East/Gulf Coast Weather 2016

[Phil]

Yeah so far it's been another crap December. Haven't had a solid December here since 2010..that's 6 years ago.

 

Could pick up an inch of snow by Saturday morning before we flip to sleet/zr shortly thereafter. So, meh.

[Phil]

Last final exam tomorrow. Can't wait to be done for the year, then hopefully transfer into my school of choice in 2017.

[weatherfan2012]

Yeah so far it's been another crap December. Haven't had a solid December here since 2010..that's 6 years ago.

Could pick up an inch of snow by Saturday morning before we flip to sleet/zr shortly thereafter. So, meh.

true but from 2000-2010 we had a period where December was mostly over performing more times then not so as bad as it does seem just like everything else it likey just things balancing it self out in the end in other words part of the cycle of patterns.and it's really not new things it just new to us human beings because our time here on earth is a sort chapter in earth climate in general terms of record keeping.

[Phil]

true but from 2000-2010 we had a period where December was mostly over performing more times then not so as bad as it does seem just like everything else it likey just things balancing it self out in the end in other words part of the cycle of patterns.and it's really not new things it just new to us human beings because our time here on earth is a sort chapter in earth climate in general terms of record keeping.

Yeah you've got a point there. Though I'd still consider December 2005, 2006, and 2007 to be crappy as well as 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016. I guess 2008 and 2010 were okay, 2013 was very nice, and of course 2009 was amazing.

 

That said, December 2011, 2014, and 2015 were so historically s**ty it's hard to believe we haven't "made up" for whatever we were supposedly making up for yet.

[Phil]

Westerly downsloping flow killing our snow chances once again this evening. Front just starting its trek across the mountain ranges now.

 

Not looking forward to subzero dewpoints with howling winds and temps in the single digits and/or teens. Uncomfortable stuff.

[Andie]

Last final exam tomorrow. Can't wait to be done for the year, then hopefully transfer into my school of choice in 2017.

Congrats on a successful year Phil. So, where will you transfer to and what is/are your majors?

How's the game plan going ?

 

PS - clear your PM files as you can't receive anymore PM's.

[Phil]

Woken up by the house shaking and rumbling at 430AM. Some heavy gusts with that frontal passage.

 

Currently 22/-4 with winds still gusting episodically. I don't think we'll make it past the mid-20s today.

[Phil]

Last minute wind advisory issued here for gusts to 50mph.

 

Typical. Now I get to go drive in it.

[Phil]

Congrats on a successful year Phil. So, where will you transfer to and what is/are your majors?

How's the game plan going ?

 

PS - clear your PM files as you can't receive anymore PM's.

Thanks.

 

Fingers crossed, depends on whether or not I pass the final so I don't want to jinx anything, haha. Will get back to you when I get home (on all counts).

[Phil]

Holy crap. So I was driving to class, and the wind tips over one of those FedEx tractor trailers two cars in front of me. Have never seen that happen before. Was blowing at just the right angle to induce chaos.

 

Was brutal on campus too. Trashcans and crap flying all over the place with a temperature of 17 degrees. Winds easily sustained over 40mph there on Parrs Ridge.

[Phil]

So far, DCA has gusted to 51mph, Wintergreen to 62mph, BWI to 45mph. Here I'm at 40mph, but that's through a thick grove of pine trees so probably at least moderately stronger. Sounds like a jet plane blowing through the old hardwoods.

 

Good news is I don't see any damage tree damage anywhere so I think we keep power. Just a few stray shingles here and there.

[Phil]

Thing is, the pressure gradient isn't even that strong with this event. Really, this is mostly downsloping combined with daytime solar heating and vigorous CAA aloft nuking the mixing layer.

 

Would have been a huge wind event had there been a legitimate pressure gradient like we had February 2015. The fact that event occurred overnight saved us from something much more destructive given the more stable profile/anemic mixing layer, but still produced winds between 60-75mph down to the lower elevations.

 

The overnight timing of the event last April was another lucky break for the lower elevations. Have to go back to February 2011 for the last super pressure-surge event that occurred during the day, yet it lacked strong CAA/Arctic air like February 2015.

 

Maybe this is the year all the stars will align during peak heating in late winter. Deep arctic airmass, strong CAA, pressure surge, and a the SW orientation for the deepest possible tropopause well. Would be epic stuff.

[Andie]

Tomorrow we'll drop from 75 to 16. Quite a drop...59*

Average wind speed 25 mph.

 

Mt. Washington, NH had a wind chill yesterday of -85*

[Phil]

Got about 1/2" of snow followed by 1/4" of ZR here last night. It's a complete skating rink this morning..even the main streets are caked in ice.

 

Was freezing rain at 25/6 by sunrise..now 31/29 and warming slowly.

