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2014-15 winter outlook


FLO

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HAHA.. true, can you imagine if HIgh Point had say Hartford's climate in the Winter??... :lmao:

 

I think one winter in the late 1980s (1987?) we got 40-50" of snow here.  I'd assume that's pretty much the upper bound of what's possible in the modern day climatic regime.  I guess that's about Hartford's average snowfall for a year.  Let's do it!  :weenie:

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For the record, I'm very excited about this upcoming winter and have high expectations.  I simply hope the STJ is very active to go along with the cold.  Brad P's winter outlook touched on that so I discussed.  Sorry if Debbie Downer'ed the discussion.  :poster_oops:

Hey, where is Brad's winter outlook? I've looked on his site and Facebook but can't find it?

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I think one winter in the late 1980s (1987?) we got 40-50" of snow here. I'd assume that's pretty much the upper bound of what's possible in the modern day climatic regime. I guess that's about Hartford's average snowfall for a year. Let's do it! :weenie:

I'm pretty certain GSO has never topped 40" and almost dead certain they haven't topped 30" since before 1972. Might have topped 20" once or twice in the past 40 years.

TW

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I'm pretty certain GSO has never topped 40" and almost dead certain they haven't topped 30" since before 1972. Might have topped 20" once or twice in the past 40 years.

TW

87 for sure approached 40" for GSO. I remember that winter. 87 is a viable analog for this winter too.

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87 for sure approached 40" for GSO. I remember that winter. 87 is a viable analog for this winter too.

 

Yeah, I want to say I read something about snow around 40" with closer to 50" in Reidsville.

 

That almost seems hard to believe, though.

 

This site claims 25"+ in February 1987 alone: http://weatherrecords.owlinc.org/WRsnowfallrecordspg4.html

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Yeah, I want to say I read something about snow around 40" with closer to 50" in Reidsville.

 

That almost seems hard to believe, though.

 

This site claims 25"+ in February 1987 alone: http://weatherrecords.owlinc.org/WRsnowfallrecordspg4.html

Interesting. But according to that page, GSP had a snowfall of 17.7 inches on Christmas of 1945, and a monthly record of 20 inches in March of 1915. The list posted by grit eater is from NOAA , which I have looked at many times, and this site does not agree. On the other hand, it seems to have the 1973 storm info correct. I wonder which is true for GSP.

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87 for sure approached 40" for GSO. I remember that winter. 87 is a viable analog for this winter too.

Pack,

I love reading your posts, but I think you're off on this one.  I've lived in GSO since '72 with the exception of 84-88 I was in Chapel Hill.  I remember a couple of decent winters while I was in Chapel Hill, but nothing to hit 40".  I did some digging around trying to find annual snowfall for GSO going back as far as possible, but really didn't find anything reliable.  I did find where '66 had 22".  I seemed to recall sometime in the last 100 years, GSO went over 30".  I just don't think we hit 40" in '87.  If so, I'd probably eat my shirt.  Let me know if you have a good source for that kind of data.

Thanks,

TW

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Actually, I might have finally found a resource.  Assuming the NCDC dataset is accurate, it looks like ~24" was officially recorded at KGSO in 1986-1987.

 

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets/ANNUAL/stations/COOP:313630/detail

 

The problem is,  just a few miles away the totals can be totally different. So it really is a record of that particular spot and nothing more.  The late Feb 04 storm is an example.  KGSO reported an 11" total for the month of Feb., about 6" of which fell on 2/27.  I am 12 miles to the south as the crow flies, and in that 2/27 storm had an officially measured 20".  We tend to put a bit to much emphasis on official records. Obviously they are important and all we have to go on historically.  But given the scarcity of recording stations, in the case of snowfall records, the chances of the official record snowfall in a state being accurate, be it single storm or seasonal, is essentially zero. 

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Was able to look over some data today in regards to the PDO and its trends. Right now, the PDO is a big big friend this upcoming winter. I went and looked back at the years that I used in my winter weather forecast, and there was not one year that had a PDO greater than our current reading (+1.28 for October).

 

Right now, it does not appear this is weakening at all. The colder anomalies south of Alaska faded slightly over the past 14 days; however, the warm temperature anomalies over the west coast have remained. With this very strong storm coming this week, one would expect ocean temperatures to fall just south of Alaska once again. If this pattern remains, this could lead to a stronger PDO signal in the month of November.

 

I went back, and this is the strongest positive reading for the PDO since January of 2003! It has been 10+ years since the PDO has been in such a favorable phase for colder than average temperatures in the southeast. Combine this with record snowfall in Russia and the potential negative AO phase, it is shaping up to be a wild winter in the southeast this year......

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Yet another prediction that suggests ice for our area. I'm not very excited about the idea of a lot of ice. Don't mind a minor ice event or two, but a lot of ice isn't much fun.

 

Agreed! I can do without the ice every time. Rather it be a cold rain at that point or nothing at all.

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From WFMY Greensboro.  A bit of a pessimistic view compared to many others.

 

 

 

GREENSBORO, NC --

Thursday The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released The 2014-2015 Winter Weather Outlook. Developing El Niño conditions, a globally affecting oceanic-atmospheric coupled phenomenon in the Tropical Pacific, may influence our winter weather.

 

Under these forecast El Niño conditions, most of the northern tier of the continental US is expected to be under mild winter conditions. On the contrary, most of the southeast is projected to see cooler than average temperatures. Above-average precipitation is also predicted across the southern Unites States and along the East coast.

 

Though most of the southeast is expected to be cooler than average, the majority of NC will have equal chances of seeing either above or below normal temperatures meaning that there is not enough evident indication to make a concrete prediction.

 

Wetter than than average conditions are expected in along the Southern U.S. states and up along the eastern seaboard. This includes the chance for the Triad to see more precipitation than normal. That being said, snowfall amounts are not necessarily expected to be greater than normal. Nevertheless, winter storms are certainly possible. The average annual snowfall in the Triad is around 9".

 

While there's always the possibility that the polar jet will bring down with it frigid Arctic air southward towards the US, no indication is pointing to a repeat of the prolonged brutally cold air that we saw last year.

 

 

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From WFMY Greensboro.  A bit of a pessimistic view compared to many others.

 

 

 

GREENSBORO, NC --

Thursday The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released The 2014-2015 Winter Weather Outlook. Developing El Niño conditions, a globally affecting oceanic-atmospheric coupled phenomenon in the Tropical Pacific, may influence our winter weather.

 

Under these forecast El Niño conditions, most of the northern tier of the continental US is expected to be under mild winter conditions. On the contrary, most of the southeast is projected to see cooler than average temperatures. Above-average precipitation is also predicted across the southern Unites States and along the East coast.

 

Though most of the southeast is expected to be cooler than average, the majority of NC will have equal chances of seeing either above or below normal temperatures meaning that there is not enough evident indication to make a concrete prediction.

 

Wetter than than average conditions are expected in along the Southern U.S. states and up along the eastern seaboard. This includes the chance for the Triad to see more precipitation than normal. That being said, snowfall amounts are not necessarily expected to be greater than normal. Nevertheless, winter storms are certainly possible. The average annual snowfall in the Triad is around 9".

 

While there's always the possibility that the polar jet will bring down with it frigid Arctic air southward towards the US, no indication is pointing to a repeat of the prolonged brutally cold air that we saw last year.

 

 

They just regurgitated what NOAA said. 

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