FoothillsNC Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I'm not saying this is going to be a repeat, but there are a lot of similarities, especially looking at the 500 millibar setup. There was a large closed vortex in the Northeast that ushered in bitterly cold air into the South preceding the storm's arrival (temps in the 20's and 30's for highs much of the South), for several days before it hit. The closed low off California opened up and moved east into the Gulf as the New England vortex moved off into eastern Canada and the Atlantic. This was also a one-two punch, which the models are hinting at, with another strong shortwave coming in behind the lead system across the South, as the Flow in the Pacific amplified and developed a closed High block over Alaska. All this is extremely similar to the January 1982 event. The surface obs showed 3 days of accumulating snow in the sites I looked at for the Foothills and western Piedmont of NC, I'm sure the same could be said for many sections of eastern Tenn/Ga and part of the east Coast. ( I remember the storm in Junior High but didnt' recall 3 days of snow until I viewed the Co-op reports). Here's the 5H animation from the January 1982 event: Compared with the ECMWF prog of the January 2011 event: Also, heres some surface precip. totals courtesy of the Daily Weather Map. (notice it wasn't terribly wet on the liquid equivalents, but cold air allowed good ratios) Jan 13, 1982: Jan 14, 1982: Jan 13, 1982 Surface Map An example of the Co-op reports. Forest City, NC: (A total of 12" fell over 3 days) Only time will tell if this storm plays out anything like that one. I wouldn't be suprised to see similar results though if the Euro continues with its 5H look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carvers Gap Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 NE TN didn't fair as well, but did get around 3.0 inches of snow in three days - here in Kingsport. Not too shabby. Nonetheless, it was an impressive system. It really isn't an IMBY comparison for me since I didn't live here then. However, I really like this pattern. It's going to be a good one I think...or should I say, it has been a good one up to this point. Very unexpected winter pattern. Really enjoyed the write-up BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Here is an NCAR reanalysis loop to go along. http://www.meteo.psu.edu/~gadomski/NARR/1982/us0115j3.php Prolly not the most comparable since that event was far more amplified and had a lot more cold air and a strong southern stream S/W, but this event could be interesting for you folks on the northern edge of the storm. The ECM has been persistent with a retrograding vortex over the Great Lakes shunting the first jet max with the western trough and developing a secondary jet farther south, although it has backed off a tad. 18Z GFS suggests the same pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaculaWeather Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Snow Jam '82 here in Atlanta! Remember it well. It took me 4 hours to go 20 miles. Man that was fun! We had temps down to 4 degrees I believe, it was really cold and stayed for almost a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoothillsNC Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Snow Jam '82 here in Atlanta! Remember it well. It took me 4 hours to go 20 miles. Man that was fun! We had temps down to 4 degrees I believe, it was really cold and stayed for almost a week. Browsing through records here, it got down to 1° here before the storm. That airmass was probably a little colder than this one is progged to be, but for NC and TN it actually maybe close to the same. Euro had some -12 around the southern Apps Saturday. Thats cold! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WXinCanton Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Thanks for the post Robert! Good stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraseltonGAWX Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Here is a very entertaining read as some Atlantan's reflect back,, with some good photos too: Snow Jam '82 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltadog03 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 great find/research bud! This one could* be epic man.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoothillsNC Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 great find/research bud! This one could* be epic man.... thanks Chris, and everyone. I agree, this *could* be a great storm for a widespread region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strongwxnc Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Robert, can you link where you are getting the old obs sheets from? Great research man. Would have been 3 when this happened. thanks Chris, and everyone. I agree, this *could* be a great storm for a widespread region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEGa Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 What an awesome storm!! A n ga snow lovers dream and snow jam. We were out of school for something like a week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilj4425 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 What an awesome storm!! A n ga snow lovers dream and snow jam. We were out of school for something like a week I wasn't even born yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carvers Gap Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I wasn't even born yet. So if we start reading, "I remember back in '82 comments..." from you, we've got you on the record now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoothillsNC Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Robert, can you link where you are getting the old obs sheets from? Great research man. Would have been 3 when this happened. I'mon the laptop right now, I'll post the link for you in a few minutes.Its addictive looking back through the old obs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCSNOW Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Nice work Robert. & thanks for sharing, I was in Junior HS also, but living down east at the time. I remember a sleet storm back around that time, not sure if this one was it. Keep up the outstanding work. I cant help but think someone with the oppurtunity will recognize your great talents and reward you with a venue where you can share your exceptional skills with the communities in our region(SE). Doesnt neccesarily have to be TV, but your skills would be a huge drawing card/marketing tool for any print media or radio. Just my 2 cents. I speak for everyone on here, we all appreciate your efforts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilj4425 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 So if we start reading, "I remember back in '82 comments..." from you, we've got you on the record now. Pretty much. If I say I saw any snow before 1988, it would be a lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG FROSTY Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Nice work Robert. & thanks for sharing, I was in Junior HS also, but living down east at the time. I remember a sleet storm back around that time, not sure if this one was it. Keep up the outstanding work. I cant help but think someone with the oppurtunity will recognize your great talents and reward you with a venue where you can share your exceptional skills with the communities in our region(SE). Doesnt neccesarily have to be TV, but your skills would be a huge drawing card/marketing tool for any print media or radio. Just my 2 cents. I speak for everyone on here, we all appreciate your efforts! +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoothillsNC Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Nice work Robert. & thanks for sharing, I was in Junior HS also, but living down east at the time. I remember a sleet storm back around that time, not sure if this one was it. Keep up the outstanding work. I cant help but think someone with the oppurtunity will recognize your great talents and reward you with a venue where you can share your exceptional skills with the communities in our region(SE). Doesnt neccesarily have to be TV, but your skills would be a huge drawing card/marketing tool for any print media or radio. Just my 2 cents. I speak for everyone on here, we all appreciate your efforts! +1 Thank you. I'm trying, would love to get on the NCDC or a research /climatology place like the Southeast Regional Climate Center, getting into any govt. work is esp. hard. Mark, here's the link http://www7.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/coop/coop.html;jsessionid=1133F071FDD9448652306969E4F900AB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strongwxnc Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Awesome! I will have to take a look at that tomorrow. Thank you. I'm trying, would love to get on the NCDC or a research /climatology place like the Southeast Regional Climate Center, getting into any govt. work is esp. hard. Mark, here's the link http://www7.ncdc.noa...2306969E4F900AB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepSouthSC Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I remember this very well, Foothills. I can't recall how many inches we got in my area, but I'm gonna guess around 4-5 inches. I was in the 3rd grade when this storm took place. By the way, I do recall the plane crash in the Potomac around this date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle W Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 unfortunately I remember this storm along with the plane crash... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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