[Phil]

Just hit freezing as of 1pm. Was modeled to be in the lower 40s already..never doubt the wedge.

[Phil]

Still struggling to warm much above freezing here. Some areas are scouring out but my area and others sitting in/along/above the upper river and creek valleys are wedged in still.

 

Currently 32.2 degrees and slowly melting.

[Andie]

Front blew in hard and fast. We've dropped from about 70 at noon to 23 at 10 pm. Wind speed is 20 to 25mph constant. Never dies down.

Morning will see 21. We currently have a 8* wind chill. Humidity 55%.

 

I was North on the Red River when it hit with mist which froze on my face and I was in this all day. Talk about miserable.

So much for NOAAs altered winter forecast to mild. I think their original forecast was a good deal closer to reality.

[Phil]

This was the scene on I95 this morning. Terrible. Freezing rain isn't something to mess with, prayers for those who lost their lives.

 

[Andie]

16* this morning. Winds whipping 20-25mph. Wind chill at 0*

 

Downright dangerous out there. Thank heaven it came in largely dry south of the Red River. Some rain in east Texas.

 

Unbelievable footage. I can't believe some of those trucks chose to proceed. I'd rather be rear ended than drive through fuel that's on fire.

[Phil]

16* this morning. Winds whipping 20-25mph. Wind chill at 0*

 

Downright dangerous out there. Thank heaven it came in largely dry south of the Red River. Some rain in east Texas.

 

Unbelievable footage. I can't believe some of those trucks chose to proceed. I'd rather be rear ended than drive through fuel that's on fire.

Yeah I think the fact they couldn't stop due to the ice was the problem.

[weatherfan2012]

This was the scene on I95 this morning. Terrible. Freezing rain isn't something to mess with, prayers for those who lost their lives.

yeah I saw this video yesterday on justin Burke page talk about scarey stuff when that taker exploded with fire.the problem in our reagion phil is hafe of the people don't know how to drive in a few inches of snow add ice to the picture it bound to be a night mare as we saw yesterday sad result as you said.

[weatherfan2012]

Yeah I think the fact they couldn't stop due to the ice was the problem.

ice is the worse it only takes a tiny bit of that crap to start causing a big time nightmare on the roads

[Phil]

HUGE blast of wind here this afternoon with the frontal passage..easily the strongest winds since hurricane Sandy. Tore up our gutters, and broke our outdoor lights and mailbox.

 

My station is surrounded by mature pine trees and still recorded a 50mph gust. Very impressive. Pictures of the house are below.

 

Gutters torn up again:

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/7009B144-6269-4B73-96A5-2AB6A4C22916_zpsy07rn3bc.jpg

 

Thess light fixtures snapped off at the base, allowing the lights to rotate with the wind.

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/04B76125-A76B-412D-9E73-70BA3274A066_zpsvuzjznoa.jpg

 

Mailbox busted:

 

http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww243/phillywillie/Mobile%20Uploads/861B27FD-0B64-4E4C-ACA8-A0F69E463117_zpsmqhjeky5.jpg

[Andie]

Wow, Phil, that mailbox says it all. Impressive blast of wind.

 

We get that and up to 80mph straight line winds with spring tornado season. But we've been lucky over the past 5 yrs. so, what's your forecast for the winter in your area ?

 

We're currently at 26, feels like 14. Low tonight will be 22.

Our thermostat on our sprinkler system croaked and sprinklers came on at 5 am. Lovely Christmassy icicles to display for the weekend. Thank heaven no broken pipes to our knowledge. Sprinkler man kindly took my call today and assured me it was likely the thermostat.

This winter will likely dish out some real trouble. Batten down as best you can, friend.

[Andie]

Sitting at 24*, calm, sunny. Feels like 16*

If it keeps this up till winters over it'll be hard on everyone and everything.

 

So Phil, how's the clean up going. So sorry you're facing that and the expense of repair.

[Phil]

Sitting at 24*, calm, sunny. Feels like 16*

If it keeps this up till winters over it'll be hard on everyone and everything.

 

So Phil, how's the clean up going. So sorry you're facing that and the expense of repair.

I spent the day repairing it myself..required two trips to the Home Depot, haha.

 

It actually pulled the plywood out with the gutter awning, snapping some of the bolts joining the them with the roofing face. I guess we're lucky that building codes require roofs be bolted down and reinforced to walls here, or there might have been more problems..

 

Some very high gusts registered on nearby stations around here..Bradley Hills hit 72mph, Kimberley hit 79mph, Bannockburn hit 68mph..all within a mile of here.

[Phil]

Also, saw today that a house on Helmsdale Road had its chimney knocked down. Will try to get a picture tomorrow. There was also a big ice cooler that wound up on our deck..we asked around but it doesn't belong to anyone on our street.

