What's your ideal snowstorm?

[Chicago Storm]

one that melts on contact.


.

[Cary67]

On 9/24/2022 at 3:50 PM, Baum said:

1. Models show a Oklahoma hooker 4 days out. Complete model consensus for my back yard.

2. As the hooker organizes in the desert southwest an energized clipper rides down and lays a 4" blanket of powder down and storng winds from N-NE usher in arctic air.

3. In clippers wake on going snowshowers blow in from Lake Michingan. 

 4. 48 hours out all models consensus 12"-18" swath of 15:1 ratio snows with winds in excess of 35 mph sustained.

5. 24 hours out complete model consensus on a blizzard. Consensus so strong no board arguments as a my backyard as the lollipop is a lock.

6. Blizzard warnings issued. Snowshowers begin to increase off lake as storm intensifies over Texarkana. Kansas City already shut down due to 5 hours of 2" per hour rates and thunder and lightning.

7. Gametime. Radar lit. Winds howling. Businesses closing in preparation. Snow begins in earnest.

8. After 12 hours of non stop snow/wind/ thunder 19" has fallen citywide. Drifts 5-6' in areas.

9. Complete forecast verification. High spot downtown Chicago with 26" amounts due to lake enhancement. Mchenry County and Cedar Rapids IA are the lower end of the spectrum with 4" and 6" respectively. Mets can't explain the phenomenon. 

10. As the storm winds down, another organizes over Colorado.

Pulling out Ouija board to conjure up the winter spirit of 2007-08. Mchenry Co. will reign supreme again.

[zinski1990]

12/22-23 04 or 1/5/2014

[Harry]

On 9/29/2022 at 12:51 PM, Hoosier said:

Agree that a 30" storm is doable in Chicago.  We have seen it in other spots in the sub.  And yeah, would probably need all of those factors or at least no more than 1 of them missing.

 

Yep! Jan 67 in the far nw corner of town over into the NE part of Kalamazoo county around Gull Lake which ended up the bullseye of the storm with 31" inches. So yeah I think 30+ is very doable around Chicago. Total for here was 28.6"! 

Btw.. A repeat of that would do for me. 

[Hoosier]

32 minutes ago, Harry said:

 

Yep! Jan 67 in the far nw corner of town over into the NE part of Kalamazoo county around Gull Lake which ended up the bullseye of the storm with 31" inches. So yeah I think 30+ is very doable around Chicago. Total for here was 28.6"! 

Btw.. A repeat of that would do for me. 

I hope we do it one day.  30 must have a different feel than 20.

[Hoosier]

3 hours ago, zinski1990 said:

1/5/2014

Funny thing about that one is that while the amount of snow was nice, the thing I think of right away is the immediate plunge into bitter cold at the tail end of the storm and after, which resulted in the roads being absolute trash even days after the storm ended.

[beavis1729]

On 10/10/2022 at 4:40 PM, Hoosier said:

Funny thing about that one is that while the amount of snow was nice, the thing I think of right away is the immediate plunge into bitter cold at the tail end of the storm and after, which resulted in the roads being absolute trash even days after the storm ended.

Yeah…even though we’ve certainly had colder temps (1/31/2019 as a recent example), I’d have to say the morning of 1/6/2014 was the most “arctic tundra” feeling I’ve ever experienced here. About 15” of snow on the ground, cloudy skies, gusty winds and blowing snow, and temps around -17. An incredible airmass, as you don’t often get temps that low here without high pressure and clear skies. 

[fluoronium]

On 10/10/2022 at 4:04 PM, Harry said:

 

Yep! Jan 67 in the far nw corner of town over into the NE part of Kalamazoo county around Gull Lake which ended up the bullseye of the storm with 31" inches. So yeah I think 30+ is very doable around Chicago. Total for here was 28.6"! 

