February 2016 Observations and Discussion

[FV-Mike]

Going to be too warm on the east coast

[gosaints]

 

Going to be too warm on the east coast

 

Ski resorts could finally cash in

[westMJim]

I now have snow on the ground. With the front that came thru the Grand Rapids area now has a good inch of snow. While in most winters this would be nothing but this is the most snow we have had on the ground this month. But this might do it for this event as the sun is now out and the winds are NNW not a good direction for lake effect here in GR.

[CentralNebWeather]

Thank god we had our blizzard.  What a pathetic pattern for this area.  Really have expected more storms in an el nino pattern, especially from here to the south.  Jim Flowers said yesterday Omaha could hit 71 next Friday.  Our area it shows 50's and 60's next week.  If that spreads east alot of brown ground to finish out February.  Hope for maybe one big March storm though nothing in the extended that I can see.  Fortunately the blizzard here was one for the ages, I know other places south of here have had basically nothing all winter.

[Tom]

Thank god we had our blizzard.  What a pathetic pattern for this area.  Really have expected more storms in an el nino pattern, especially from here to the south.  Jim Flowers said yesterday Omaha could hit 71 next Friday.  Our area it shows 50's and 60's next week.  If that spreads east alot of brown ground to finish out February.  Hope for maybe one big March storm though nothing in the extended that I can see.  Fortunately the blizzard here was one for the ages, I know other places south of here have had basically nothing all winter.

Indeed, this was the case for Chicago and areas nearby last year when we enjoyed a Blizzard to open up Feb.  If it wasn't for that storm, it would have been a pretty sub par season...except, of course, the bitter cold that took over in February.

 

It goes to show you that not all El Nino's are the same and parts of So Cal are asking themselves..."what El Nino??"  Although, I think later in Feb and in early March the STJ will begin to show the wet systems that hit during the LRC.  I still think you may enjoy 1 or even 2 more wintry systems before Winter is completely over.  March can produce some dynamic storms in your region.  To be honest, if we don't see any large storm systems on the horizon around here, I may end up going to AZ sooner rather than later and soak up some sun instead!

[Geos]

Thank god we had our blizzard.  What a pathetic pattern for this area.  Really have expected more storms in an el nino pattern, especially from here to the south.  Jim Flowers said yesterday Omaha could hit 71 next Friday.  Our area it shows 50's and 60's next week.  If that spreads east alot of brown ground to finish out February.  Hope for maybe one big March storm though nothing in the extended that I can see.  Fortunately the blizzard here was one for the ages, I know other places south of here have had basically nothing all winter.

 

I'd be really happy about getting a historic blizzard in an super el Niño and during meteorological winter. That was an accomplishment indeed.

Now I'm just hoping to get to normal snowfall by the end of March. If the snowiest models come true, then by late Tuesday I could be near 39" for the season. 43" is about normal here.

[CentralNebWeather]

Indeed, this was the case for Chicago and areas nearby last year when we enjoyed a Blizzard to open up Feb.  If it wasn't for that storm, it would have been a pretty sub par season...except, of course, the bitter cold that took over in February.

 

It goes to show you that not all El Nino's are the same and parts of So Cal are asking themselves..."what El Nino??"  Although, I think later in Feb and in early March the STJ will begin to show the wet systems that hit during the LRC.  I still think you may enjoy 1 or even 2 more wintry systems before Winter is completely over.  March can produce some dynamic storms in your region.  To be honest, if we don't see any large storm systems on the horizon around here, I may end up going to AZ sooner rather than later and soak up some sun instead!

Arizona sounds amazing.  Might get a suntan here by next weekend.  They are actually as I type this loading our mountains of snow piles from our school lot into large dump trucks and hauling out to a location south of town.  Probably wait a week and alot of it would melt on its own but the water running from the piles was causing ice to cover the lot every morning.

