I figured that one out. Doesn't that just blow your mind? Arthur, Bertha, and Cristobal came in before this month. Dolly formed late August and carried into this month and so far we've had Dolly, Edouard, Fay, TD 7, Gustav, Hanna, Isidore, Josephine, Kyle and Lili. So it wasn't just me, it has been an active month, perhaps the most active ever in the month of September for the Atlantic basin!
SINCE 1886...ONLY TWO HURRICANES (JERRY IN 1989 AND UNNAMED IN 1949)
AND TWO TROPICAL STORMS (1938 AND 1895) HAVE MADE LANDFALL IN
OCTOBER IN OUR COUNTY WARNING AREA.
And that county warning area they are talking about is the Houston/Galveston CWA, thanks to them for that information. Only 2 hurricanes in southeast Texas. Jerry in 1989 was a category 1 hurricane tracking north from the southern Bay of Campeche but it began it's journey as a wave off the African coast. It made landfall on Galveston Island and was the latest hurricane to hit the area in history. Light beach erosion occured and 3 people died. In 1949, a much stronger hurricane plowed into the area making landfall as a category 4 storm. This one actually developed in the eastern Pacific and moved north across San Salvador and Mexico and into the Bay of Campeche and the Gulf of Mexico. It made landfall near Freeport killing two and damaging a lot of crops. Lili could gain as much strength as that 1949 hurricane but with more people along the coast and more property there, damages could be far more major!
Since July of 1998, Asheville is down 49.18 inches of precipitation. Only 9 months in the last 51 months had precipitation above the normal.
I figured that out. Yeah it has been extremely dry the last 4 years. The numbers speak for themselves. Only 2 months this year have had above normal precipitation: September and June. To make up 50 inches of rain, I don't see how that could be possible. Our normals will be drastically changed the next climatological period toward drier conditions. Which would mean good news in theory because the drought won't last forever and we'll get rain. Interesting to note, October 2000 did not see any precipitation at all in Asheville.
Tropical Cyclone Kyle is the longest lasting tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin since Alberto in 2000. Kyle has so far lasted 16 days but from August 4-23 of 2000, Alberto lasted 19 days. The last Kyle occured in 1996 and that was the shortest named tropical system of the hurricane season lasting 3 days.
I figured that out. Kyle could break Alberto's record. The forecast for it through the next 3 days is to hold its own out in the Atlantic. Alberto in 2000 didn't bother any landmasses and Kyle hasn't either. See the key for these systems lasting long seems to be that they don't hit any land. That's not the only reason but that's the way it seems.
TROPICAL STORM KYLE DISCUSSION NUMBER 70
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
11 PM EDT MON OCT 07 2002
RANK #DAYS NAME/YEAR
----------------------
1 27.25 GINGER 1971
2 24.75 INGA 1969
3 20.75 CARRIE 1957
STORM 9 OF 1893
5 20.25 INEZ 1966
6 19.75 ALBERTO 2000
7 19.50 STORM 4 OF 1926
8 18.50 STORM 6 OF 1893
9 18.00 STORM 2 OF 1930
10 17.75 STORM 2 OF 1899
11 17.50 KYLE 2002
BEULAH 1967
STORM 3 OF 1906
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 1000 AM EDT THU OCT 17 2002 ...2002 SOUTH FLORIDA RAINY SEASON ENDS... THE 2002 RAINY SEASON IN SOUTH FLORIDA ENDED ON OCTOBER 16...ONE DAY EARLIER THAN THE MEDIAN ENDING DATE OF OCTOBER 17. THE 2002 RAINY SEASON BEGAN ON MAY 14...AND THUS LASTED FOR 155 DAYS. THE RAINY SEASON NORMALLY BEGINS ON MAY 21 AND LASTS FOR 153 DAYS. RAINFALL IN SOUTH FLORIDA DURING THE 2002 RAINY SEASON AVERAGED 44.92 INCHES WHICH IS 6.13 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. RAINY SEASON AMOUNTS AT INDIVIDUAL LOCATIONS IN SOUTH FLORIDA INCLUDE... LOCATION 2002 NORMAL MIAMI 49.96 41.76 FORT LAUDERDALE 46.84 40.47 WEST PALM BEACH 37.21 35.11 NAPLES 45.78 37.83
Thanks to the Miami NWS for that one. An early start and a little early finish but south Florida still finished in the black as far as rainfall goes. It wasn't too long ago that we were talking about a drought situation. Impressive about this, they weren't affected by any tropical cyclones during their rainy season but as recent as 1998 with Mitch and 1994 with Gordon, tropical systems can come after the rainy season and add more rainfall. The rainy season there is very important in that 70% of their average yearly precipitation comes in the afternoon showers and thunderstorms. For the year, South Florida has a rainfall surplus with a healthy 5.40 inch surplus in Miami.
RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV 1155 PM PDT FRI OCT 18 2002 ...RECORD DAILY EXTREMES SET IN WELLS FRIDAY... NEW RECORD OLD RECORD YEAR HIGH 81 78 1974 LOW 12 14 1976
Thanks to the Elko NWS for that one. Hey, I know this came from Friday but this trend of extreme temperatures have extended into the weekend. Those Friday readings represented a temperature spread of 69 degrees! My goodness, that's incredible. Almost a 70 degree range in temperature during that day. You can go from a parka early in the morning to shorts weather by afternoon. That's really remarkable to me and that's what happens when you're under a ridge this time of the year with no clouds. Warm up rapidly during the day, cool down rapidly at night. Low dewpoints too in the single digits in some instances so you're hard pressed to break a sweat. And once the sun goes down, those temps plummet! On Saturday, Wells had a high of 77 after a low of 14. And today, the low was 15 with temperatures in the afternoon into the upper 60s.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
200 PM EDT TUE OCT 22 2002
STRONG EL NINOS BRING MILD AND RELATIVELY DRY WINTERS TO SOUTHEAST LOWER
MICHIGAN, BUT WHAT OF THE WEAK TO MODERATE EL NINOS? FIVE YEARS AGO /1997-98/, A STRONG EL NINO OCCURRED IN
THE PACIFIC. THE RESULTANT 1997-98 WINTER WAS ABNORMALLY WARM WITH WELL
BELOW NORMAL SNOWFALL ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN.:
WINTER OF 97-98
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES (97-98)
(NOTE: OLD NORMS 1961-1990)
_____________________________________________________________
DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY WINTER NORMAL
-------------------------------------------------------------
DETROIT 32.3 32.8 36.7 33.9 25.5
(DEPART) (+4.0) (+9.9) (+11.3) (+8.4)
FLINT 29.9 29.9 34.6 31.5 24.1
(DEPART) (+2.7) (+8.4) (+11.1) (+7.4)
SAGINAW 26.2 28.6 33.4 29.4
(DEPART) (+4.9) (+8.0) (+10.9) (+6.2) 23.2
_____________________________________________________________
PRECIPITATION (97-98)
(NOTE: OLD NORMS 1961-1990)
-------------------------------------------------------------
DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY WINTER NORMAL
-------------------------------------------------------------
DETROIT 1.89 2.78 3.60 8.27 6.32
(DEPART) (-.93) (+1.02) (+1.86) (+1.95)
SNOW/DPT 6.1/-4.8 8.3/-3.5 T/-9.2 22.5 41.2
FLINT 1.06 3.16 1.65 5.87 4.78
(DEPART) (-1.05) (+1.77) (+.37) (+1.09)
SNOW/DPT 6.9/-4.4 8.0/-4.3 0.4/-9.9 28.3 45.1
SAGINAW 0.78 4.04 2.79 7.61 5.37
(DEPART) (-1.59) (+2.41) (+1.42) (+2.24)
SNOW/DPT 6.7/ 14.4 0.6 40.1 46.0
AS IMPORTANT AS THE PROGRESS OF EL NINO WILL BE THE EVOLUTION OF THE
NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION (NAO) AND THE EASTERN PACIFIC OSCILLATION
(EPO). THE NAO, BASICALLY, IS THE DOMINANT UPPER WIND FLOW PATTERN OVER
THE NORTH ATLANTIC INFLUENCED BY THE OCEAN. WHILE IN A NEGATIVE PHASE,
THE NAO SOMETIMES TENDS TO ACT AS A BLOCK (OR DAM) TO THE UPPER WIND
FLOW OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF NORTH AMERICA. THIS BLOCKING EFFECT, IN
TURN, TENDS TO DELIVER THE POLAR/ARCTIC AIR INTO THE EASTERN HALF OF
THE COUNTRY AND GREAT LAKES MORE READILY.