Btw.. A repeat of that would do for me. 

this storm was preceded by a huge tornado outbreak (for January) which makes it the ideal snowstorm for me too


https://www.weather.gov/dvn/01241967_tornadooutbreak

[RogueWaves]

Normally I prefer 9 or 10:1 snow. But I'm still waiting to see impassable highways as an adult. I do like high winds during snowfall too and low visibilities. It all adds up to a Jan '78 scenario for "storm of choice". They had one here with huge totals back in 1886. Maybe we're due?

[SchaumburgStormer]

Long duration big dog going non-stop during the daytime hours. GHD 2 for example.

[hawkeye_wx]

12+ inches... very difficult to achieve here.

[Stebo]

Blizzard of 99 with more thundersnow.

[thomp2mp]

one that starts when I get home from work and stops with enough time for the road crews to work their magic for the next day of work

or, a crippling weekend storm that I can use as an excuse to hibernate for a couple days

[sbnwx85]

I work 2nd shift at a TV news station, so a storm that begins in the late afternoon or early evening. Preparations for the storm dominate headlines all evening and it starts just as the 4, 5 and 6 newscasts begin. The worst hits after I get home and we end up with 20+ inches with 40 mph winds and thundersnow. My co-workers need to pick me up to get into work the next day because I can't get out of the apartment complex. All this as lake-effect wraps around the backside the following day dropping another 6-12 inches.

I've experienced parts of these scenarios during a storm, but not all at once. Although, I've always been able to get myself into work. 

I'd also love to experience a monster lake-effect event. I grew up in Northern Indiana, but just outside the best lake belts. I'd love to get in on a 30+ lake effect storm one day. I was in nearby Elkhart for this storm in 2011 and only get a measly 8 inches. https://www.weather.gov/iwx/20110108_les

[michsnowfreak]

I'm glad we have these questions to choose from, because it's really difficult to choose. I love all snowstorms, in-and-out of season. But if I HAD to pick....

 

A snowstorm in winter or something out of season?  If it's the latter, early or late?
WINTER. 

Wet snow, dry/fluffy snow, or something in between?
DRY, SPARKLY POWDER THAT STILL CAKES GOOD TO TREES

Light/calm winds, or windy conditions while it's snowing?  
LIGHT WINDS

Continuous snow, or do lulls not matter as long as amounts end up as expected?
CONTINUOUS

12" in 12 hours, or 18" occurring over 36 hours?
18" IN 36 HOURS ( February 1, 2015 is a good example. Took about 25 hours to get our 17" of snow. But at the end of the day, you're walking in 17" of snow not 12").

Bitter temperatures, or just cold enough to stick well during the storm?
BITTER COLD

Storms on holidays/your birthday/some other meaningful day, or are dates irrelevant?
DATE IS IRRELEVANT (but of course Christmas Eve would be orgasmic)

If living in a lake effect area, would you rather have a synoptic or lake effect storm of the same amount?
SYNOPTIC (only based on the statement "of the same amount")

[HighTechEE]

Keeping with the thread title for southern Ohio, the Nov 1950 monster would be the ideal snow storm for me, 3ft fell in NW Athens county, almost 73 years later nothing has come close.

Now to stray a little from the title, here would be and ideal Winter season for southern Ohio:

Oct: A repeat of the Halloween storm of the early '90s where about 5" fell in the Dayton area

Nov: 1950 Snow Bowl storm

Dec: 2004 big one Dayton north and west, 12" IMBY up to 31" in Liberty, Ind.

Jan: This is a tie, either Jan of '67 or '68, NW corner of Athens Co, OH, we got 28" of heavy wet snow in 24hrs or Jan of '78 when we got 3ft of snow the last 3 weeks of that month

Feb: I think it was 2010 when SW Ohio had 2 double digit snow storms

Mar: 2008 16" IMBY

Apr: 1987 a 5" snow the 1st weekend of that month and a 9" one a week later in the Dayton area, and in NW Athens county where 18" fell in 24hrs w/12 straight hours of thunder snow

May: I think it was '90 or '91 when we got 1" of snow on May 8th 

Adding all these up would be approaching 200" for one winter LOL!  I think the average snowfall per winter has fell to around 24" in the Dayton area.