[westMJim]

I had a low here at my house of -2° and there is almost a half inch of snow on the ground here. Its been a long time since its been this cold with this little snow on the ground here in Grand Rapids. Most years when it gets this cold there is more snow on the ground due to system snow and or lake effect but this year here in GR both have been lacking and that looks to continue for the foreseeable future this winter With the one inch that fell at the airport yesterday GRR is now at 28.9” for the season. Still on track for one of the top ten lowest snow fall winters in recorded history here in GR. Here in GR the sun is out and the temp is now all the way up to +11° here at my house.

[Tom]

What a wild pattern...Boston hit -8F, coldest since 1957 (-30F departure)...Christmas eve (+27F departure)...a tale of two seasons.

 

 

 

 

Even New York broke a century year old record...without a snow cover...very impressive in a strong El Nino...

 

[westMJim]

I had a low here at my house of -3° I am not sure if the official reading here in GR reached zero or not the coldest I see is +1°

Here in the Grand Rapids area we have very little snow on the ground(less the a half inch in MBY) and there are reports of a lot of snow on the ground in norther lower Michigan (over 20” in places).  But away from lake Michigan areas in norther lower and eastern upper Michigan are also well below average snow fall to date in fact  all reporting locations are all below average as of this date.

http://www.weather.gov/apx/snowgraph_ytd

And here are some live web cams from the UP

http://www.weather.gov/apx/snowgraph_ytdwww.exploremunising.com/web-cams/

[Snowlover76]

About time NYC got below zero. I was sick of hearing people say it would never happen there again.

[gosaints]

What a wild pattern...Boston hit -8F, coldest since 1957 (-30F departure)...Christmas eve (+27F departure)...a tale of two seasons.

 

 

 

 

Even New York broke a century year old record...without a snow cover...very impressive in a strong El Nino...

 

And rain on the way. Yo yo

[Niko]

Well, this winter has been plain "Pathetic" for my area at least.  I am sure some on here feel the same about their winter as well. I have not even encountered one snowstorm of 6"+ so far. Every little event was either a "Disturbance", a "Fast Moving Front", an Arctic Front", "A System Passing To Our South", "Lake Effect Snow Crossing The State and Etc and Etc and Etc. Each producing an inch or dusting or 1 to 2 inches or 1 to 3 inches. Never even went on the high end of those amounts anyway. December was a torch, January got a little colder, big woop. February got a bit colder than January, another big woop.

 

FWIW...At least I have that very little snow on the ground with this arctic airmass.

 

Come March, Im ready for Spring. March snows do not excite me for plenty of reasons. By then I am looking forward to Severe Weather.

[Geos]

Well, this winter has been plain "Pathetic" for my area at least.  I am sure some on here feel the same about their winter as well. I have not even encountered one snowstorm of 6"+ so far. Every little event was either a "Disturbance", a "Fast Moving Front", an Arctic Front", "A System Passing To Our South", "Lake Effect Snow Crossing The State and Etc and Etc and Etc. Each producing an inch or dusting or 1 to 2 inches or 1 to 3 inches. Never even went on the high end of those amounts anyway. December was a torch, January got a little colder, big woop. February got a bit colder than January, another big woop.

 

FWIW...At least I have that very little snow on the ground with this arctic airmass.

 

Come March, Im ready for Spring. March snows do not excite me for plenty of reasons. By then I am looking forward to Severe Weather.

 

What did you get for snowfall on November 21st?

[Niko]

What did you get for snowfall on November 21st?

I don't care if I received 10 feet on Nov 21st.That's Autumn, so it doesn't count. Winter itself (DJF) was garbage, in terms of snowfall. I never did like November snows anyways.

 

FWIW: Received a little snow today. Another 3/4 of an inch. Temps will be warming up by weeks end...near 50F by Friday. Looking forward to that. Will feel great being outdoors.

 

NYC has gotten more snow this winter than all of SEMI . 