THE EASTERN PACIFIC OSCILLATION (EPO) IS THE UPPER WIND FLOW OVER THE
EASTERN PACIFIC INFLUENCED BY THE OCEAN. WHEN IN A POSITIVE PHASE, THE
EPO GENERALLY IS REFLECTED BY DOMINANT STRONGER ZONAL FLOW AND/OR
TROUGHING ALONG THE WEST COAST OF THE U.S. THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO
LOWER PRESSURE OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA THAT EXTENDS SOUTH OFF THE COAST
OF WESTERN CANADA, WHILE HIGHER PRESSURE DOMINATES ACROSS THE CENTRAL
PACIFIC. THIS COMBINATION, IN TURN, TENDS TO FUNNEL MILDER PACIFIC AIR
WELL INLAND INTO THE COUNTRY AND THUS, LIMITS ARCTIC OUTBREAKS BY
HOLDING THEM AT BAY UP IN CANADA.
Thanks to the Detroit NWS for that one. Looks like the characteristics of an El Nino are showing itself in the weather patterns lately with a dominate southern stream bringing repeated disturbances out of the south and tracking them toward the East Coast. But this El Nino should not be as strong as 5 years ago or 21 years ago. And they talked about the weather there with the last El Nino but with a weaker El Nino, results in temperature and snowfall in eastern Lower Michigan highly varied when ranked all time for a winter. For instance in the weak to moderate El Nino of 1936-37, Saginaw recorded its warmest winter ever and it was the second warmest in Detroit. The warmest winter there occured in the weak El Nino of 1881-82. Conversely, in 1977-78, Saginaw had its 6th coldest winter, Flint its 5th and Detroit its 7th coldest in that weak to moderate El Nino. And it looks as if you can compare a cold winter you can compare it to a more snowy and vice versa in the non strong El Nino.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 701 PM CDT THU OCT 24 2002 CLIMATOLOGICALLY OCTOBER IN THE MODIFIED SUBTROPICAL CLIMATE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS IS A MONTH OF VAST MOISTURE AND RAINFALL EXTREMES. OCTOBER 2002 IS SO FAR THE 4TH WETTEST OCTOBER OF RECORD FOR DEL RIO...THE 7TH WETTEST OF RECORD FOR AUSTIN BERGSTROM... THE 10TH WETTEST OF RECORD FOR SAN ANTONIO...AND THE 25TH WETTEST SO FAR FOR AUSTIN MABRY. THE LIST BELOW SHOWS THE 3 WETTEST AND 3 DRIEST OCTOBERS FOR AUSTIN...DEL RIO...AND SAN ANTONIO. AUSTIN MABRY 1856 TO 2001 3 WETTEST OCTOBERS 3 DRIEST OCTOBERS 1. 12.63 OCTOBER 1925 1. 0.00 OCTOBER 1893 2. 12.54 OCTOBER 1870 2. TRACE OCTOBER 1952 3. 12.39 OCTOBER 1998 3. 0.02 OCTOBER 1947 AUSTIN BERGSTROM OCTOBER 1942 TO 2001 3 WETTEST OCTOBERS 3 DRIEST OCTOBERS 1. 13.08 OCTOBER 1960 1. 0.00 OCTOBER 1952 2. 12.73 OCTOBER 1998 2. 0.01 OCTOBER 1947 3. 10.40 OCTOBER 1973 3. 0.21 OCTOBER 1987 DEL RIO...DECEMBER 1905 TO 2001 3 WETTEST OCTOBERS 3 DRIEST OCTOBERS 1. 11.69 OCTOBER 1930 1. 0.00 OCTOBER 1917 AND 1979 2. 11.33 OCTOBER 1969 2. TRACE OCTOBER 1950 AND 1952 3. 7.21 OCTOBER 1941 3. 0.01 OCTOBER 1915 AND 1931 SAN ANTONIO 1871 TO 2001 3 WETTEST OCTOBERS 3 DRIEST OCTOBERS 1. 18.07 OCTOBER 1998 1. TRACE OCTOBER 1952 2. 9.74 OCTOBER 1994 2. 0.03 OCTOBER 1898 3. 9.56 OCTOBER 1942 3. 0.07 OCTOBER 1939
