Jump to content
  • Member Statistics

    17,600
    Total Members
    7,904
    Most Online
    ArlyDude
    Newest Member
    ArlyDude
    Joined

Western Pa / Pittsburgh area Winter Discussion ❄️☃️


north pgh
 Share

Recommended Posts

34 minutes ago, OutnOakmont said:

I'm confused about the HRRR right now, too. I use pivotal weather and it did look pretty bleak. Is it because the latest run only goes up to 18 hours? Do other sites give more data? Sorry if that's a dumb question! 

It only goes out to 18 but it is also done snowing in the model by then also.

the RAP is not nearly as bad though and is pretty solidly 6-8 inches. 
 

I still think this has massive bust potential given that a 25-50 mile shift is going to be the difference between ten inches and 3.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 6z euro continues the trend of cutting back...kuchera totals are 7-8 inches in AGC (had been over 10 forever) and that means 10:1 are likely closer to 6. 
 

given how bad the HRRR is I just don’t think this event is going to go well give how everything has been trending. Plus, Climo...it always wins out here.

edit: just saw the euro qpf map...about .6-.7 inches from west to East in the county. 
 

have to hope at this point that we get lucky to get under good banding...otherwise I’ll be really happy if I just get 6 inches or more. Sticking with my 2-4...maybe 3-5.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, KPITSnow said:

The 6z euro continues the trend of cutting back...kuchera totals are 7-8 inches in AGC (had been over 10 forever) and that means 10:1 are likely closer to 6. 
 

given how bad the HRRR is I just don’t think this event is going to go well give how everything has been trending. Plus, Climo...it always wins out here.

It is tough to gauge these maps with various snow algorithms when trying to ascertain what has changed one run to another etc. Here is 6z Euro total qpf. Looks like Allegheny ranges from about .6 - .8 from east to west across the county. Obviously snow growth / ratios will determine what that equates to on the ground  but seems pretty reasonable imho the city should end up with around 6-7 inches.  GFS is a tenth or so less .5-.7 across the county and the 3k NAM is probably right in the middle of the two. If this holds for 12z runs we are game on.

The trend we saw in my opinion had a little bit to do with both the storm moving a bit SE and the models coming down to earth on qpf amounts due to getting a better handle on where the CCB sets up, which they  all tend to be high at range. I personally never bought into any of those maps showing 10+, for something like that we really need the closed low feature. I think that was one of Joe Denardo's rules of thumb for big snows for our area, if you aren't on the northern periphery of a closed 700mb low be very careful forecasting big snows.

0E026F03-A2FF-4BB6-BF5D-A6DE5D3A319E.png.0bdc75f3dae35642348ec9faed876728.png

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, blackngoldrules said:

Winter Storm Warning

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 315 AM EST Wed Dec 16 2020
PAZ014>016-021-022-029-031-073-075-WVZ021-509-161615- /O.CON.KPBZ.WS.W.0004.201216T1200Z-201217T1200Z/ Butler-Clarion-Jefferson PA-Allegheny-Armstrong-Washington-Greene- Westmoreland-Fayette-Marion-Monongalia- Including the cities of Butler, Clarion, Punxsutawney, Brookville, Pittsburgh Metro Area, Kittanning, Ford City, Washington, Canonsburg, Waynesburg, Murrysville, Greensburg, New Kensington, Lower Burrell, Latrobe, Monessen, Uniontown, Fairmont, and Morgantown 315 AM EST Wed Dec 16 2020

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 AM EST THURSDAY...

* WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 9 inches.

* WHERE...Portions of northwest, southwest and western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia.

* WHEN...From 7 AM this morning to 7 AM EST Thursday.

* IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

Please report snow or ice by calling 412-262-1988, posting to the NWS Pittsburgh Facebook page, or using Twitter @NWSPittsburgh

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission strongly encourage motorists to heed all travel restrictions and delay unnecessary travel. Visit www.511pa.com for the latest travel, roadway and traffic conditions.

They upped it from 5-8".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah kind of a strange result from the NWS to up my totals overnight.  That seems to go against the grain of the model trends with a less moisture-laden system.  It was 4-8" when I went to bed and 6-9" now.  I like the 4-8" call and think that was adequate.  I think somewhere between 4-6" is the most likely result for the majority of our sub, exclusions to our eastern-most residents that could get more.  Still a slight chance we hit higher end totals if we get the banding right, I'm just less confident in that now.  Also strange to see the GFS so far apart from most every other model still.

