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Pittsburgh, PA Thread: Winter 2015-2016


meatwad

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There is a lot of moisture down there for sure, guess we'll find out soon enough how strong the dry air is in comparison.  I'm sticking with the trend so far this winter, even if it has been for only minor events, of over-performance.  There is a lot going on with this storm.

 

I'd love to be able to compare it to 1996, but I don't know how the two storms behaved relative to one another.  I was only 9 at the time that storm hit, not like I was tracking models or forecasting.  Of course we didn't have these kinds of resources back then, either, so it would probably take a met who was forecasting at that time to explain any differences and similarities.

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If the low does slide over the Chesapeake that's about as good as it could get for Western PA.

 

Regardless this run would destroy the major cities on the coast.

Definitely. It's hard to put much stock seeing as how the Pro's are not even considering it. I guess if its over doing the LLJ off the Atlantic that would be the reason it's showing the higher totals move north since there is more moisture to fight off dry air pouring in from the NE. Given the Euro \ UKMET were better for us though that does give some validity though that creeping north another 50 miles isn't out of the question. I remember as a kid seeing forecasts for snow only to start hearing the ping ping of sleet, of course modeling is much better now.

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For Mr. Wilson and some Pgh info too

 

..CRIPPLING WINTER STORM AHEAD FOR NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND
WESTERN MARYLAND...

ALL EYES TURN SOUTHWESTWARD TO THE MAIN EVENT THIS
EVENING...WHICH HAS BEEN ADVERTISED IN ALL MODEL AND ENSEMBLE
SOLUTIONS FOR MANY DAYS...A DEEPENING AND RAPIDLY MATURING UPPER
LEVEL SYSTEM CURRENTLY CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND
READYING TO ROUND THE BASE OF THE UPPER TROUGH AND EJECT INTO THE
MIDDLE ATLANTIC.

MODEL AND ENSEMBLE TRENDS HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY STEADY OVER THE
PAST SEVERAL CYCLES WITH ONLY A MINUTE NORTHWARD JOG IN TERMS OF
THE NORTHERN PERIPHERY OF THE NORTHWEST SIDE DEFORMATION BAND
RELATIVE TO PREVIOUS GUIDANCE. IT STILL SEEMS BASED UPON GOOD
RUN-TO-RUN CONSISTENCY OF THE SREF AND GFS THAT THE BEST
DEFORMATION ASCENT WILL TRANSIT A CORRIDOR FROM FAIRMONT TO
UNIONTOWN AND SOUTHWARD. THIS IS THE LOCATION WHERE QPF HAS
CONSISTENTLY BEEN FORECAST TO BE THE HIGHEST...DEFORMATION
MAXIMIZED...MOIST ADIABATIC ASCENT INTO THE TROWAL IS
MAXIMIZED...AND A HIGHLY CURVED UPPER JET STREAM IS FORCING
INCREASING UPWARD AGEOSTROPHIC MOTION. THAT SAID...IT SEEMS THIS
AFOREMENTIONED CORRIDOR IS WHERE SNOW AMOUNTS COULD RATIONALLY GET
OUT OF HAND. THIS IS NOT HYPE. THIS IS THE REAL DEAL.


BUILDING SNOW TOTALS BASED UPON SNOW-TO-LIQUID RATIOS GENERALLY ON
THE ORDER OF 10-12:1...WHICH ARE ACTUALLY BELOW CLIMO...STILL
FAVORS IN EXCESS OF A FOOT OF SNOW OVER THE ENTIRETY OF THE AREA
FROM FAIRMONT TO UNIONTOWN AND SOUTH. WITH ATLANTIC MOISTURE
FEEDING RIGHT INTO THIS DEFORMATION ZONE AND OROGRAPHIC ASCENT
COMING INTO PLAY DURING THE HEART AND BACK END OF THE EVENT...THE
RIDGES WILL LIKELY DO EVEN BETTER. WIDESPREAD 18 TO 24 INCH
AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED THERE...AND AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF 2 FEET ARE
LIKELY IN PORTIONS OF TUCKER COUNTY. SHOULD THE DEFORMATION BAND
LINGER IN ANY LOCATION FOR MORE THAN A DAY OVER THE
RIDGES...AMOUNTS OF 30 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE.


