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Potential major winter storm - Feb 24-27


snowstormcanuck

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4 km Kuchera map has a foot in Valpo and about an inch at ORD.  Off the top of my head, can't remember that kind of spread between ORD and northwest Indiana in a synoptic event.

 

 

that would rule

 

and i bet that has happened the other way around (heck the november event came close)

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Almost becoming indisputable that the defo-zone should deliver a least a couple of inches for Toronto. Real question is the stuff along the warm front. NAM and EURO seem to line up the rain/snow divide right along the 0c 850 isotherm. Haven't seen the soundings but wouldn't be surprised to see the column isothermal. Also, with the occlusion forecasted to possibly happen earlier than previously anticipated, that should limit any mid level warming.

 

Tough forecast. Fractional degrees too cold and the front end could all be rain. Won't make a call yet because of that.

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A track over south central ohio is usually pretty good for nw ohio.........not this time lol.

 

The cold air doesn't wrap in until late and thus comes the backlash bailout hopes.

 

This season, almost every person in the sub has had at least one episode of "perfect track, sh*tty storm", welcome to the 2015-16 Garbage Winter club!

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IWX holding off til morning, makes sense given the uncertainty.

 

.SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT)
ISSUED AT 404 PM EST MON FEB 22 2016

OBVIOUS FOCUS IN THE SHORT TERM IS ON WINTER STORM SYSTEM FOR
WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. WHILE 12Z MODELS CONTINUED TO BE CLUSTERED
TOGETHER AND IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON SYNOPTIC SCALE...MANY DIFFERENCES
AND CONCERNS ON THE LOCAL SCALE WITH THERMAL PROFILES AND DYNAMIC
COOLING PROCESSES PLAYING A LARGE PART IN SNOWFALL
ACCUMS...ESPECIALLY WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING.

WATER VAPOR AND UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SHOWS STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET
DIGGING INTO BACKSIDE OF TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN CONUS TODAY. THIS
ENERGY WILL LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT OF AN UPPER LOW NEAR THE PANHANDLE
OF TEXAS TOMORROW. CLASSIC PANHANDLE HOOK LOW THEN EXPECTED WITH SFC
LOW INTENSIFYING AS IT MOVES INTO THE OHIO VALLEY WEDNESDAY AND INTO
THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. PREFERENCE FOR
THIS FORECAST CYCLE CONTINUES TO BE WITH ECMWF AND GFS WITH GFS USED
PRIMARILY IN THE LOCAL TOP DOWN PRECIPITATION METHOD. STILL TIME
FOR MODELS TO DO THEIR USUAL ADJUSTMENT NEXT FEW CYCLES SO
CONFIDENCE IN LOCAL DETAILS REMAIN LOW WHILE CONFIDENCE IN STORM
SYSTEM ITSELF IS HIGH.

MOISTURE WILL SPREAD NORTH TUESDAY NIGHT WITH THETA E ADVECTION
INCREASING AFTER 06Z IN THE SOUTH. WARM LAYER ALOFT AND SFC TEMPS
INDICATES PCPN TO BEGIN AS RAIN CHANGING TO A RAIN AND SNOW MIX AS
MOISTURE MOVES NORTH EARLY WED MORNING. THERMAL PROFILES DO
INDICATE A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN POSSIBLE AT ONSET WITH
EVAP COOLING PROCESSES AND TEMPS AROUND 32F. THIS LOOKS TO BE
SHORT LIVED WITH HIGHER RES GUIDANCE BRINING SFC TEMPS ABOVE
FREEZING. CONCERN THOUGH WITH STOUT LOW LEVEL NORTHEAST WIND
INCREASING THAT COLD AIR COULD GET LOCKED IN ACROSS THE NORTHEAST.
FOR NOW STAYED WITH RAIN OR SNOW MIX AND WILL SORT OUT DETAILS
WITH LATER PACKAGES.

