Midwest/Ohio Valley/Great Lakes Snow January 24-26

[Chambana]

27 minutes ago, michsnowfreak said:

Finished with 6.2" here. My snowblower constantly clogged because the snow was SO wet. Detroit officially had 6.5". Seems like a general 6-8" in SE MI just as forecast. No complaints at all. The marginal temps were well advertised and it absolutely RIPPED this afternoon. 

 

 

 

One of my favorite things about winter storm threads are your pictures, you really have a knack for photography. Looks like you guys had a good storm up there. 

[ChiTownSnow]

^^ and enjoy the snow while we can.  It actually snowed which is what we all wanted

[RogueWaves]

29 minutes ago, Chambana said:

One of my favorite things about winter storm threads are your pictures, you really have a knack for photography. Looks like you guys had a good storm up there. 

NOT a bliz, but bliz-like low vis for hours with thump snows at KDTW

[Baum]

turns out Toledo busts same as home

[beavis1729]

1 hour ago, RCNYILWX said:

First off, and I'll say this respectfully, try not to stress about weather related things that you can't control. Variability is the hallmark of our winter weather here, regardless of background climate warming context. You're pining for a winter climate that does not exist at this latitude west of the lake.

Now, regarding the measurement, why shouldn't the depth have compacted to 2" by 6pm today? It was a relatively wet snow and the temperature reached the mid 30s. Saying the measurement seems inflated because essentially you're annoyed that we didn't hold onto the max depth is...not a great argument about the measurement being inflated.

A 6 hour board clearing method will often come in higher than measurements of volunteer observers who we can't require to do 6 hour board clearing snow obs, but it does a better job capturing snow that does occur. It also accounts for some compaction. The 6 hour board clearing method has been used for decades at official climate sites and I don't anticipate that changing.

If you want people to respect the posts you make more, rant less about things out of your control, post more about the forecast, ask questions about certain setups if you have any, and enjoy the weather you prefer when we do get it.



 

I hear you, and appreciate your response. 

The main reason I post on here is for the commiseration with fellow winter lovers...not so much the forecast details.  In a society where cold and snow lovers are essentially banished, I figured a forum like this is a good place to chat with like-minded individuals.  But I guess that's only true up to a point.  It's like a die-hard Cubs fan who pines for a World Series - you drown your sorrows with fellow Cubs fans and complain/hope each year will be better than the last, even though you have no control...and then the magic happened after 108 years.

And I do immensely respect what you and the others do at the NWS.  Deploying science and good communication skills to protect the public - a very noble combination.  When I was finishing up my meteorology degree at NIU in 1995, I volunteered at LOT that summer...which is when the insane heat wave occurred.  I had the humble opportunity to broadcast over NOAA weather radio - kind of a weenie and nerdy thing I guess, but it was one of my most enjoyable summers.  I also worked construction outdoors that summer - so being in the comfortable AC in the Romeoville office felt good too. I remember Ratzer and Merzlock were there - I assume they've retired.       

[RCNYILWX]

I hear you, and appreciate your response. 
The main reason I post on here is for the commiseration with fellow winter lovers...not so much the forecast details.  In a society where cold and snow lovers are essentially banished, I figured a forum like this is a good place to chat with like-minded individuals.  But I guess that's only true up to a point.  It's like a die-hard Cubs fan who pines for a World Series - you drown your sorrows with fellow Cubs fans and complain/hope each year will be better than the last, even though you have no control...and then the magic happened after 108 years.
And I do immensely respect what you and the others do at the NWS.  Deploying science and good communication skills to protect the public - a very noble combination.  When I was finishing up my meteorology degree at NIU in 1995, I volunteered at LOT that summer...which is when the insane heat wave occurred.  I had the humble opportunity to broadcast over NOAA weather radio - kind of a weenie and nerdy thing I guess, but it was one of my most enjoyable summers.  I also worked construction outdoors that summer - so being in the comfortable AC in the Romeoville office felt good too. I remember Ratzer and Merzlock were there - I assume they've retired.       

Ah didn't realize you volunteered at LOT. That was way back in the early days of the office. Paul Merzlock retired in 2011, just under a year after I got here. His last day was June 30, 2011. The Lake Michigan supercell happened that evening and the continued thunderstorm activity over the southern tip of the lake busted a Heat Advisory on July 1, 2011. Ratzer is still at the office and wrote this evening's AFD update.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[mimillman]

I do have to say, outside of the short window this AM prior to rush hour, this event underperformed expectations IMBY. We have no remaining accumulation, I certainly underestimated how marginal thermal profiles were. 
 

Generally speaking this is the first time I’ve heard such wide scale complaining  from regular people in terms of lack of snowfall. ORD’s recording season to date aside— which is already lackluster— there has really only been one event this winter with accumulation lasting longer than 12 hours, and that was the pre Christmas storm.