Thanks to the Austin/San Antonio NWS for that one. Either they have dry fronts passing through or an active southern stream bringing them lots of rains, like this year in the month of October which makes for widely varying weather in south central Texas. October 1998 is the most recent that stands out and that was the last year before a La Nina took hold. That's when we had El Viejo, which is closer to normal water temperatures in the Pacific. That year brought San Antonio their wettest October on record. So how does this October stack up? Austin Bergstrom has 8.02 inches of rain, Austin Mabry has 5.82 inches, Del Rio has 7.11 inches, and San Antonio has 7.16 inches of rain! And it rained their today with San Antonio setting a daily rainfall record and more rain is to come before the month is over with. Last year at this time, they had about 1-2 and three quarters inches with Del Rio improving the most over last year with a 6 and a half inch jump ahead of last year at this time! And with a tenth of an inch more rain, they'll crack the top 3 wettest Octobers on record.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 645 AM CDT SAT OCT 26 2002 ...OCTOBER 2002 NINTH WETTEST MONTH EVER AT GALVESTON... AS OF 6 AM...9.45 INCHES OF RAIN HAS BEEN RECORDED AT SCHOLES FIELD IN GALVESTON THIS MONTH. THIS MAKES OCTOBER 2002 THE NINTH WETTEST MONTH EVER AT GALVESTON. THE TOP TEN WETTEST OCTOBERS: 1871 17.78 INCHES 1877 17.39 1925 17.34 1913 15.37 1901 15.00 1941 11.47 1906 10.88 1881 10.83 2002 9.45 SO FAR 1910 9.36
Thanks to the Houston/Galveston NWS for that one. By that I think they mean the 9th wettest October on record and not 9th wettest month overall. They along with the rest of Southeast Texas recieved a ton of rain all weekend long with a broad southwesterly flow and disturbances running along it inducing the heavy rainfall amounts. On Saturday, they picked up 0.88 inch of rain in Galveston to bring them to 9.88 inches for the month so far. That equates to a 6.90 inch surplus for the month and for the year, they are almost 20 inches above normal!
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI 1045 AM CST TUE OCT 29 2002 ...A COLD OCTOBER SO FAR... THE COLD AND CLOUDY WEATHER PATTERN THAT DEVELOPED DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE 31ST. HERE IS A LOOK AT SOME STATISTICS DURING THIS COLD STRETCH. IN GREEN BAY...21 OUT OF 28 DAYS (75%) HAVE BEEN BELOW NORMAL...WITH EVERY DAY SINCE THE 13TH BEING BELOW NORMAL. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH NOW STANDS AT 3.6 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. IN RHINELANDER...25 OUT OF 28 DAYS (89%) HAVE BEEN BELOW NORMAL... WITH EVERY DAY SINCE THE 12TH BEING BELOW NORMAL. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH NOW STANDS AT 7.1 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. SINCE OCTOBER 13TH IN WAUSAU...24 OUT OF 28 DAYS (86%) HAVE BEEN BELOW NORMAL...WITH EVERY DAY SINCE THE 12TH BEING BELOW NORMAL. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH NOW STANDS AT 6.6 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.