While it's a relative disappoint to what could have been, I think everyone here would have signed up for two 3"+ storms before Christmas, especially knowing it was a Nina.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, RitualOfTheTrout said:

It is tough to gauge these maps with various snow algorithms when trying to ascertain what has changed one run to another etc. Here is 6z Euro total qpf. Looks like Allegheny ranges from about .6 - .8 from east to west across the county. Obviously snow growth / ratios will determine what that equates to on the ground  but seems pretty reasonable imho the city should end up with around 6-7 inches.  GFS is a tenth or so less .5-.7 across the county and the 3k NAM is probably right in the middle of the two. If this holds for 12z runs we are game on.

The trend we saw in my opinion had a little bit to do with both the storm moving a bit SE and the models coming down to earth on qpf amounts due to getting a better handle on where the CCB sets up, which they  all tend to be high at range. I personally never bought into any of those maps showing 10+, for something like that we really need the closed low feature. I think that was one of Joe Denardo's rules of thumb for big snows for our area, if you aren't on the northern periphery of a closed 700mb low be very careful forecasting big snows.

0E026F03-A2FF-4BB6-BF5D-A6DE5D3A319E.png.0bdc75f3dae35642348ec9faed876728.png

Good points. That’s also why Joe said he never gave accumulation totals until 48 hours before the storm. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, jwilson said:

Yeah kind of a strange result from the NWS to up my totals overnight.  That seems to go against the grain of the model trends with a less moisture-laden system.  It was 4-8" when I went to bed and 6-9" now.  I like the 4-8" call and think that was adequate.  I think somewhere between 4-6" is the most likely result for the majority of our sub, exclusions to our eastern-most residents that could get more.  Still a slight chance we hit higher end totals if we get the banding right, I'm just less confident in that now.  Also strange to see the GFS so far apart from most every other model still.

While it's a relative disappoint to what could have been, I think everyone here would have signed up for two 3"+ storms before Christmas, especially knowing it was a Nina.

I think the disappointment isn’t the fact we get two 3+ storms before Christmas...it is that it is continuing the pattern of us getting 4 or 5 inches while 100 miles a way they get 12-18 inches. 
 

If this was a clipper (we even get those anymore?) it would be great but it’s painful watching others get a historic storm while we have to be happy with an advisory level event. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Ahoff said:

I think we need to disregard the HRRR a bit, it is starting with our temperatures around 34-35 degrees.  We are at 30 and it looks to only really rise to about 32, the HRRR is cutting our totals because of warm air.

It still only gives like .5 an inch of QPF so I don’t think it is warmth cutting our totals.

 

People kept telling me to look at short term models and right now they aren’t great either....the RAP is also only showing a 4-6 type event.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, KPITSnow said:

It still only gives like .5 an inch of QPF so I don’t think it is warmth cutting our totals.

 

People kept telling me to look at short term models and right now they aren’t great either....the RAP is also only showing a 4-6 type event.

Please.... we know already how disappointed you are. We do not need to see it posted 5 times an hour. If you want to keep complaining take it here. 

 

  • Like 1
  • Weenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, KPITSnow said:

I think the disappointment isn’t the fact we get two 3+ storms before Christmas...it is that it is continuing the pattern of us getting 4 or 5 inches while 100 miles a way they get 12-18 inches. 
 

If this was a clipper (we even get those anymore?) it would be great but it’s painful watching others get a historic storm while we have to be happy with an advisory level event. 

I can understand that.  It is unfortunate.  Big storms are too rare for Pittsburgh.

However, for some hope today, the HREFs still have a 30% chance of more than a foot, and the ensemble mean remains between 10-12" across most of Allegheny.  I think it might be crazy, but at least there's a tiny bit of guidance that still looks like the 12Z NAM from yesterday.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for nowcasting time, I do see some 30 DBZ returns to our south already, which would be pretty far ahead of schedule.  I'm trying to see if it's actually snowing in Morgantown, but it doesn't look like it yet.  I'm guessing we're still in virga territory.

Edit - ah I do see a few flakes in downtown.  Perhaps it has started.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...