[Geos]

I don't care if I received 10 feet on Nov 21st.That's Autumn, so it doesn't count. Winter itself (DJF) was garbage, in terms of snowfall. I never did like November snows anyways.

 

FWIW: Received a little snow today. Another 3/4 of an inch. Temps will be warming up by weeks end...near 50F by Friday. Looking forward to that. Will feel great being outdoors.

 

NYC has gotten more snow this winter than all of SEMI . 

 

Typical el Niño garbage this winter for the most part. Sleet and snowstorm was the most exciting system in meteorological winter here - so far. Would be fitting to get a March snowstorm being an el Nino year.

 

Full blown la Niña or bust next winter! 

[Niko]

Typical el Niño garbage this winter for the most part. Sleet and snowstorm was the most exciting system in meteorological winter here - so far. Would be fitting to get a March snowstorm being an el Nino year.

 

Full blown la Niña or bust next winter! 

Watch next winter we all get blasted with tons of snow!!!! Hello La Nina

 

Geos, what is your snowfall number for the season so far?

[westMJim]

I received 0.25” of new snow last night and I now have a total of 1.5” on the ground here. The skies are now clear here and the temp is now 24° so with the sun today there will be some melting in the sunny areas. And of course this snow will be all gone by Friday (except for the parking lot snow piles that is) With very little in the way of snow in the forecast for next week we should start March with very little (if any) snow on the ground. The latest reported seasonal snow fall for GRR is now at 30” for the season so we are still in the running for a top ten lowest seasonal snow fall amount a lot will depend on how March and April play out. Here is a list of the top (or bottom)

1.       1905/06 20”
2. 1906/07 30.1”
3. 1948/49 33.2”
4. 1936/37 34.3”
5. 1920/21 35.6”
6. 1943/44 35.7”
7. 1982/83 35.9”
8. 1908/09 37.4”
9. 1927/28 37.5”
10. 1952/53 39.7”

 

As you can see we are still in the running but it will be close unless March and April have very little snow. BTW the average for March is 8.3 (has ranged from 0” to 36”) and the average for April is 1.8” (has ranged from 0 to 15.6 and there also has been as much as 5.5” in May the last time May had over one inch was in 1954 with 2.0”0

[Geos]

Watch next winter we all get blasted with tons of snow!!!! Hello La Nina

 

Geos, what is your snowfall number for the season so far?

 

34.8"

 

Normal is about 43"

[Geos]

Temps are really tanking tonight under no wind and snow cover. Currently at 10° with single digits just a little ways inland.

[westMJim]

Not a whole lot going on weather wise around here. I see the low at the airport was +11° here at my house I had a colder low of +1° the temp has made a big recovery as I now have +31° with the sun out it looks warmer.  If it makes 50 or better on Friday, it will be the first time it’s made 50 or better in GR since 2012 and it could be the warmest February day since 2011 (if it indeed gets into the mid 50’s) and if should get above 56° (asking a lot here) it would be the warmest February day since 2009.

[NEJeremy]

It would be nice if these mid level clouds would clear out so we can make it to the mid 60s like we're supposed to today. Clouds sticking around all morning are really going to limit the warming at this rate.

It's surprising when there have been clouds around all day so far, that you go to the NWS site and it still says mostly sunny in the forecast grids today. Go look at the satellite and you'll see it's not mostly sunny anywhere in eastern Nebraska! Where's the update NWS?!

[Jaycee]

It would be nice if these mid level clouds would clear out so we can make it to the mid 60s like we're supposed to today. Clouds sticking around all morning are really going to limit the warming at this rate.

It's surprising when there have been clouds around all day so far, that you go to the NWS site and it still says mostly sunny in the forecast grids today. Go look at the satellite and you'll see it's not mostly sunny anywhere in eastern Nebraska! Where's the update NWS?!

Yeah wtf? I was just about to leave for class in shorts and a T, but it's still chilly with the breeze and lack of sun. Really hope we make the 68 we were supposed to. So beyond ready for severe weather season.