Thanks to the Green Bay NWS for that one. Trough in the longwave pattern set up the middle of the month and will hang tough through the end keeping northern Wisconsin very cold. Temperatures on average being 3 to 7 degrees below normal is substantial and probably not very attractive to have especially since winter is coming up and its always cold then there. Today, the below normal streak continued with Green Bay being a degree below normal, Wausau 2 degrees below normal, and Rhinelander 3 degrees below normal.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1 PM THU OCT 31 2002 ...MODERATE EL NINO EXPECTED TO INCREASE CENTRAL FLORIDA WINTER RAINFALL AND STORMINESS... OCTOBER 31, 2002 - THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE'S CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER IS FORECASTING A MODERATE EL NINO TO CONTINUE THROUGH WINTER AND BRING WETTER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS TO CENTRAL FLORIDA. RESEARCHERS AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN MELBOURNE, FLORIDA HAVE FOUND A STRONG RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EL NINO AND INCREASED STORMINESS AND RAINFALL DURING CENTRAL FLORIDA'S DRY SEASON, WHICH RUNS FROM NOVEMBER 1ST THROUGH APRIL 30TH. IN THE EL NINO YEARS OF 1997-98 THE DRY SEASON RAINFALL IN ORLANDO WAS 17.13 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. IN THE LA NINA PERIOD SINCE MID 1998, DRY SEASON RAINFALL HAS AVERAGED 6.2 INCHES BELOW NORMAL EACH YEAR. IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA DURING THE 1997-98 DRY SEASON, THERE WERE 15 TORNADOS OF F1 MAGNITUDE OR GREATER. SINCE MID 1998 THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY TWO TORNADOES F1 INTENSITY OR GREATER.
Thanks to the Melbourne, FL NWS for that one. I especially find that last paragraph fascinating. 15 F1 or more tornadoes just in that one season and only 2 since 1998 down there! So they're in for some more rain this year, if what's forecast holds true but it's not expected to be like the El Nino of 5 years ago as far as the magnitude. They call it their dry season because many fronts out of the north lose their definition and either wash out or don't make it into Central Florida. So without the lift, you're not going to get much precipitation. And also, the tropics quiet down too and the seabreeze fronts shut down for the winter.
MONTHLY CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI
1205 PM EST SUN NOV 3 2002
...OCTOBER 2002 MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR UPPER MICHIGAN...
...TEMPERATURES WELL BELOW NORMAL...
...COLDEST OCTOBER AT THE MARQUETTE NWS...
...SECOND SNOWIEST AND SEVENTH WETTEST OCTOBER AT THE MARQUETTE NWS...
OCTOBER CLIMATE STATISTICS FOR THE MARQUETTE NWS IN NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP
NORMAL DEPARTURE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 37.9 43.2 MINUS 5.3
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE 45.8 52.0 MINUS 6.2
AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE 30.1 34.4 MINUS 4.3
HEATING DEGREE DAYS 830 671 PLUS 159
COOLING DEGREE DAYS 0 0 0
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 5.09 3.66 PLUS 1.43
TOTAL SNOWFALL 17.0 5.9 PLUS 11.1
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE: 72 ON 10/1
LOWEST TEMPERATURE: 19 ON 10/24
GREATEST CALENDAR DAY PRECIPITATION: 1.22 ON 10/4
GREATEST 24 HOUR PRECIPITATION: 1.29 ON 10/21-10/22
GREATEST CALENDAR DAY SNOWFALL: 7.5 ON 10/21
GREATEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL: 11.6 ON 10/21-10/22
PEAK WIND SPEED: 47 MPH FROM THE WEST ON 10/4
THE EXTREMES THAT HAVE AFFECTED UPPER MICHIGAN WEATHER IN 2002
CONTINUED IN OCTOBER. AFTER MANY STATIONS OBSERVED THE WARMEST
SEPTEMBER ON RECORD WITH A PERSISTENT UPPER RIDGE IN THE EASTERN
UNITED STATES...AN ABRUPT CHANGE IN OCTOBER TO A DEEP TROUGH IN THE
EAST USHERED IN UNSEASONABLE CHILL OVER THE NORTHWEST GREAT LAKES.