IN ADDITION TO THE SNOWFALL...MODEL SOUNDINGS SUGGEST MIXING
POTENTIAL OF 35 MPH GUSTS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN DUE TO BOUNDARY
LAYER INSTABILITY AND STRONG SHEAR THROUGH THE LAYER. THIS WILL
MEAN BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW WILL INCREASE RAPIDLY OVERNIGHT
TONIGHT...YIELDING LOCAL VISIBILITIES NEAR ZERO. IF YOU CHOOSE TO
GO OUT IN THIS...YOU WILL LIKELY BECOME STRANDED WITH LITTLE HOPE
OF RESCUE FOR CONSIDERABLE TIME.

TO THE NORTH...DEFORMATION LIFT WILL BE WORKING TO OVERCOME A
STIFF NORTHEASTERLY FEED OF DRY AIR. THE GRADIENT OF QPF STILL
LOOKS TO EXTEND FROM JUST SOUTH OF ZANESVILLE...THROUGH
WHEELING...PITTSBURGH...AND INDIANA. FOR THIS
REASON...ACCUMULATIONS WILL LIKELY BE ONLY ON THE ORDER OF 1 TO 3
INCHES NORTH OF THESE CITIES...WHILE JUST SOUTH RUN QUICKLY TOWARD

4 TO 7 INCHES OR MORE. PLEASE REFER TO THE GRAPHICAL FORECASTS FOR
THE LATEST INFORMATION. HERE TOO...BLOWING AND DRIFTING WILL BE
POSSIBLE...THOUGH GUSTS WILL LIKELY STAY DOWN TOWARD 30 MPH.

DEFORMATION ASCENT PEELS EASTWARD ON SATURDAY AND LOW LEVEL FLOW
TURNS NORTHWEST QUICKLY THEREAFTER. THIS WILL BRING DRIER AIR IN
THE LOWER ELEVATIONS AND ALLOW FOR CLOUDS TO SCATTER OUT WITH
STRONG COLD ADVECTION. THIS WILL BRING BOUNDARY LAYER TEMPERATURES
QUICKLY DOWN TOWARD -12 TO -15C. UNFORTUNATELY...NORTHWESTERLY
FLOW EVEN WITH WEAK AND SHALLOW INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE WITH
BOUNDARY LAYER TEMPERATURES SMACK DAB IN THE DENDRITIC GROWTH
REGION MEANS VERY EFFICIENT SNOW SHOWERS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE INTO
SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE RIDGES. THIS WILL MEAN A POWDERY COUPLE OF
INCHES ON TOP OF THE MAMMOTH SNOW THAT WILL HAVE ALREADY FALLEN.

WITH COLD ADVECTION AND DRIER AIR MOVING IN SATURDAY
NIGHT...TEMPERATURES WILL PLUMMET AS WELL. LOWS IN SOME LOCATIONS
THAT CLEAR OUT AND HAVE WINDS DROP OFF WILL LIKELY CHALLENGE 0F.
THIS WILL ONLY WORK TO HAMPER SNOW CLEAN UP EFFORTS THROUGH THE
WEEKEND. FRIES

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My wife said it started snowing in the Charleston area 9:30. I talked to another person in Charleston and the streets in town are messed up already.

Thanks.  The NWS uses the Yeager airport and is still showing as overcast. Now that I look it says at 8:54 am... Need a new site for current obs.. :)

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GFS is HORRIFIC for everybody, even places like Morgantown, Brownsville, and Uniontown look like they would struggle to hit more than 8 inches.

Us...we might get 2.

it's not a good sign but we are within 24 hrs. Gfs is not what we should be looking at.
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