Christmas in July and other winter time goodies

[jaster220]

Chicago Shut-down twice in 1 winter???!!!

 

So, I finally stumbled onto this WGN story (that I saw years ago) on the 2nd Chicago Blizzard of '67 and ofc it's summer so it's way off topic in current threads but I just couldn't think of waiting months-n-months to post it. So, here's a place I could

 

I love these hard-hitting surprise systems, and I suppose they're kinda rare for a reason, especially in this day of increasing lead-times. It takes a serious over-performer to get a similar result today.

 

 

 

 

This is actually from the Big Dog in Jan '67

 

 

 

 

Another Chi-town snow graphic. Another '78-79 anybody?

 

 

 

 

Midwest

 

 

 

 

(can you tell my fave wx season?)

[Anti Marine Layer]

Winter is your favorite season.

 

Hallmark Channel just had their Christmas Keepsake Week from July 14-23 and then it's round-the-clock Christmas movies from October 27 to New Year's Day.

[Tom]

Check this video out which correlates with '67!

 

https://youtu.be/EVsSo5Z00XU

[jaster220]

Check this video out which correlates with '67!

 

https://youtu.be/EVsSo5Z00XU

 

Per this video commentator, 1979 was for Chi-town

 

 

I remember '67 quite well as a city dweller high schooler. 1 week after the snowstorm, the temperature went above 32 degrees. 2 weeks after the storm, half the snow was already gone. 3 weeks later, it all was gone, and it was only the 3rd week of February. 1979 was altogether a different story. Beginning January 1, 1979, the temperature went below normal for most of the winter and there were 3 major snowstorms alone in January. Many days were 0 or below F and no salt laid down was any good on the roads. No politician in my opinion could really have done more. Many structures collapsed in 1979 due to weight of snow on roofs, and there was plenty of collateral damage similar: Broken water mains; Major fires, etc.. Some streets were closed due to frozen water from broken mains. Most of the 1979 snow melted between March 15 and the end of March. There were still remnant piles of it to be found around until June!!!! I saw them, black like coal and compacted into an icy form due to age. For years after 1979, I got the jitters when January rolled around, would it happen again?

 

Sounds like Boston a couple yrs ago

[jaster220]

My personal fave video on Chicago winter storms due to it's professional production and Skilling's inclusion - top notch stuff here imho. I'm a history buff as well so this is all-around coolness. I love the vintage footage of the downtown streets of the false warmth a couple days prior. Watching it in full screen mode it's like actually being there. (ofc, I was in diapers yet, so prolly good I'm not in the footage )

 

https://youtu.be/2cAuKQI78tw

[OKwx2k4]

That is a great video!!!

[Niko]

My personal fave video on Chicago winter storms due to it's professional production and Skilling's inclusion - top notch stuff here imho. I'm a history buff as well so this is all-around coolness. I love the vintage footage of the downtown streets of the false warmth a couple days prior. Watching it in full screen mode it's like actually being there. (ofc, I was in diapers yet, so prolly good I'm not in the footage )

 

https://youtu.be/2cAuKQI78tw

Great video!

[Niko]

Chicago Shut-down twice in 1 winter???!!!

 

So, I finally stumbled onto this WGN story (that I saw years ago) on the 2nd Chicago Blizzard of '67 and ofc it's summer so it's way off topic in current threads but I just couldn't think of waiting months-n-months to post it. So, here's a place I could

 

I love these hard-hitting surprise systems, and I suppose they're kinda rare for a reason, especially in this day of increasing lead-times. It takes a serious over-performer to get a similar result today.

 

Chicago Bliz of Feb 1967.jpg

 

 

This is actually from the Big Dog in Jan '67

 

1967 Chicago snowstorm.jpg

 

 

Another Chi-town snow graphic. Another '78-79 anybody?

 

chicago-snowfall-chart.jpg

 

 

Midwest

 

annual_snowfall_normals.png

 

 

(can you tell my fave wx season?)

I am thinking 78-79!

[jaster220]

I am thinking 78-79!

 

Just meant WINTER not a specific one

[Niko]

Just meant WINTER not a specific one

OOh.ok!

[Niko]

That "67 Blizzard" really came outta nowhere. From 60s and sunny to an all out blizzard the next day. Kinda cool. I like these kind of unexpected surprises in weather. I.E, when they expect a little snow and then, suddenly, it turns into a huge snowstorm.

[jaster220]

That "67 Blizzard" really came outta nowhere. From 60s and sunny to an all out blizzard the next day. Kinda cool. I like these kind of unexpected surprises in weather. I.E, when they expect a little snow and then, suddenly, it turns into a huge snowstorm.

