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January 6-7 Storm Discussion: we’re due?


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25 minutes ago, aldie 22 said:

But it's cold enough close enough, what else other than the boogie man is causing this to not be an all snow event?

But it's not really cold enough

Below is the mid level thermals heading into the event and I put in purple the bare minimum of where we really want that to be at this point based on case studies of historical similar situations that lead to snow.  

notcoldenough.thumb.png.cf6e542f6dd6904f0c3f9c46988f3ff5.png

Now, for your second part...what COULD have changed this part of the equation.

Had the NS wave to its NW not been there at all and we had a banana high over the top, or if that was weaker I don't know exactly to what degree changes the equation enough but you get the point.  

Had the whole thing been faster and the initial NS SW phased partially maybe we get a tighter wound colder system and with that track...that could have worked.

There are little things you could adjust to make this snow.  I am NOT saying we can't get snow.  It's not all or nothing.  There are still ways to overcome warming.  I think when we get a legit block soon our chances go way up!  

But 2 things can be true.  It's also true that if you cool the entire thermal profile about 3-4 degrees F going into this event then DC is most definitely at the least about to end their 1" less snow streak.  And frankly the streak wouldn't even exist within that paradigm because there have been several waves during that time where if it was a few degrees colder (F not C) DC would have likely got at least an inch or two.  

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47 minutes ago, Terpeast said:

Other than the euro, the bleeding has stopped. 

For now…

IMO the worst Euro run was 0z last night.  6z was notably better IMO, and 12z was SLIGHTLY but probably noise better than 6z.  Problem is 0z got so warm that the incremental improvements since don't do much for the immediate DC area, hell they barely improve my chances even, yet.  But if we were to see another slight colder adjustment on subsequent Euro runs it could end up improving the NW suburbs chances of some snow.  

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Advisory: Winter Storm Watch until 07:00PM Saturday

Dear Nixle User,

* WHAT...Heavy mixed precipitation possible. Total snow accumulations in excess of five inches, and ice accumulations in excess of one-quarter of an inch are possible. 

* WHERE...Portions of western Maryland, central, northern, and northwest Virginia and eastern and panhandle West Virginia. 

* WHEN...From Saturday morning through Saturday evening. 

* IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions.

* AFFECTED AREAS: EXTREME WESTERN ALLEGANY ... CENTRAL AND EASTERN ALLEGANY ... ROCKINGHAM ... SHENANDOAH ... FREDERICK ... PAGE ... WARREN ... CLARKE ... GREENE ... MADISON ... RAPPAHANNOCK ... NORTHERN FAUQUIER ... WESTERN LOUDOUN ... NORTHERN VIRGINIA BLUE RIDGE ... HAMPSHIRE ... MORGAN ... BERKELEY ... JEFFERSON ... HARDY ... WESTERN GRANT ... EASTERN GRANT ... WESTERN MINERAL ... EASTERN MINERAL ... WESTERN PENDLETON ... EASTERN PENDLETON

 

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Fresh cold air coming in now and  I’ve dropped from 43.5 at 1:45 to 42.2 at 2:45. It will have been established here about 42 hours at onset. I like 36 best and don’t  like 60+ . The drop in temp when dew point, temp and precip join together will rule the roost. 
I’m thinking we get a 50% meeting so if my backyard is 36/25 at 11am just at onset then I’m 31-32F at 85-90%rh 

 

 

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11 minutes ago, jayyy said:


Very pre mature? They have to issue watches at some point. More than half of guidance shows 4-8” out that way. They are issued for safety reasons to warn the public of the possibility, not to appease weenie dreams. They can always downgrade to an advisory closer to game time if need be.


.

There is this feature called ignore 

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Well, been a fun few days for me. Good news, tested negative for Covid. Bad news is it’s still a tough URI to deal with. 
 

I haven’t had too much to add to what’s already been said. I’ll try to have a map out at some point. If not, I’ll list towns with my forecast and you can gauge from that. 
 

I like @Ellinwood map and would likely be very similar to mine, so you can use as a proxy. 

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1 hour ago, Terpeast said:

Check LWX. Hoisted watch for west of 15

I’m just a few miles east. Likely going to get an advisory closer in

I'm about a mile west of Rt 15.  I'm going to count this as being west lol.

Edit: I'm technically almost 2 miles nw of Rt. 15, so I'm definitely considering that meteorologically west.

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16 minutes ago, psuhoffman said:

But it's not really cold enough

Below is the mid level thermals heading into the event and I put in purple the bare minimum of where we really want that to be at this point based on case studies of historical similar situations that lead to snow.  

notcoldenough.thumb.png.cf6e542f6dd6904f0c3f9c46988f3ff5.png

Now, for your second part...what COULD have changed this part of the equation.

Had the NS wave to its NW not been there at all and we had a banana high over the top, or if that was weaker I don't know exactly to what degree changes the equation enough but you get the point.  

Had the whole thing been faster and the initial NS SW phased partially maybe we get a tighter wound colder system and with that track...that could have worked.

There are little things you could adjust to make this snow.  I am NOT saying we can't get snow.  It's not all or nothing.  There are still ways to overcome warming.  I think when we get a legit block soon our chances go way up!  