 

A few houses are missing shutters, shingles, and siding. A few medium sized tree limbs hundreds of twigs down too.

[Andie]

Sounds like our spring storms. I had hurricane clips put on my last house, I'm regretting doing it on this one though we are in a very protected spot on the north side of a hill. Most of our storms come from the SW. Only problem we'll have is if someone roof from on the hill, lands on my house. With tornados, anything is possible.

 

How typical is that for your area? We see them from 45-75 in spring storms without tornados.

 

When you move to the area you're considering, be sure to lock and load that house too as one never knows what will get dished out.

 

We're at 38 right now. Lost power for an hr this afternoon while power did repairs. House grew cold in a hurry. While temps are rising, concrete surfaces are still quite cold so you really feel it.

[Phil]

Sounds like our spring storms. I had hurricane clips put on my last house, I'm regretting doing it on this one though we are in a very protected spot on the north side of a hill. Most of our storms come from the SW. Only problem we'll have is if someone roof from on the hill, lands on my house. With tornados, anything is possible.

Interesting. This area (SW Montgomery County "Knob") is very sheltered in general, except when the winds blow with a dominant westerly component. The Potomac River Valley runs on an east/west axis for over 20 miles here, and we live on a small elevated bluff (within the river valley) separating Booze Creek from the Potomac River. So those W/NW winds get funneled right in here, and we're exposed from that direction anyway, so they hit hard and relentlessly. However, we're sheltered from every other direction here.

 

How typical is that for your area? We see them from 45-75 in spring storms without tornados.

It's actually very common for the DC area to receive strong postfrontal winds from the W/NW due to downsloping, which deepens boundary layer mixing. Gusts very often exceed 50mph and sometimes exceed of 60mph. Every now and then, a big daddy will blow through with gusts over hurricane force.

 

Some areas are hit harder than others obviously. Places like Parrs Ridge, locations within/along the Potomac River Valley, and especially higher elevations to the west of here get hit the hardest, while locations east of the Fall Line typically receive less wind overall.

[Andie]

So, the area you want to move to...how's the storms there ?

[Phil]

Another morning in the teens here. Highs will probably top out in the mid-30s.

[Phil]

So, the area you want to move to...how's the storms there ?

Well the Germantown/Damascus/Mt. Airy corridor sits along the crest of Parrs Ridge, so it's a cooler, windier climate overall.

 

Would average closer to 30" of snowfall per year, as opposed to the 20" per year I average now. Also would get more precipitation and less somewhat less heat and humidity during the summer, though I think you really have to go up over 1500ft in elevation to truly get away from that (I'll be gaining only 800ft).

[Black Hole]

The cold front a few days ago was wild. Ended up hitting 10F one night and had a high in the mid 20s the next day. Totally dry though. The wind chill was below zero Sunday morning, it was brutal.

Looks to be a bit warmer the next few days until I leave on Friday night. 

[Andie]

We had a high of 66 and will drop to 38 tonight.

 

Christmas is starting to size up for 71*. That's not a typo.

And rain coming in the the late afternoon.

The mild front will only drop our temps the following day to a high of 60.

Typical Texas Christmas. Shorts and flip flops.

[Phil]

Another windy downslope day. Gusts around 40mph mostly.

[Andie]

They've reduced our rain chances to 30% as the front will track north.

Fine with me. Who needs storms on Christmas.

 

 

Speaking of the holidays......Merry Christmas to Everyone and a Happy Hanukkah !

 

 

I might add, Good Yule to any Pagans here.

[Phil]

Finally someone set up a weather station at 4600ft in Snowshoe WV, right up there by the village. In yesterday's modest lowland wind event, they were sustained at 55mph, gusting to 65mph. I can't wait until a real wind event arrives..I bet they hit 100mph or greater up there.

 

Even now they're sustained at 32mph, gusting to 43mph.

[Phil]

Stick a fork in it. Winter is over.

Relax man, we'll be fine. We didn't see a single snowflake here until mid-January last winter. Actually, December has never been a winter month here really. Since 2010, even March has owned December in terms of snowfall and cold.

 

If the first 10 days January don't perform, watch the final week of January and the first week of February. Then there's the classic Niña year early "March madness" period which is about as climo here as August humidity.

[Andie]

High of 78* today. Currently 71* at 9:30 pm

Low forecast for 66*.

 

Santa will be in his Bermuda shorts and sandals tonight.

Weak front tomorrow night will bring some scattered showers and a drop in temps to the 60's.

[weatherfan2012]

At least it not as warm as last Christmas those that easy to state as last year was ridiculously warm on Christmas with it 70s for highs lol.