 

I think with the advancement of wx satellites and super-computers, the "element of surprise" is no more wrt winter storms. Old Man Winter threw MET's a ton of curve balls in the 60's and 70's. By the 80's I still clearly remember bad busts in both directions (bliz of '82 from STL up through SEMI as a classic example of an awesome good bust ). By the 90's I was living in NMI, and the newest wx models gave some less experienced MET's a sense of mastery over the elements. It was crazy circa mid-90's I remember hearing a radio station MET calling a "Winter Storm Watch" for a system about 8 days out :blink:

 

They (including NWS) soon realized that the state of the art hadn't advanced anywhere close to that level after all. But, each decade's seen it's steady improvements with the busts (think GHD1 for most of SMI = half the snow expected but not a total whiff) becoming less embarrassing, and the lead time accuracy steadily improving to where a "consensus event" can be seen at 240 hrs, and a fairly high confidence level of impact is had by the 120 hr mark.

 

Now, when they issue WSWatch boxes, they're pretty accurate. They may be off a county or two, or by a small percentage with the totals, but by and large it's come so far, nothing close to a "surprise blizzard" seems remotely possible. To the general public, this is great news. For me personally, it's met with mixed emotions. One of the big reasons notorious blizzards were more monumental and historic in the past was the inability for public works crews to get or stay on top of a storm like '67 or '78.

 

Jan '99 bliz was the last thing SWMI had that was close to a superstorm with some areas (including Lk enhancement) reaching 24+ inches. Because of a long (15 yrs?) drought of blizzards, that was the first one I remember with all the modern day forecasting tools, and the effects were extremely mitigated in metro Chicago compared to '67. Across SWMI, there was still considerable disruption due to ongoing drifting and the more open farmland environment, but rural communities weren't cut off from the outside world like back in '67

 

Long live the good ole days of "surprise blizzards"

[Niko]

I think with the advancement of wx satellites and super-computers, the "element of surprise" is no more wrt winter storms. Old Man Winter threw MET's a ton of curve balls in the 60's and 70's. By the 80's I still clearly remember bad busts in both directions (bliz of '82 from STL up through SEMI as a classic example of an awesome good bust ). By the 90's I was living in NMI, and the newest wx models gave some less experienced MET's a sense of mastery over the elements. It was crazy circa mid-90's I remember hearing a radio station MET calling a "Winter Storm Watch" for a system about 8 days out :blink:

 

They (including NWS) soon realized that the state of the art hadn't advanced anywhere close to that level after all. But, each decade's seen it's steady improvements with the busts (think GHD1 for most of SMI = half the snow expected but not a total whiff) becoming less embarrassing, and the lead time accuracy steadily improving to where a "consensus event" can be seen at 240 hrs, and a fairly high confidence level of impact is had by the 120 hr mark.

 

Now, when they issue WSWatch boxes, they're pretty accurate. They may be off a county or two, or by a small percentage with the totals, but by and large it's come so far, nothing close to a "surprise blizzard" seems remotely possible. To the general public, this is great news. For me personally, it's met with mixed emotions. One of the big reasons notorious blizzards were more monumental and historic in the past was the inability for public works crews to get or stay on top of a storm like '67 or '78.

 

Jan '99 bliz was the last thing SWMI had that was close to a superstorm with some areas (including Lk enhancement) reaching 24+ inches. Because of a long (15 yrs?) drought of blizzards, that was the first one I remember with all the modern day forecasting tools, and the effects were extremely mitigated in metro Chicago compared to '67. Across SWMI, there was still considerable disruption due to ongoing drifting and the more open farmland environment, but rural communities weren't cut off from the outside world like back in '67

 

Long live the good ole days of "surprise blizzards"

Darn latest computers models that are now available have ruined our surprise blizzards/snowstorms.

I remember the 82 blizzard that hit NYC. They had been calling for it days and days for a lot of snow coming and they nailed it. The city ended up with 20", or near around there, give or take. Also, the Blizzard of 96 was another good call...La Guardia received 2ft. The only bust I can remember was the Blizzard of 2006. All time record snowfall for Central Park, NY with 27.9inches. They were calling for a few inches only. What happened was a mesoscale developed over NYC and stalled there for hours. Very heavy snow and strong winds for hours and hours. Tbh, it looked a little less to me, more like 20inches, but, whateva.

[Niko]

My favorite years for a Winter season has got to be (NYC Winters 1995-96, 2002-2005, 2009-2011) and finally the epic year of 2013-14 in MI.