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Capital Weather Gang - 2015-16 Winter Outlook


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Good job Matt. I liked the way you tied in the risks regarding snowfall. Specifics like big snow storms (which are statistically uncommon in any given year) and how they can affect the outcome is duly noted. If we beat climo again it won't likely be achieved the same way as last year with an unusually high # of events. 

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Quality and fair discussion.  I won't read it as a "forecast," per se since you definitely couched it in terms of low confidence, which is very smart this year.  That's just a personal thing, though.  I definitely think it's a good basis from which to project out.

 

I completely agree that we could have a pretty blah winter if we don't get the timing right and if the Pacific and/or Atlantic don't want to cooperate.  However, if we get favorable periods of both, then we should have decent chances for snow since the STJ should be providing plenty of moisture to take advantage of them.

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That's a great job...  I was most surprised to see the positive temp variance prediction all the way through Feb, as a lot of folks are going ++Dec, +Jan and then norm to - in Feb, but we'll take what we can get if it, especially if it includes a paste bomb before a warm up!

 

ETA: Also, I hope you're wrong, I don't want to waste my Snowshoe reservations late December on tanning...

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1877-78 as an analog? Is that correct or did you mean 100 years later?

Thanks as ever for the informative read and the time and effort you put into this. Maybe this is finally the year I buy a snowblower and not feel guilty if it rains all year as a consequence. I can blame elnino.

1877-78 is considered a super nino so figured he must have meant that. At least that was my take.
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1877-78 as an analog?  Is that correct or did you mean 100 years later?

 

Thanks as ever for the informative read and the time and effort you put into this.  Maybe this is finally the year I buy a snowblower and not feel guilty if it rains all year as a consequence.  I can blame elnino.  

 

According to this paper (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joc.2336/full) 1877-78 was a strong El Nino but idk what the snowfall totals were (don't have data back that far). Most (but not all) of the pre-1950 ones listed there as strong El Ninos suck for snow though (at least in Baltimore).

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According to this paper (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joc.2336/full) 1877-78 was a strong El Nino but idk what the snowfall totals were (don't have data back that far). Most (but not all) of the pre-1950 ones listed there as strong El Ninos suck for snow though (at least in Baltimore).

I also could not immediately find a snow total for the mid-Atlantic region in 1877-78.  However, I found a mention of 8.1 inches that season for New York City.  

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Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

 

 

That's a great job...  I was most surprised to see the positive temp variance prediction all the way through Feb, as a lot of folks are going ++Dec, +Jan and then norm to - in Feb, but we'll take what we can get if it, especially if it includes a paste bomb before a warm up!

 

ETA: Also, I hope you're wrong, I don't want to waste my Snowshoe reservations late December on tanning...

 

I could see Feb being below, especially if we get an extended -AO period..I'm not really banking on the PAC to be very helpful...at best not hostile, but I could be wrong

 

 

1877-78 as an analog?  Is that correct or did you mean 100 years later?

 

Thanks as ever for the informative read and the time and effort you put into this.  Maybe this is finally the year I buy a snowblower and not feel guilty if it rains all year as a consequence.  I can blame elnino.  

 

Yes, 1877.  Take reconstructed data with a grain of salt, but likely a +PDO/Strong Nino.....There were some other factors that were attractive too, but I didn't rely heavily on any of my analogs

 

I also could not immediately find a snow total for the mid-Atlantic region in 1877-78.  However, I found a mention of 8.1 inches that season for New York City.  

 

I used the NYC figure to guestimate snow for DC...of course that is super dangerous..could be anything...I figured maybe 10", but weighted it very little other than drawing the conclusion that it likely wasn't a snowy winter for the mid atl and northeast

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I was curious so I looked up 1877-78 since I know nothing about it. I have no snow data but... good lord, what a torch for BWI/Baltimore:

 

Dec. was tied for 5th hottest (+7.1) 

Jan. was +2

Feb. was +4.6

Mar. was tied for 10th hottest (+5.6)

DJF tied for 14th hottest

I have a feeling this might be the hottest DJFM period ever but I'd have to do some fiddling around with the spreadsheet.

 

This is an old site, but it calls 1877-78 Minnesota's "year without a winter" and compares it with 1997-98, so maybe the torch was nationwide:


 

Edit: Its 8th hottest DJFM- 1931-32 takes the top prize, followed by 2011-12.

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Here's a loop from that event linked above in 1877/1878. Looks like 30s and/or 40s and rain--maybe some snow but DC/Balt only had lows of 35 on the 30th. No high in best spot but nice 500/sfc. Would probably be painful.

 

ptFJZrC.gif

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Here's a loop from that event linked above in 1877/1878. Looks like 30s and/or 40s and rain--maybe some snow but DC/Balt only had lows of 35 on the 30th. No high in best spot but nice 500/sfc. Would probably be painful.

 

 

0.67" on 1/4/1878 with a 36/22 temp spread and the following mins are very cold, which might indicate snowcover (low of 0 on the 8th).

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0.67" on 1/4/1878 with a 36/22 temp spread and the following mins are very cold, which might indicate snowcover (low of 0 on the 8th).

So at least it can snow. Except temps are probably warmer now. ;)
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0.67" on 1/4/1878 with a 36/22 temp spread and the following mins are very cold, which might indicate snowcover (low of 0 on the 8th).

There was also 1.26 inches of precipitation in DC in 1878 on 1/31-2/1, with a temperature range of 26-39.  Perhaps a mix of rain and snow.  Aside from that storm, the one Ian mentioned, and the one you mentioned, looks like little likelihood of any significant snow that winter, given the warm temperatures.  Of course, that was also true of 1982-83 -- only three snowstorms and yet 27.6 inches of snow at DCA. 

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I was curious so I looked up 1877-78 since I know nothing about it. I have no snow data but... good lord, what a torch for BWI/Baltimore:
 
Dec. was tied for 5th hottest (+7.1) 
Jan. was +2
Feb. was +4.6
Mar. was tied for 10th hottest (+5.6)
DJF tied for 14th hottest
I have a feeling this might be the hottest DJFM period ever but I'd have to do some fiddling around with the spreadsheet.
 
This is an old site, but it calls 1877-78 Minnesota's "year without a winter" and compares it with 1997-98, so maybe the torch was nationwide:
 
Edit: Its 8th hottest DJFM- 1931-32 takes the top prize, followed by 2011-12.

 

 

hmmmm....DJF wasn't that much of a blowtorch for DC...+0.2 based on 81-2010 norms so probably like a +2 to +3 once I filter it through my super duper DCA translator (plus you can look at max/min anomalies and get a sense)...Kind of curious if the new sensor at DCA will cool things down a bit this winter...I kind of doubt it...

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