AS NUMEROUS UPPER AIR DISTURBANCES AND COLD FRONTS MOVED INTO THIS
DEEP TROUGH.
Thanks to the Marquette, MI NWS for that one. I remember at the end of last month on this very column posting the results of the warmest September on record. Now...the coldest October on record. And you know a lot of places from the Midwest to the West Coast experienced a very cold October and I could have included any of those places, but to go from your warmest September ever to the other extreme in the very next month is saying something. And you notice their highest temperature occured in the beginning of the month, so day 1 to 31 hasn't been frigid continously. That's amazing. You just never know about the weather, it could change just like that and a change in the long wave pattern was what brought in the cold and it kept getting colder as the month went on. So does this mean they'll have their warmest November on record in the U.P.? I'll tell ya about it next month if it happens.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
545 PM MST TUE NOV 5 2002
...A COLD OCTOBER IN SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE...
PRELIMINARY DATA FROM AIRPORT WEATHER STATIONS ACROSS THE REGION
CONFIRMS WHAT MOST PEOPLE HAD SUSPECTED...IT WAS UNSEASONABLY COLD
DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER!
HERE ARE THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE...DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL AND
MONTHLY RANKING FOR SEVERAL AIRPORT SITES AROUND THE REGION FOR
OCTOBER 2002...
CITY AVERAGE DEPARTURE RANK RECORDS
TEMP FM NORMAL BEGAN
IN WYOMING...
CHEYENNE 39.1 -6.3 4TH COLDEST 1871
LARAMIE 36.5 -5.4 4TH COLDEST 1944
RAWLINS 38.1 -7.4 4TH COLDEST 1951
IN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE...
ALLIANCE 40.1 MISG 1ST COLDEST 1926
CHADRON 40.8 -8.1 1ST COLDEST 1948
SIDNEY 41.8 -6.3 2ND COLDEST 1948
SCOTTSBLUFF 42.4 -5.4 3RD COLDEST 1891
Thanks to the Cheyenne, WI NWS for that one. Just more proof that we're not burning up in the U.S. The record coldest October ever in Alliance and Chadron, NE. The last 10 days of the month were especially nasty as far as the cold as a trough dug in and persisted across the region. This all happened in a month when Alliance and Chadron hit 80 degrees, Scottsbluff, NE hit 81 degrees for 2 days, and Sidney, NE hit 84 degrees! The cold however, was intense enough to negate those warm readings.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 1000 AM EDT THU NOV 7 2002 ...FROM RECORD HEAT TO QUITE CHILLY... IN CONTRAST TO THE ALL TIME NOVEMBER RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 91 DEGREES SET YESTERDAY AT MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...TEMPERATURES THIS MORNING FELL NEARLY 30 DEGREES. ALTHOUGH NO RECORD LOWS WERE SET THIS MORNING...TEMPERATURES ALONG THE SOUTHEAST COAST RANGED FROM 62 DEGREES AT MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO 60 DEGREES AT FORT LAUDERDALE AIRPORT TO 56 DEGREES AT WEST PALM BEACH AIRPORT. LOW TEMPERATURES WERE EVEN COOL AT THE BEACH WITH MIAMI BEACH REACHING 61 DEGREES. THESE LOW TEMPERATURES WERE THE COOLEST IN EIGHT MONTHS...SINCE MARCH 5...WHEN LOW TEMPERATURES WERE 51 DEGREES AT MIAMI...50 DEGREES AT FORT LAUDERDALE AND 48 DEGREES AT WEST PALM BEACH. INLAND TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA LAST NIGHT WERE AS COLD AS 52 DEGREES AT IMMOKALEE OVER INTERIOR COLLIER COUNTY WITH 57 DEGREES AT NAPLES.
