Friday, December 3, 2010

Shovel Off to Buffalo: Lake Effect Snow on Steroids Reaches Over 3 Feet, Strands Motorists



The National Weather Service (NWS) reports that huge lake effect snowfalls have been observed over a narrow band south of Buffalo, NY in the last 2 days. The prodigious precipitation results from a perfect alignment of Arctic air flow over the relatively warmer waters of Lake Erie.

In the 48 hours ending 8 am today (Dec. 3), as much as 42" of snow was measured by a NWS employee in the town of Depew. The Associated Press, via The Weather Channel, reports that amounts varied widely over small distances, however:
Within the City of Buffalo itself, totals ranged from a dusting in the northern half of the city to an inch or two downtown to over 2 feet in south Buffalo!
Associated Press, via USA Today, reports that motorists were stranded as long as 20 hours on the New York State Thruway:
Emergency procedures will be reviewed after a lake-effect snowstorm and a flawed response left hundreds of motorists stranded for hours on a highway, the head of the New York State Thruway Authority said Friday.

Executive Director Michael Fleischer said the agency should have closed nearly two dozen non-toll entrance ramps to Interstate 90 much sooner after jackknifed tractor-trailers blocked traffic just east of Buffalo. He also said officials should have done a better job alerting drivers that delays loomed ahead and shouldn't have waited so long to get help to the stranded motorists, some stuck for 20 hours or more.
Here are some of the more outrageous amounts reported by the NWS from Erie County:
********************STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL********************

LOCATION STORM TOTAL TIME/DATE COMMENTS
SNOWFALL OF
(INCHES) MEASUREMENT

...ERIE COUNTY...
DEPEW 42.0 800 AM 12/3 NWS EMPLOYEE
BUFFALO 39.0 1000 AM 12/3 SE CORNER BUFFALO
ELMA 30.0 800 AM 12/3 NWS EMPLOYEE
WEST SENECA 30.0 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
LANCASTER 29.5 1059 AM 12/3 NWS EMPLOYEE
LANCASTER 29.0 800 AM 12/3 NWS EMPLOYEE
WEST SENECA 24.7 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
MARILLA 23.0 800 AM 12/3 SOUTHERN PORTION
LANCASTER 22.0 800 AM 12/3 NWS EMPLOYEE
BLASDELL 20.3 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
BUFFALO 20.0 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS - FIRST WARD
WALES 16.0 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
AKRON 14.0 900 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
ELMA CENTER 13.0 800 AM 12/3 NWS EMPLOYEE
EAST AURORA 10.7 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
BUFFALO 9.2 800 AM 12/3 AIRPORT
BOSTON 7.0 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
GLENWOOD 6.5 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
WILLIAMSVILLE 5.8 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
CLARENCE CENTER 4.5 800 AM 12/3 SPOTTER
WILLIAMSVILLE 2.8 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
TONAWANDA 1.2 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
KENMORE 1.0 800 AM 12/3 COCORAHS
Images (click to enlarge): Traffic blocked by heavy snow on the New York State Thruway near Buffalo, NY, Dec. 2, 2010, AP photo via The Weather Channel; Total snowfall, Dec. 1-3, 2010, from NWS; Surface weather map at 8 am EDT, Dec. 2, 2010

November Temperature Extremes: Heat Records Far Exceed Cold For 9th Consecutive Month

For related record temperature posts, see:
As they have for every month in 2010 except January and February, U.S. daily maximum temperature records far exceeded minimum records in November. Thanks to a cold surge in the last week of the month, the ratio of heat records to cold records declined to 1.8:1, but the ratio of 2.7:1 for the year to date is still well above that of the most recent decade.

Heat records dominated cold records by a wide margin for most of the month, reaching a peak of 126 on the 23rd. Daily cold records, on the other hand, peaked at 90 on the 25th.

Preliminary average temperature data for November from NOAA/NCEP show temperatures near to above average over nearly the entire country. Small areas along the immediate Carolina coast and from central Nevada through western Arizona were the only regions with temperatures more than 1°C below the 1968-1996 climatological average. Temperatures were at least 1°C above average over most of the area from the Rockies to the Appalachians, with the warmest temperatures of 3°C or more above average across the northern Great Lakes northward into a large portion of southern and central Canada.

More detailed temperature analyses should be available from the NOAA National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) around the middle of next week.

Images (click to enlarge):
- Total number of daily high temperature, low temperature, and high minimum temperature records set in the U.S. for spring 2010 (March-April-May) and monthly from June through November 2010, data from NOAA National Climatic Data Center, background image © Kevin Ambrose (www.weatherbook.com). Includes historical daily observations archived in NCDC's Cooperative Summary of the Day data set and preliminary reports from Cooperative Observers and First Order National Weather Service stations. All stations have a Period of Record of at least 30 years.
- Daily numbers of high and low temperature records set in the U.S. for November 2010, data source as above
- November 2010 temperature departure from climatological average from NOAA/NCEP via ESRL

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Yet Another Spin of the Washington Weathercaster Revolving Door

