Jump to content
  • Member Statistics

    17,607
    Total Members
    7,904
    Most Online
    ArlyDude
    Newest Member
    ArlyDude
    Joined

1/13, 1/14 - Freezing rain threat


packfan98

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 837
  • Created
  • Last Reply

  1.  

    Allan Huffman ‏@RaleighWx  5 minutes agoWe may see sleet more widespread than originally thought across northern piedmont which could cut down on ice accrual.

    1.  

      Right now that is just speculation, but the subfreezing layer is looking a little deeper than modeled in looking at some aircraft soundings.

       

       

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

  1.  
    Allan Huffman ‏@RaleighWx  5 minutes agoWe may see sleet more widespread than originally thought across northern piedmont which could cut down on ice accrual.
    1.  

      Right now that is just speculation, but the subfreezing layer is looking a little deeper than modeled in looking at some aircraft soundings.

       
       

 

 

 

Central NC Weather ‏@CentralNC_WX 9m9 minutes ago

@RaleighWx On the other hand, could just result in more supercooled rain droplets and enhance ice accrual - tough call. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm very much a newb at this stuff, but SREFs for RDU show 0.4" mean with 8 above, 11 below. Nearly all the below fall between .2" and .4" while most of the ones above are 0.6" to 1". Nearly all of it is shows as ZR (some IP). Is SREF out dated these days? Or otherwise, why wouldn't you have a consensus forecast a bit higher than the 0.1-0.25" predictions?

 

There are a couple of factors as to why only looking at model QPF to determine icing amounts is not a good idea. The first is that with CAD setups we always lose some of the QPF due to evaporation. With our current setup with saturation in place, I don't expect this to be as dramatic as usual but drier air is coming. I would bank on losing about 0.05" of the model QPF to evaporation.

 

The second factor is that you don't get 100% ice accrual rates until temperatures drop into the mid 20s. When temperatures are above that some the rain that falls runs off before it is able to freeze. The forecast right now calls for near freezing temperatures at the start of the precipitation so we will lose even more of the model QPF to runoff. I would say count on losing about 0.1" of the QPF for this reason. This number could be more or less depending on how far temperatures are able to drop.

 

Finally, rate of precipitation can influence how much ice accretes. During times of heavier freezing rain, the actual amount of ice accrual is much less than 100% due to the large amounts of latent heat released. So if there are any convectively enhanced periods of precipitation, expect the actual icing totals to be reduced even further than the model forecasted QPF.

 

When weather forecasting you must remember that the models are a very good tool. But you need to consider all factors before you make a forecasting decision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Who liked to argue with himself then asked to be banned....several times   :lol:

He was a strange one. I pictured him standing in front of his computer wearing ruby colored shoes and clicking his heels together three time while saying, "I want to get banned, I want to get banned, I want to get banned".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

NWS discussion looking to expand the frozen precip and warnings westward:

 

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1253 PM EST TUE JAN 13 2015

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
1245 PM...STILL EVALUATING THE LATEST GUIDANCE FOR THE FREEZING RAIN
AND WINTRY MIX POTENTIAL TONIGHT. SEVERAL OBS IN AVERY COUNTY ARE
ALREADY BELOW FREEZING...WHILE THE AREA RADARS SHOW EXPANSIVE LIGHT
RETURNS (RA/DZ). SO MAY NEED TO EXPAND THE WINTER HAZARDS WEST TO
THE NC NRN BLUE RIDGE DUE TO FREEZING DRIZZLE. WILL HAVE THE NEXT
UPDATE OUT BY 300 PM.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick question.... do the models take into account all the drizzle we are getting into their qpf totals? Here at the office it is has been a heavy drizzle all morning and continues. I'd imagine this type would be the best at accumulating once we get below freezing as it doesn't run off quickly. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick question.... do the models take into account all the drizzle we are getting into their qpf totals? Here at the office it is has been a heavy drizzle all morning and continues. I'd imagine this type would be the best at accumulating once we get below freezing as it doesn't run off quickly.

Just my opinion, but I don't consider the model's precip totals to be accurate enough to where a few hours of drizzle would make much of a difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...