But 2 things can be true.  It's also true that if you cool the entire thermal profile about 3-4 degrees F going into this event then DC is most definitely at the least about to end their 1" less snow streak.  And frankly the streak wouldn't even exist within that paradigm because there have been several waves during that time where if it was a few degrees colder (F not C) DC would have likely got at least an inch or two.  

Euro was the first to pick up on the mid level warmth issue on its Monday night run.

The best runs for the storm showed a Saturday night into Sunday storm w a different setup vs the Saturday storm we have now so who knows if that initial scenario would’ve worked.

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Afternoon AFD from LWX om the threat 

SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/...
Chilly conditions continue Friday night as lows drop to the 20s
across the area, even as mid to high level clouds overspread the
region. A southern stream upper trough moves east across the Mid-
South toward the OH Valley/Mid-Atlantic Saturday into Saturday
night. An associated surface low pressure will move across the
Southeast, gaining strength/structure as it moves across eastern
NC Saturday, then offshore just south of the Delmarva peninsula
Saturday night.

Precipitation begins to overspread the region from southwest to
northeast early Saturday morning. P-type is likely to start as light
snow given temp profiles mostly below freezing, especially west of I-
95. Models continue to fluctuate with storm track and inherent
thermal profiles. Greatest potential for the H85 temps to remain
below freezing is generally northwest of US-15, hence where the
Winter Storm Watch was issued. As a result, a wintry mix is
likely to start to the east of this area, then quickly
transition to a cold rain. The chance for any accumulating snow
just along/east of I-95 looks low at this time.

A wintry mix of rain, snow, and freezing rain is likely west of US-
15, and especially west of the Blue Ridge where a CAD is likely to
setup. Looking specifically at freezing rain, chance for this p-type
has increased the most across the Central Shenandoah Valley and
Central VA Blue Ridge, including some of the foothills east of the
Blue Ridge. Accumulating snow is most likely along and west of the
Blue Ridge, especially in the northern Shenandoah Valley west to
the Allegheny Front. Greatest prob for 6" is from the Allegheny
Front to the Washington County, MD area. However, there are
concerns sleet may mix in and lower totals.

As the surface low makes its closest approach, there will be some
decent FGEN forcing to produce higher precip totals in any banding
features. But it is way too early to say when/where/what p-type that
is going to be. Given the event onset is beyond 48 hours, the
current forecast is subject to change. Continue to monitor the
progress of this system.

The entire system quickly crosses the area Saturday night, though
the upper trough remains over the area through the weekend.
Lingering moisture on the backside of the low and strong forcing
aloft will result in additional rain/snow showers Saturday night.
 
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11 minutes ago, jayyy said:


Very pre mature? They have to issue watches at some point. More than half of guidance shows 4-8” out that way. They are issued for safety reasons to warn the public of the possibility, not to appease weenie dreams. They can always downgrade to an advisory closer to game time if need be.


.

I understand the 36 hr. timeframe guidance.  But 50% confidence in meeting warning criteria?? 

The deterministic ECM is the only model minimally meeting warning criteria for most of Augusta and no model does for Nelson or Albermarle.    GFS 2.5", GEM 1.3", NAM 1.5". 

But, as you say,  they can always downgrade to an Advisory and they will unless a radical change occurs with the models.

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40 minutes ago, NorthArlington101 said:

hmmm... sure it'll be refined but I'd consider a light chase if 5"+ ends up being the forecast. just in case... you know... it never snows again.

I’m kind of in the same mindset.  If it’s 35 imby and ripping unknown precip and an hour away someone is getting 32, +SN and expecting 6-8” And it’s Saturday afternoon.  Might have to send it. 

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25 minutes ago, WEATHER53 said:

Fresh cold air coming in now and  I’ve dropped from 43.5 at 1:45 to 42.2 at 2:45. It will have been established here about 42 hours at onset. I like 36 best and don’t  like 60+ . The drop in temp when dew point, temp and precip join together will rule the roost. 
I’m thinking we get a 50% meeting so if my backyard is 36/25 at 11am just at onset then I’m 31-32F at 85-90%rh 

 

 

Dew point plummet warning in effect

From 29 at 10am at DCA to 21 at 3pm 

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11 minutes ago, yoda said:

18z 3km NAM is over half an inch of ice in the Blue Ridge 

temps marginal and precip isn't super light... color me a bit skeptical as someone who lived in cville for 4 years and saw sig ice once despite it being modeled probably 3-4x a year.

Now on the Blue Ridge itself... yeah. This seems like the kind of storm that closes the Parkway for 3 weeks... especially when you factor in a follow up next tues

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1 hour ago, 87storms said:

The fun part is that it keeps trending worse.  Best chance at this point is that either (a) the bleeding stops, and/or (2) cad is underdone.  The upper air pattern is not ideal.  Honestly, looking at it, I wouldn't even think we'd get snow from it, but luckily we have at least some residual cold air to work with.  It'll be interesting to see how the storm ultimately plays out, but I'd be ok with it just simply starting as snow at this point east of the Blue Ridge.

I agree!!  Just take what we can from this one and wait for next one in 10 days or so

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7 minutes ago, NorthArlington101 said:

just need a couple degrees at 850 to make the 3k NAM run more fun for everyone... it must at least theoretically be possible. 

I love how on TT, the 3k NAM keeps accumulating snow even after the flip to rain. 

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