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Central PA - Spring 2021


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1 hour ago, FHS said:

.SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/...
A period of winterlike weather is in store to close out March
and start off April 2021. No joke.

Model guidance continues to signal a transition from rain to
wet snow (sub climo SLR) tonight with an increased probability
for advisory level snow accum across parts of the north-central
mtns. Hires models depict a moderate to briefly intense fgen
band developing after midnight thru the predawn hours AM Thu in
association with RRQ jet dynamics and sharpening low level temp
gradient overlapping robust deformation axis. The 00Z HREF shows
a several hour period (roughly 05-10Z) of potentially mod-hvy
wet snow with max rates in the 0.75-1" range and 30-50%
probability of rates exceeding 1 in/hr.

There are factors complicating actual snow accumulations with
model snow depth fields less than the direct model snow output,
implying some initial melting/compacting with sfc temps >0C.
Accums may also be variable on roads vs. grass with favorable
time of day (night) for accumulation. Given the late-season
variability and usual elevation dependence for late-season snow,
we were keen to utilize a multi-model blend which produced total
snowfall in the 2 to 4 inch range which prompted a winter wx
advy issuance for Potter, Tioga, N. Lycoming, and Sullivan Cos.

Dynamic cooling and steadily falling maxTw aloft supports
mix/changeover to snow even at lower elevations with some wet
snow accum (of a coating to 1 inch) possible given higher rates
and time of day.

As the cold NW flow deepens on Thursday, expect lake/terrain
enhanced snow showers over the Allegheny Plateau before
tapering off into early Friday. There is also some potential
for locally heavy snow showers and/or brief squalls or bursts of
graupel.

Away from the advisory area, total snowfall through Thursday
ranges from 1-3" over the Laurel Highlands to <1 inch between
the I-99/US-220 and I-81 corridor. Little to no accum is
forecast southeast of I-81 with sfc temps holding in the mid 30s
to around 40F.

Quite the AFD for an April day. 

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I get that it’s a little harder to get snow in March and April, and that those of us who love snow shouldn’t complain (but often do) when one event or another doesn’t pan out, but we’re talking about a March where (*checks records for MDT*) Harrisburg will likely not even record a flake of snow, which never occurred in the first 110 years of recorded data at Harrisburg, but has now occurred four times since 2000. It’s been a similar story in Pittsburgh, where we officially got a fluke 0.1” out of a squall at the airport on the 1st (I recorded a T at home) and nothing else, which is our least snowy March since observations were moved to the airport in 1948. So I’d say the disappointment is warranted.

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1 hour ago, TimB84 said:

I get that it’s a little harder to get snow in March and April, and that those of us who love snow shouldn’t complain (but often do) when one event or another doesn’t pan out, but we’re talking about a March where (*checks records for MDT*) Harrisburg will likely not even record a flake of snow, which never occurred in the first 110 years of recorded data at Harrisburg, but has now occurred four times since 2000. It’s been a similar story in Pittsburgh, where we officially got a fluke 0.1” out of a squall at the airport on the 1st (I recorded a T at home) and nothing else, which is our least snowy March since observations were moved to the airport in 1948. So I’d say the disappointment is warranted.

That is interesting...Thanks for sharing. 

* And to think there is a chance for MDT to record a flake in April (like last year when it snowed in May)

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4 minutes ago, paweather said:

That is interesting...Thanks for sharing. 

* And to think there is a chance for MDT to record a flake in April (like last year when it snowed in May)

I’m a stats guy. Probably why I’m a fan of both weather and baseball even though both are boring to much of the general populace and both let me down constantly.

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2 hours ago, TimB84 said:

I get that it’s a little harder to get snow in March and April, and that those of us who love snow shouldn’t complain (but often do) when one event or another doesn’t pan out, but we’re talking about a March where (*checks records for MDT*) Harrisburg will likely not even record a flake of snow, which never occurred in the first 110 years of recorded data at Harrisburg, but has now occurred four times since 2000. It’s been a similar story in Pittsburgh, where we officially got a fluke 0.1” out of a squall at the airport on the 1st (I recorded a T at home) and nothing else, which is our least snowy March since observations were moved to the airport in 1948. So I’d say the disappointment is warranted.

AL Gore is tuning up a message with some more stats!  I am glad I sold my Florida property as I hate cleaning barnacles and sea salt off the walls 

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6 minutes ago, Bubbler86 said:

AL Gore is tuning up a message with some more stats!  I am glad I sold my Florida property as I hate cleaning barnacles and sea salt off the walls 

Perhaps that’s why I like the cold and snow records better than I like the heat records - because, to continue the baseball analogy, the heat records are like someone on steroids (or a player for the Rockies) hitting 60-70 home runs in a season.

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20 minutes ago, TimB84 said:

Perhaps that’s why I like the cold and snow records better than I like the heat records - because, to continue the baseball analogy, the heat records are like someone on steroids hitting 60 home runs in a season.

Yea, tracking heat records is like trying to win the World Series with all singles hitters or like you said fake HR records.  Sammy Sosa time. 

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10 minutes ago, Bubbler86 said:

Yea, tracking heat records is like trying to win the World Series with all singles hitters or like you said fake HR records.  Sammy Sosa time. 

That said, even with so many records being broken, the eye-popping heat records (daily record highs in July) have stayed relatively safe in places like the interior Northeast and Midwest.

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5 minutes ago, Itstrainingtime said:

As an Orioles fan for nearly 50 years, I totally understand the feeling of being let down...a lot. 

I’d say try being a Pirates fan, but then there’s 1979 and 1971 (but both of those are before my time).

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