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January 2019 General Discussion & Observations


Rtd208

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2 minutes ago, bluewave said:

Another reason to be cautious about GFS solutions right now.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/01/07/national-weather-service-is-open-your-forecast-is-worse-because-shutdown/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d23be43c6907

But in the meantime, the current Global Forecast System — or the GFS — the United States' premier weather model, is running poorly, and there’s no one on duty to fix it.

“There was a dropout in the scores for all of the systems on Dec. 25,” Saha said of the scoring system used to rank how the forecast models are performing. “All of the models recovered, except for the GFS, which is still running at the bottom of the pack.” Not only does that mean the day-to-day weather forecast is worse, she said, it is also a national security risk.

Saha thinks it has to do with the data format. The model brings in data from all over the world, from dozens of different countries that are now standardizing the format to adhere to new regulations. The Environmental Modeling Center was working to adjust for the new formats when the shutdown started. Saha said that even though the Weather Service is getting the data, the GFS doesn’t recognize the format, so it can’t use it. And a model forecast is only as good as its input data.

S“Once the GFS scores start to go bad, it impacts everything,” Saha said. Transportation, the energy sector, national security, agriculture, the stock market, extreme weather. There are about 50 full-time federal employees at EMC and 150 contractors. Only one person is working during the shutdown, she said — a manager who does not work on data or the models. “Things are going to break, and that really worries me because this is our job. We are supposed to improve our weather forecasts, not deteriorate them.”

 

You would think that those employees would be considered essential personnel.

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As of 6 pm, today's high temperature was 32°. The first week of January had a mean temperature of 40.0° in New York City. That is the 23rd warmest first week on record in New York City. Records go back to 1869.

Beginning in 2000, there have been four prior cases where the first week of the month averaged 39.0° or above: 2000, 2004, 2005, and 2007. The second half of January (January 16-31) had the following mean temperatures for those cases: 2000: 22.7°, 2004: 21.2°, 2005: 21.1°, and 2007: 29.2°. If January 16-31, 2019 has a mean temperature that matches the 2007 figure, the January anomaly for New York City would likely finish just below the normal figure of 32.6° for the month. Thus, despite early warmth to start the month, the forthcoming pattern change could lead to the month's being colder than normal as a whole.

The SOI was -4.33 today. It has now been negative for 8 consecutive days. The last time the SOI was negative for 8 or more consecutive days was September 18 through October 3, 2018, a stretch of 16 consecutive days.

On January 6, the MJO moved into Phase 8 with an amplitude of 2.508 (RMM). That amplitude was higher than the January 5-adjusted figure of 2.444. The MJO's progression has accelerated in recent days. However, both the dynamical and statistical guidance suggests that the MJO's progression will likely slow as it moves through Phase 8.

Beyond Phase 8, the MJO forecast becomes more muddled. The EPS rapidly takes it to phase 5, mainly at a low amplitude by January 21. The GEFS takes it to a low amplitude and then loops it back into Phase 7. Based on a blend of the guidance, the baseline scenario is that the MJO would gradually move through Phase 8 at a high but lowering amplitude. It would then move into Phase 1. As that happens, the AO could have some positive fluctuations before it returns to mainly negative values. The development of a sustained pattern change to colder weather remains unchanged.

The risk of a moderate (4" or more) or significant (6" or more) snowfall is increasing. Based on the forecast teleconnections, the January 10-24 period will see an above to much above average statistical probability of measurable snow.

Statistically, much of the second half of December and opening of January was in the lower third for the teleconnections. Just a trace of snow was recorded during that time. Last winter, just 2% of seasonal snowfall accumulated during similar statistical periods. Already, several shortwaves in the January 13-15 and January 19-22 period continue to bear watching.

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4 hours ago, Snow88 said:

That's not true

But in the meantime, the current Global Forecast System — or the GFS — the United States' premier weather model, is running poorly, and there’s no one on duty to fix it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/01/07/national-weather-service-is-open-your-forecast-is-worse-because-shutdown/?utm_term=.f23487e545b1

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7 minutes ago, Snow88 said:

Nice snowfall on the gfs and cmc for NYC southward with less amounts north of the city.

 

Would love to see the Euro on board tonight.

Regardless I think the tellies look pretty good for a storm. MJO should be at phase 8/1. Neutral NAO, AO dip, rising PNA. 

Nice cold banana high as well. The biggest question mark is whether or not the confluence will be too strong.

Could still end up being a Mid-Atlantic hit with more fringe effects around NYC.

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4 minutes ago, Rjay said:

I rarely do.

Euro/Ukie > GFS/CMC.   It's a good rule to live by. 

But as for this storm, we'll see.  

this far out its a toss up IMO - but the GFS being "broken" as reported by some is questionable since its similar to the CMC.

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Positive trends so far tonight, as the confluence is setting up further north on the models. GFS in particular showing the potential for quite an overrunning event. Would love to get the Euro or Ukie on board.

As for the GFS accuracy, I don't think it's wise to trash it as long as there support from other models (CMC, JMA).

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1 hour ago, NEG NAO said:

this far out its a toss up IMO - but the GFS being "broken" as reported by some is questionable since its similar to the CMC.

 

35 minutes ago, Gravity Wave said:

Positive trends so far tonight, as the confluence is setting up further north on the models. GFS in particular showing the potential for quite an overrunning event. Would love to get the Euro or Ukie on board.

As for the GFS accuracy, I don't think it's wise to trash it as long as there support from other models (CMC, JMA).

 

ecmwf_slp_precip_ma_24.png

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19 hours ago, bluewave said:

Closer to normal lows in the 20’s actually feel cold this morning. This was only the 2nd time on record that NYC didn’t drop below 30 degrees from Dec 20 to Jan 6.

1 2007-01-06 33 0
2 2019-01-06 31 0

the 06-07 analog is not one I would want to repeat, but right now the 06-07 and 12-13 seasons are the closest matches in terms of actual weather conditions up to now.

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5 minutes ago, Snow88 said:

Gfs is really squashed

It's funny how every threat so far since November has been rain or squashed.

We can't get lucky at all

Meh, could just be an off run. I'll be concerned if it shows the same at 12z. Meanwhile Euro continues to show incremental improvements each run despite being shredded out. Bottomline no one should keep their guard down with this threat.

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16 minutes ago, NutleyBlizzard said:

Meh, could just be an off run. I'll be concerned if it shows the same at 12z. Meanwhile Euro continues to show incremental improvements each run despite being shredded out. Bottomline no one should keep their guard down with this threat.

I don’t think the systems (northern stream and E Pacific storm) are over land yet. Let’s see if better sampling changes anything when they do come closer.

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42 minutes ago, Snow88 said:

Gfs is really squashed

It's funny how every threat so far since November has been rain or squashed.

We can't get lucky at all

...yeah..i have my doubts re: sunday..to be honest more intrigued with the 

pattern going forward..alot of signs pointing to a great 2nd half of january..but

in the mean time we track sunday..would be nice to see it snowing here and

in foxboro,ma as the LA/SD chargers beat the patriots.

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