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March 3-4th Winter Storm Potential


OntarioChaser

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Downturn continues in precip production for eastern IA/northern IL.  Many models now well under 0.25".  Looks like a 2-4hr period of precip, and then just a lot of drizzle/frizzle the rest of the day lol.  Good news for snow pack lovers is there won't be any heavy rain eating away at the snow on the ground.  

 

This is the complete opposite of the GHDII storm in that it keeps trending more and more wimpy with every succeeding model run.

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System looks like it has slowed down from last night. Though not much, precip is setback here to start at 7am instead of 5-6am. Was hoping for a longer period of snow/sleet mix, which would help things stay cool for ice later on. Now that is looking sketchy. Really going to stink driving to school/work tomorrow, regardless.

 

If it does start around 7, it would make close calls for some schools around here. Roads are bad enough today as it is. 

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We'll enjoy rain later this week. But for now, we're T-minus 15 hrs to the start of the event and no one really has any idea how much snow we're going to get. I love it.

 

A general 2-4" for the metro seems reasonable but may be too high. St. Cloud to Duluth will likely jackpot. We may rip for a time around 15z, otherwise forcing looks lackluster. Just not feeling it.

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Here is the 20z run now. 

 

It's doing a fairly decent job on current temps across northern IL, a little too warm far west and slightly too cold closer to the lake. 

 

By 11z tomorrow it has temps in the low to mid 20's across the area, 24 at ORD/MDW and dews in the upper teens to low 20's. 

 

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LOT

 

S MENTIONED IN THE EARLIER UPDATE... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY  
WAS ISSUED FOR THE ENTIRE AREA EARLIER IN THE SHIFT FOR LATE  
TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. MODELS ARE STILL SHOWING  
PRECIPITATION BEGINNING AS SNOW NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80...AND SOME  
FORM OF SNOW...SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN IN THE FAR SOUTH. IT COULD  
BE A PRETTY GOOD BURST OF WET SNOW INITIALLY BEFORE THE TRANSITION  
BEGINS.  

 
A WARM FRONT WILL LIFT THROUGH THE AREA DURING THE MORNING HOURS.  
THIS IS THE PERIOD WHERE MODELS A SHOWING A MORE SIGNIFICANT PUSH  
OF PRECIPITATION. WE ARE COMING OUT OF A PRETTY COLD AIR  
MASS..AND DEWPOINTS ARE STILL VERY LOW ACROSS THE AREA...WITH  
DEWPOINTS ABOVE FREEZING NOT VERY CLOSE. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO  
REMAIN BELOW FREEZING THROUGH AT LEAST MID MORNING AREA WIDE.  
MODEST PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES IN EXCESS OF 0.75 INCHES COUPLED  
WITH A 35-40 KT LOW LEVEL JET FEEDING INTO THE LOW LEVEL FRONTAL  
ZONE WOULD SUGGEST MODEST PRECIPITATION RATES DURING THIS TIME WHEN  
THE LOW LEVEL (925-850 MB) TEMPERATURES ARE HEADING ABOVE  
FREEZING. SOME OF THE RECENT NAM/GFS WAS SLIGHTLY COOLER IN THE  
THERMAL PROFILE FOR THIS PERIOD SUGGESTING THAT SNOW/SLEET MAY  
DOMINATE...ESPECIALLY FOR THE NORTHERN METRO AREA AND POINTS NORTH

TOWARD WISCONSIN... AND IF PRECIPITATION RATES CONTINUE A BIT  
HEAVIER THIS MAY SLOW THE LOW LEVEL WARMING. BUT THE SIGNAL IS  
STILL THERE FOR A SNOW-SLEET-FZRA TRANSITION AND ICE ACCUMULATION POTENTIAL.  

 
WHERE THE UNCERTAINTIES REMAIN IS IN REGARDS TO HOW MUCH ICE  
ACCUMULATION WILL OCCUR AND HOW FAR NORTH THE IMPACTS ARE FELT. ICE IS  
EXPECTED TO BE THE LEAST NORTH TOWARDS WISCONSIN AND IN THE  
ROCKFORD AREA WHERE IT MAY JUST BE AN ALL SNOW/SLEET SITUATION  
WHERE ADVISORY CRITERIA MAY NOT BE TECHNICALLY SATISFIED. GIVEN  
THE UNCERTAINTY AND THE RUSH-HOUR TIME...FEEL IT IS THE SAFER CALL  
WITH SOME SNOW/SLEET AS WELL. AND IN NW INDIANA...THE BETTER  
MOISTURE ADVECTION IS FOCUSED HERE WHERE THERE IS HIGHER POTENTIAL  
FOR ICE ACCUMULATION...BUT IT WILL BE A RACE AGAINST SURFACE TEMPS  
AS WELL WHICH LOOK TO WARM THROUGH THE MORNING. AS MENTIONED  
EARLIER...MEANWHILE...THE ECMWF/GEM ARE MORE SUPPORTIVE OF A  
SNOW/SLEET SOLUTION IN MANY AREAS
...ESPECIALLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE  
80. IT LOOKS LIKE THE TRANSITION TIME FOR MIXED PRECIPITATION  
SOUTH OF I-80 WILL OCCUR BEFORE DAYBREAK BASED ON THE NAM AND  
EARLY LOOKS AT THE RAP CLOSE TO THAT TIME FRAME. IT WOULD LIKELY  
BE AFTER 6-7 AM WHEN THAT TRANSITION OCCURS IN THE METRO  
AREA...BUT CONFIDENCE ON THAT TIMING IS NOT SUPER HIGH.  

 

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