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Potential Thanksgiving Event


strongwxnc

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Edit: Just saw the ice storm warning. Heavy rain and local flooding may steal some headlines. Any strong storms near the coast may be after dark. Back to winter, this will be more in-situ than classic wedge for western NC tonight/Tue morning. Northeast Georgia is more conditional with warmer temps at the moment. Lack of a good high is becoming less of an issue for NC with clouds hampering warming today and dews staying quite low. Sometimes ice just happens. Due to high QPF icing could should surprise esp high valleys. East facing slopes are a bigger concern than west facing slopes with good WAA. Hope east slopes get WAA too, if one likes heat and light for Thanksgiving.

 

Then Tuesday evening thru Wednesday morning East Tennessee will play the snow game. Agree western NC shadows are hosed this event. However 12Z guidance perked up (again, zig zag, lol) for Northeast Tenn. Chattanooga will probably crap out. When unsure and/or 50/50 line is over CHA go rain. In contrast Tri Cities get snow in the same situation, but I think they have a much better than 50/50 shot at a couple inches of snow this time. Knoxville really is 50/50 with zig zag guidance; yes, 12Z says a dusting in Knox. Upper Cumberland Plateau in TN should get an inch or two, with Smokies picking up 6"+ at elevation. Ski areas should get some natural help Wednesday. Cheers!

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Lake Hickory isn't big enough for that.  Lake James is 3 times the size and has no effect on the temps.  I'm assuming they get these maps from model data.  Do models take cities into account?  I doubt they do.  Very odd. 

I know.  Perhaps it's Lake Hickory effect warmth?  Or urban heat island effect of the Hickory metroplex?

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Just a general statement on freezing rain but in my opinion/experience freezing rain with a temperature at or above 30F is typically a self-limiting process because the latent heat of freezing results in melting and warming of the near-surface layer, limiting ice accrual.

 

Rarely have I ever seen a significant icing event occur when the surface temp wasn't colder than 30F during the event, although granted the antecedent cold conditions are helping to keep the ground (and other surfaces) cold before this one.

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Just a general statement on freezing rain but in my opinion/experience freezing rain with a temperature at or above 30F is typically a self-limiting process because the latent heat of freezing results in melting and warming of the near-surface layer, limiting ice accrual.

 

Rarely have I ever seen a significant icing event occur when the surface temp wasn't colder than 30F during the event, although granted the antecedent cold conditions are helping to keep the ground (and other surfaces) cold before this one.

 

Atlanta has had a good number of major and lengthy ZR's with the lowest near or even slightly above 30. I've researched numerous old icestorms in the area. It certainly isn't rare in this area though it may be in your area.

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Just a general statement on freezing rain but in my opinion/experience freezing rain with a temperature at or above 30F is typically a self-limiting process because the latent heat of freezing results in melting and warming of the near-surface layer, limiting ice accrual.

 

Rarely have I ever seen a significant icing event occur when the surface temp wasn't colder than 30F during the event, although granted the antecedent cold conditions are helping to keep the ground (and other surfaces) cold before this one.

 

While I totally agree with you about it being an eventual self limiting process, I do want to mention the December 2005 event which was almost totally in-situ driven. You can see from the obs that it was about an 6 hour event but it was still a fairly damaging ice storm well into SC. 

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KCLT/2005/12/15/DailyHistory.html

 

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Atlanta has had a good number of major and lengthy ZR's with the lowest near or even slightly above 30. I've researched numerous old icestorms in the area.

 

I'm referring to significant impacts with icy roads, downed trees, power outages and whatnot, rather than freezing rain by name only. I really find it hard to believe that you could get significant ice accrual with the surface temperature at only 31 or 32 degrees. I've never seen it myself. 

 

Also keep in mind that airport observations may not represent local effects, so just because ATL is reporting 32F doesn't mean that in the suburbs that's what the temperature actually is.

 

This page also explains it pretty well: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/210/

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I've noticed that trying to pinpoint exact location for damaging ice accural can be difficult. Literally have witnessed 1 to 2 miles being the difference between damaging ice to no ice whatsoever. Really think they're will be some surprises given how borderline the situation is.

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While I totally agree with you about it being an eventual self limiting process, I do want to mention the December 2005 event which was almost totally in-situ driven. You can see from the obs that it was about an 6 hour event but it was still a fairly damaging ice storm well into SC.

 

Yikes, please don't remind me of the 2005 Ice Storm - devasting around here:

 

Case Study from GSP

 

After the ice storm, the City of Greenville, along with Duke Power, began sponsoring a residential line conversion/"Weather the Storm" - my overhead lines are now buried...for free (paid with grants from the City of Greenville/Duke Power).

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Yikes, please don't remind me of the 2005 Ice Storm - devasting around here:

 

Case Study from GSP

 

After the ice storm, the City of Greenville, along with Duke Power, began sponsoring a residential line conversion/"Weather the Storm" - my overhead lines are now buried...for free (paid with grants from the City of Greenville/Duke Power).

 

Also known as the Larry Cosgrove "I hope you get an inch of ice" storm from the old board. I remember that hit GSP hard. 

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Could the higher resolution of the Euro and recently upgraded (last winter) GGEM be allowing them to sniff out the low-level in situ CAD more skillfully?  If there is a decent ice storm in the Piedmont or foothills of NC/SC/GA, that would be a pretty big win for the GGEM, which has been harping on that for a few days.

 

RAH now has light freezing rain accumulations in my forecast, so I'd have to think they'll be throwing out Winter Weather Advisories (or Freezing Rain Advisories?) later this afternoon for the western half of their forecast zone.

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