[Geos]

Totally cloudy here. Only a degree of warming over the last 2 hours. Currently at 32°.

 

For the most part is looks to stay cloudy today around here. Supposed to reach 40° today, but with snow and clouds it doesn't look like it now.

 

[gosaints]

up to 37 here should have no problem reaching 40 here

[CentralNebWeather]

Has reached the 80's in western Kansas.  I am sitting at 64 and other places around Nebraska are higher.  Kansas City is 77, Omaha 65, and Lincoln is 70.  Our snow piles and snow drifts are taking a beating today.

[Geos]

Has reached the 80's in western Kansas.  I am sitting at 64 and other places around Nebraska are higher.  Kansas City is 77, Omaha 65, and Lincoln is 70.  Our snow piles and snow drifts are taking a beating today.

 

I heard upper 80s in a few locations. That's crazy for February.

 

Only 35° here today. Clouds and a light snow cover kept things chilly.

[hlcater]

IMBY it is 52 degrees at 7 am. Don't normally see that in February.

[OKwx2k4]

A few places in OK and KS hit all-time February high temperature records of 90 degrees yesterday. Impressive.

[westMJim]

While not official I now have a temp here at my house of 62° with and with the sun shining I expect it to get warmer then that.  The latest reading from GRR was 56° the record high for today here in Grand Rapids is 59 set in 1913 and 1930 so that is within reach and will not be surprised it see it broken

[Hawkeye]

For the second straight day, our temp just isn't rising as much as expected.  The euro has us at 54 at noon and 58 by 3pm, but we're stuck around 50.  It was supposed to be full sun, but a large deck of stratus is passing over the north half of eastern Iowa so we're seeing quite a few clouds here in CR.

[Geos]

Clouds have rolled in quickly here. Peaked at 60° briefly, now already down to 55°. Winds near 60mph as causing minor damage in the way of limbs falling down and my neighbors satellite dish got ripped off their house.

 

Will be in the 40s before too long.

[NEJeremy]

Impressive wind gusts from this storm for sure. Saw Pierre, SD had a 76 mph wind gust and Hayes, SD had an 83 mph wind gust! Here in Omaha we had a gust to 55 mph, but the winds died down pretty quickly after a few hours. We also had a spike in temperatures when the front passed through in the middle of the night. Temp jumped up to 61 at 3am before falling back down throughout the rest of the night. Back up in the 60s though this afternoon.

[hlcater]

Just recorded 61mph wind gust

[Geos]

Cooling off quick here. 53°

I've had all kinds of trash blow into the yard with tree branches falling all over the place. Bad day for garbage pickup.

[gosaints]

Cooling off quick here. 53°

I've had all kinds of trash blow into the yard with tree branches falling all over the place. Bad day for garbage pickup.

Snowpack holding?  Cant imagine the wind helping matters in that regard

[Geos]

Snowpack holding?  Cant imagine the wind helping matters in that regard

 

Snow pack is gone except for leftover sleet patches and piles.

 

There's been plenty of damage due to the winds today. Windows have fallen out of skyscrapers in Chicago. Trees have been snapped off and ended up across roads. Power outages. 

My neighbor had a 15 foot diameter trampoline in their backyard. The 60mph gusts took the thing flipped it over the house and landed it in the street!  

[Hawkeye]

This warmup has been nice, but has fallen short of what the euro had been forecasting.  For a while the euro had low 60s Friday, mid to upper 50s Saturday, and low to mid 50s Sunday.  Instead, we only reached 53 Friday afternoon and 50 Saturday afternoon, and Sunday will only be reaching the low 40s now.  It's only Feb 20th, though, so no biggie.

[hlcater]

Good old fashioned thunderstorms w/ hail have fired up near STL, ugh cant wait for spring, I'm tired of this overall lousy winter.

[Geos]

Hit 54° today. Enjoyed working outside today. Reality setting back in now with mid 30s and a N breeze.