NEXT FOCUS IS ON THERMAL PROFILES WEDNESDAY. SFC TEMPS WARM INTO MID
30S WITH TEMPS ALOFT ABOVE FREEZING OVER THE EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF
FORECAST AREA. PCPN TYPE REMAINS IN QUESTION WEDNESDAY FOR MUCH OF
THE AREA AND GFS TOP DOWN KEEPS PCPN MAINLY RAIN INTO WEDNESDAY
EVENING. DGZ DURING MUCH OF THIS EVENT IS RATHER HIGH AND AROUND
10KFT TO BEGIN WEDNESDAY WITH STRONGEST OMEGA FOCUSED BELOW THIS
LEVEL. THIS COULD HELP KEEP PCPN AS WET SNOW OR MIX WITH SMALL SNOW
TO LIQUID RATIOS AND LIMITED ACCUMS UNTIL WED NIGHT. USED A MODEL
BLEND FOR CENTRAL AND WEST WITH RAIN AND SNOW MIX BUT KEPT EASTERN
AREAS ALL RAIN. THUS AMOUNTS FOR NOW WERE KEPT ON THE LOW SIDE.
STRENGTH OF DYNAMIC COOLING AND THE BOUNDARY LAYER TEMPS WILL BE
CRITICAL IN FINAL DETERMINATION OF SNOW AMOUNTS WEDNESDAY. COLDER
AIR WILL THEN MOVE IN AND CHANGE PCPN TO ALL SNOW WEDNESDAY NIGHT
ALL AREAS. THIS PERIOD INTO THURSDAY WILL SEE BULK OF SNOW AND WIND.
WITH THIS STILL BEING A LATE 4TH PERIOD INTO 6TH PERIOD EVENT AND
CONCERNS WITH PCPN TYPE WEDNESDAY...OPTED TO SIDE WITH MOST
NEIGHBORS AND HOLD OFF ON ANY HEADLINES WITH THIS PACKAGE.

WINDS WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR DURING THIS EVENT AS WELL. RAPID
CYCLOGENESIS WILL LEAD TO STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT AND WINDS LATER
WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH 20 TO 30 MPH SUSTAINED AND
GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH POSSIBLE. WHILE WET SNOW IS
EXPECTED...SUCH STRONG WINDS WILL ALLOW FOR SOME BLOWING AND
DRIFTING NOT TO MENTION POSSIBLE POWER OUTAGES WITH WEIGHT OF

SNOW. 

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Almost becoming indisputable that the defo-zone should deliver a least a couple of inches for Toronto. Real question is the stuff along the warm front. NAM and EURO seem to line up the rain/snow divide right along the 0c 850 isotherm. Haven't seen the soundings but wouldn't be surprised to see the column isothermal. Also, with the occlusion forecasted to possibly happen earlier than previously anticipated, that should limit any mid level warming.

 

Tough forecast. Fractional degrees too cold and the front end could all be rain. Won't make a call yet because of that.

 

It's a tough forecast, but I don't see how Toronto scores big out of this.

 

Even if the track magically pans out, thermals will still be an issue. The warm air has little cold air to scour out. I predict a rather easy transition.

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DVN has introduced the potential for a snow shower or a flurry for the eastern cwa..

 

ENERGY IS CERTAINLY POURING
INTO THE SOUTHWEST ALOFT TODAY...WHICH WILL LIKELY CREATE A TIGHT
STRONG CYCLONE IN THE DEEP SOUTHERN STATES...HOWEVER...WITH
INITIAL ZONAL FLOW RATHER THAN RIDGING ALOFT EAST OF THAT
FEATURE...IT SEEMS VERY UNLIKELY TO AMPLIFY THE PATTERN QUICKLY
ENOUGH TO ALLOW A TRACK FAR ENOUGH NORTH TO IMPACT OUR CWA.
HOWEVER...YOU CAN`T COMPLETELY RULE OUT A SNOW SHOWER ON THE
NORTHWEST SIDE OF THIS LOW...AND A DRY FORECAST AT THIS POINT IS
NOT MEANT TO RULE OUT A FLURRY
.

 

Get the plows ready!!   :popcorn:

#suckage

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composite reflectivity scale for snow is maxed out on here...

attachicon.gifnam4kmFLT_prec_radar_048.gif

All in all, setup looks favorable for some 1-2" per hour rates in the heart of the band (as long as temps cooperate)

Regardless of of what the overall totals end up being...I'm thinking the areas that end up near the rain/snow border are locked for some hardcore plaster rippage. 700 mb VV and some steep (if shallow) mid level lapse rates look thundersnow-able to me.
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Thinking of blizzards that had wet snow and not drier snow that is more common, one that comes to mind is March 9, 1998...also a super Nino winter.  Temps did drop with time but there's a good stretch there of temps in the 30s with blizzard conditions.

 

obs from Gary:

 

post-14-0-78069600-1456177407_thumb.png

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4 km clobbers the northwestern tier of IN.  12 km has the axis farther south.

 

I noticed with the NAM is has some sort of pivot action in NW IN/southern end of the lake after 60 hours. Looks like the ULL. Orientation of the snow band is more W to E like the GEM.

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