so blase about it.  Though yes, at this time I would certainly play down any chances for heavy accumulation in the metro area which LWX has pretty much done.  But as I said, if these indications continue through tomorrow, you can't just ignore that even with climo, time of year, etc.  Besides, I was mostly thinking in terms of impact for decision makers (e.g., Fed. govt.).  There were a couple of times this year where they had to make a call...one was the closure on the March 6 bust, and I recall another delayed arrival for what turned out to be light drizzle.  Both got heavy criticism, though I don't blame the calls given the indications at the time.  You don't want to end up with another similar thing, though.

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In the sense that 1" of snow on the grass and not the roads is the same as 6" on the grass and not the roads? If so, that way makes more sense. 

 

what is the "worst" case scenario?....32-33 and a period of +SN and road accumulations down to sea level?...who is going to forecast that?

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why?...this isnt a hard forecast....play it down and say some people in the more favored areas may see a few inches on their grass and decks...

it depends on really the timing. If its snowing heavily between 2am and 7am, there isnt a reason DCA cant pick up 2 or so inches right on the grass

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just draw a contour around the areas that get dark greened and call it t-8 and then the area around it 0 to maybe 8 if the band shifts.

 

disclaimer: could also be a mod rain snow mix.

 

post-1615-0-17722900-1364098584_thumb.gi

 

 

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what is the "worst" case scenario?....32-33 and a period of +SN and road accumulations down to sea level?...who is going to forecast that?

Well, of course nobody is going to forecast that now.  But I'm sure it's in the back of people's minds as not out of the realm of possibility.  What do you do if all the models (including the Euro) continue showing just the scenario you describe in tomorrows 12Z, 18Z, etc. cycles?  Then you kind of have to seriously think of forecasting just that.

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funny the models have trended back to what they were showing 5 days ago with the ridiculous clown maps which promoted the HECS potential thread. Except for the euro of course

I won't be up for it, but I predict the Euro will increase qpf and get to real close to 1"

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Well, of course nobody is going to forecast that now.  But I'm sure it's in the back of people's minds as not out of the realm of possibility.  What do you do if all the models (including the Euro) continue showing just the scenario you describe in tomorrows 12Z, 18Z, etc. cycles?  Then you kind of have to seriously think of forecasting just that.

I ALWAYS have alternate forecasts in the back of my mind when there is a possible "trend" or shift such as this one.  Makes it MUCH easier to transition to another solution in your forecasts if you need to.  I also think it helps you not to jump on the train too much.

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funny the models have trended back to what they were showing 5 days ago with the ridiculous clown maps which promoted the HECS potential thread. Except for the euro of course

Well, if this were Jan. 25 or even Feb. 25, this would easily be a MECS/HECS and there'd probably be watches extending all the way out to the coast.

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I ALWAYS have alternate forecasts in the back of my mind when there is a possible "trend" or shift such as this one.  Makes it MUCH easier to transition to another solution in your forecasts if you need to.  I also think it helps you not to jump on the train too much.

Yup, exactly what I was trying to say more or less, though you worded it a bit more artfully than I did.  Actually, what would make it so much easier would be if it were a month or more ago!  No "climo" issues, no "sun angle", etc.

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After this storm, is there any possibility of a thread or discussion, about the models? I mean, after watching the differences, and listening to the different reasons and yeahs and nays, there is a lot to sort out. Recently there has been some great discussion and some really informative analysis from various sources. Wouldn't it be great to have a permanent resource for information on the models for everyone to utilize? Just a thought...

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i dont think the models matter much...they already suck pretty bad....I feel pretty good about ignoring them when show a snowstorm for the coastal plain on March 25th.....why are we taking the NAM/GFS seriously at all?

Maybe a stupid question but if they don't matter why do you look at them?.

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After this storm, is there any possibility of a thread or discussion, about the models? I mean, after watching the differences, and listening to the different reasons and yeahs and nays, there is a lot to sort out. Recently there has been some great discussion and some really informative analysis from various sources. Wouldn't it be great to have a permanent resource for information on the models for everyone to utilize? Just a thought...

 

almost nobody knows how to use them properly

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The models give us way way more snow than we actually receive...is this pattern suddenly going to end on March 25th?

there have been a few unusual events in DC in the past 100  years. If its happened before...it can happen again. Maybe a 980 type low off the east coast with a record low AO and NAO can deliver something more than the usual. I got 1.5 inches last Monday from a garbage event without heavy rates and marginal temps

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