[Brian D]

Couple inches of powder here today. Another couple Thurs nite before the blast of arctic air moves in.

[sbnwx85]

Compaction and melting have us down to about 3.3 inches after getting up to 4. RAP and HRRR have between 2 and 6 inches of lake effect coming depending on where banding sets up.

[OrdIowPitMsp]

0.7” here yesterday, maybe the same tonight.

[A-L-E-K]

Today will end up snowier all said and done than yesterday lol

[mimillman]

14 minutes ago, A-L-E-K said:

Today will end up snowier all said and done than yesterday lol

Yup

[cyclone77]

Picked up another 0.4" bringing the storm total to 3.2".  That's a major hit for this season lol.

[sbnwx85]

An inch of new snow overnight. Everything is caked with white. 

[mimillman]

Solid SN and much better than anything yesterday 

[WestMichigan]

3.0" from 0.14" of liquid at GRR.  That isn't not the concrete/slush many places had yesterday.  Not a lot but at least it is white outside now.

[SolidIcewx]

Beautiful morning at my job site

[Frog Town]

11 hours ago, Baum said:

turns out Toledo busts same as home

We are bust central.  Surprised I don't have more issues dealing with this every winter less 13-14' 

[OrdIowPitMsp]

Drove down in Rochester MN for work. Backend of the snow showers are exiting the area. FYI for Chicago peeps, atmosphere is producing snow out of very little cloud cover. 

[nwohweather]

12 hours ago, RCNYILWX said:

First off, and I'll say this respectfully, try not to stress about weather related things that you can't control. Variability is the hallmark of our winter weather here, regardless of background climate warming context. You're pining for a winter climate that does not exist at this latitude west of the lake.

Now, regarding the measurement, why shouldn't the depth have compacted to 2" by 6pm today? It was a relatively wet snow and the temperature reached the mid 30s. Saying the measurement seems inflated because essentially you're annoyed that we didn't hold onto the max depth is...not a great argument about the measurement being inflated.

A 6 hour board clearing method will often come in higher than measurements of volunteer observers who we can't require to do 6 hour board clearing snow obs, but it does a better job capturing snow that does occur. It also accounts for some compaction. The 6 hour board clearing method has been used for decades at official climate sites and I don't anticipate that changing.

If you want people to respect the posts you make more, rant less about things out of your control, post more about the forecast, ask questions about certain setups if you have any, and enjoy the weather you prefer when we do get it.



 

I appreciate this post. So many times it seems like people expect winters of 2013-14 to be a common theme but then get upset by the variability in what is arguably one of the most topsy turvy climates you can find. The average high here in Toledo is 53° degrees warmer in July than in January, that's an absolutely insane stat to think about compared to most places

[michsnowfreak]

12 hours ago, Chambana said:

One of my favorite things about winter storm threads are your pictures, you really have a knack for photography. Looks like you guys had a good storm up there. 

Thank you!

[SolidIcewx]

[michsnowfreak]

12 hours ago, RogueWaves said:

NOT a bliz, but bliz-like low vis for hours with thump snows at KDTW

Thump snows for sure. That was what made this a good storm. We had bigger storms and deeper depths the last few years, but that was a prolonged thump for sure!

[SolidIcewx]

I feel like a kid working out in the woods right now

[SolidIcewx]

Sorry for the individual pics file sizes are huge

[Stevo6899]

2 hours ago, WestMichigan said:

3.0" from 0.14" of liquid at GRR.  That isn't not the concrete/slush many places had yesterday.  Not a lot but at least it is white outside now.

Based on the radar yesterday, I'm surprised grr didn't get more. Either way grr is always top notch in their graphics before and after a storm. They issued a snowfall observed map this morning not only for their area but all of southern Michigan. It's almost like they include metro detroit in their forecast and total maps because they know how bad dtx is. Well I thank them for being a high quality office.

[Geoboy645]

It's been snowing pretty constantly here since about this time yesterday. We haven't had much accumulation, at most 2.5". But it has been a really pretty snowfall. That perfect rate of snowfall where it's more than mood flakes, but not heavy enough to be a visibility concern. Just a perfect snowy late January day. What more can you ask for in some ways?

[Chicago Storm]

The snow overnight into today is from a separate disturbance. ORD is up to 0.5” as of 6AM.


.

[Frog Town]

As a teacher I Got two snow days out of this so I really can't complain,

[Hoosier]

1 hour ago, Chicago Storm said:

The snow overnight into today is from a separate disturbance. ORD is up to 0.5” as of 6AM.


.

Cracked double digits for the season.  All-time futility record out of play.  Snowy times.  What more can a winter lover ask for?