The dcrtv blog reports another new face in the weather department at CBS affiliate WUSA-TV, Channel 9, in Washington:
DCRTV hears that Channel 9/WUSA has hired Anny Hong [April 2009 video below] as weekend meteorologist and weekday reporter. She comes from the KOVR/KMAX TV combo in Sacramento. She's also worked at TVers in Fresno, Eugene OR, Syracuse, and Watertown NY. She interned at the BBC in London and CNN in Seoul. She is a graduate of Syracuse University where she double-majored in broadcast journalism and policy studies. Hong received her broadcast meteorology degree from Mississippi State University.....
She has most recently been living in Paris:
After working as an Anchor/Reporter at CBS13, Anny Hong is fulfilling her dream of living in Paris. She moved to France to cover stories in Europe and attend the prestigious Sorbonne University to learn French. She will also be taking cooking courses at the world-renowned Cordon Bleu culinary institution. Along with going to school, she'll be blogging about her life and experiences in France. She will also be Skyping and reporting LIVE from various events and interesting locations on Good Day Sacramento and CBS13. Local high school students from several schools that offer French language courses will also be Skyping with Anny on a regular basis.

Colbert Contemplates Congressional Commerce Committee Chair Choices

Stephen Colbert recently surveyed the candidates for chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the new Congress beginning in January. The analysis focused on Rep. Barton of Texas and Rep. Shimkus of Illinois: "Joe Barton is an expert on the wind industry, and John Shimkus knows that God will not destroy the Earth." Shimkus is awarded the famous "Colbert bump."

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Chair Apparent
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes2010 ElectionMarch to Keep Fear Alive

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

"North Sea Effect": UK November Snow Deepest Since 1965;
Widespread Travel Disruption

Dec. 1 Update: The November 26-30 average sea level pressure shows an excess of more than 35 mb between Greenland and Iceland along with a deficit of 15-20 mb over central Europe. This intensifies the easterly and northeasterly air flow over the UK. The accompanying map of average wind speed and direction shows the strongest winds over the North Sea and to the north and west of the British Isles and Ireland.

The BBC reports (Snow and ice causes disruption as cold spell continues) this evening:
Temperatures are set to plunge again overnight after one of the coldest starts to December in more than 20 years has caused chaos across the UK.

Some 4,000 schools have been closed, and Edinburgh and Gatwick airports will be shut until at least Thursday.
Images (click to enlarge): View of Gatwick Airport from BBC; 5-day average sea-level pressure and winds for November 26-30 from NOAA/NCEP operational data

Original post:
The Met Office has announced that the recent UK snow is the deepest since 1965. Ewen McCallum, the Chief Meteorologist, explained the atmospheric circulation patterns causing the intense early season cold and snowfall:
Normally, our winds come from the west keeping our winters relatively mild. However, during November (like last winter) we have seen a large area of high pressure develop in the Atlantic, causing a "block" to the westerly winds that tend to keep us that little bit milder. As a result this has allowed very cold Arctic air to move south across mainland Europe.

At this time of year, the long nights over the landmass of Europe cool down rapidly and so the air has remained bitterly cold. However, this air has had to cross a relatively warm North Sea to get to the UK and has therefore picked up heat and moisture. Because the air is so cold, this has resulted in snow showers forming and with the wind coming from the east, it is coastal areas along the North Sea that have seen the heaviest snow. The localised nature of showers means that the amount of lying snow has varied greatly from place to place.
The BBC reports:
Hundreds of schools have closed, driving conditions have been hazardous, and rail and air passengers have been delayed, as the snow moves south.

The Met Office has issued heavy snow warnings for Yorkshire and Humber, east Midlands, east and north-east England, London and south-east England.
The surface/500 mb pressure chart (rotated for clarity) shows very strong high pressure extending from south of Greenland eastward to Scandinavia. Easterly flow to the south is bringing cold air from the European continent westward across the UK.

Other coverage:

Sunday, November 28, 2010

November Cold Records Set in UK

The UK Met Office reports that a northeasterly flow of Arctic air has set November low temperature records in the UK:
Last night saw November minimum temperature records fall across the country. Most notably both Wales and Northern Ireland recorded the coldest November night since records began. In Wales, temperatures fell to -18.0 °C at Llysdinam, near Llandrindod Wells, Powys. Northern Ireland recorded -9.5 °C at Loch Fea.

Scotland recorded minimum temperature of -15.3 °C at Loch Glascarnoch, whilst England recorded -13.5 °C at Topcliffe in North Yorkshire.

The UK's lowest ever recorded temperature in November was - 23.3 °C recorded in Braemar, in the Scottish Highlands, on November 14, 1919.
Heavy snow is forecast for northern and eastern portions of the country this evening and tonight:
Heavy snow will continue to affect southern and central Scotland, northeast England and the east coast of England. Snow showers possibly also fringing into the south coast of England. Elsewhere very cold again but largely dry with widespread frost.
The BBC reports that travel conditions have been impacted by "the earliest widespread snowfall since 1993."

The Northern Hemisphere surface and upper-level (500 mb) chart for noon GMT, November 28, shows very strong surface high pressure (1039 mb) centered over Iceland with easterly flow bringing cold air westward over the UK.

Image (click to enlarge): Scene on the A1 highway near Durham in northeastern UK from BBC; Northern Hemisphere surface/500 mb pressure chart from Unisys

Seasonal Outlook

Latest seasonal forecast: Click here.


Latest 3-month temperature outlook from Climate Prediction Center/NWS/NOAA.