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1/5/14 thru 1/6/14 event


Mikehobbyst

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It's pretty neat how long near or sub freezing air has held out in some places.  But it won't for long...we are surrounded.  It is 63 in Salisbury, MD and 42 at Saranac Lake as of 11PM.  Eroding bubbles of cooler air scattered all around the northeast in a warm environment.

 

When the warm air does move in, it is sudden.

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It's pretty neat how long near or sub freezing air has held out in some places. But it won't for long...we are surrounded. It is 63 in Salisbury, MD and 42 at Saranac Lake as of 11PM. Eroding bubbles of cooler air scattered all around the northeast in a warm environment.

When the warm air does move in, it is sudden.

Pockets in north central nj still holding onto 30s..even though its milder in every direction..I'm still at 37 but I'll probably be in the mid 40s in an hour
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You are correct.  I'd be amazed if more than 33% of the frozen snowpack is lost today into tomorrow - which is not to say that the snow depth might not shrink by more than 33%, but that will largely be due to compaction, as the ZR and rain will be largely absorbed by the snowpack, collapsing the low bulk density structure of the original snowpack.  18-24 hours above freezing and 0.25-0.50" of rain at this time of year (low sun angle still) will not eliminate most or even half of a 7-10" snowpack (as very little melted/sublimated since Friday given the very cold temps).  Was very similar on 12/14, as we had 12-24 hrs above freezing and with maybe 0.5" of rain falling into 5-6" of snowpack  and most of the snowpack survived and froze solid and lasted most of the next week until the record warmth.

Well, I didn't expect it to get into the upper 50s for 12 or more hours - that'll kill a snowpack really fast (temp is the most important variable in melting - temps being about 15-20F warmer than I expected or about 10C would lead to a doubling in melting rate, assuming Arrhenius kinetics).  Snowpack is down by at least half and going fast. 

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