Thanks to the Miami NWS for that one. Record highs on Wednesday in the low 90s for Miami, Miami Beach, and Fort Lauderdale but today, cut those highs by 10-12 degrees in some cases! Big cooling trend today on the heels of a cold front and cold air advecting in on northerly winds providing less of a marine influence in south Florida, thus cooling it off to the low 50s in interior regions. It struggled to reach 80 for a high in Miami today with 70s widespread throughout the region and plenty of sunshine to boot.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 1000 AM CDT TUE NOV 12 2002 ON NOVEMBER 11 1911...A DATE EASILY REMEMBERED AS 11/11/11...AN UNUSUALLY STRONG COLD FRONT PRODUCED EXTRAORDINARY WEATHER CHANGES ACROSS MANY PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES. THE RECORD TEMPERATURES FOR OKLAHOMA CITY BEAR TESTIMONY TO THE MAGNITUDE OF THESE CHANGES. AFTER A RECORD HIGH OF 83 THAT AFTERNOON...TEMPERATURES PLUNGED TO A RECORD LOW OF 17 JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT. BOTH RECORDS STILL STAND. NUMEROUS CITIES SET RECORD HIGHS OR LOWS ON THAT DAY...AND SEVERAL LOCATIONS SET BOTH RECORD HIGHS AND LOWS. BUT IN MOST OF THESE CITIES...AT LEAST ONE OF THE RECORD TEMPERATURES HAS BEEN BROKEN SINCE 1911. WHAT IS UNUSUAL ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA CITY RECORDS IS THAT NEITHER RECORD HAS BEEN BROKEN OR TIED SINCE. WE EXAMINED DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORDS FOR NOVEMBER 11 FOR OTHER CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY. ONLY ONE OTHER CITY WAS FOUND WHERE BOTH THE RECORD HIGH AND THE RECORD LOW ARE SILL INTACT FROM 1911. SPRINGFIELD MISSOURI SET A RECORD HIGH OF 80 AND A RECORD LOW OF 13 IN 1911. SINCE THEN...THE RECORD HIGH AT SPRINGFIELD HAS BEEN TIED /IN 1989/...BUT 1911 STILL HOLDS AT LEAST A SHARE OF BOTH TEMPERATURE RECORDS. ELSEWHERE AROUND THE COUNTRY...RECORD HIGHS THAT WERE SET ON 11/11/11 STILL STAND FROM PARTS OF TEXAS TO MISSISSIPPI...AND AROUND NORTHERN ILLINOIS. RECORD LOWS ARE STILL INTACT FROM 1911 AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND ALONG THE FRONT RANGE OF THE ROCKIES...AND IN THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. THE FOLLOWING TEMPERATURE RECORDS FOR NOVEMBER 11 STILL STAND FROM 1911... RECORD HIGHS/LOWS IN 1911... OKLAHOMA CITY 83/17 SPRINGFIELD MO 80(T)/13 RECORD HIGHS IN 1911... WACO TX 88 ABILENE TX 87 JACKSON MS 85 DALLAS/FT WORTH TX 85 PEORIA IL 77 ROCKFORD IL 74 CHICAGO IL 74(T) MILWAUKEE WI 73 RECORD LOWS IN 1911... BOISE ID 16 COLUMBIA MO 13 AMARILLO TX 13 WICHITA KS 10 DODGE CITY KS 8 MISSOULA MT 0 PUEBLO CO -2 DENVER CO -2 CHEYENNE WY -5 KALISPELL MT -8 BUTTE MT -12 HELENA MT -14 GREAT FALLS MT -16 THE OCCURRENCE OF BOTH DAILY RECORD HIGH AND RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES ON THE SAME DAY IN THE SAME YEAR IS A RARE EVENT...BUT IT HAS HAPPENED MORE THAN A DOZEN TIMES JUST IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. IT HAPPENED SIX TIMES LAST SUMMER IN THE WESTERN STATES...DUE MAINLY TO THE UNUSUALLY DRY CONDITIONS THAT PREVAILED THERE. PARK CITY UT SET BOTH RECORD HIGHS AND RECORD LOWS ON THREE DAYS WITHIN A 5-DAY PERIOD IN MID AUGUST...AND ALAMOSA CO DID THE SAME ON TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS IN LATE AUGUST. WHAT REMAINS UNUSUAL ABOUT THE EXISTING RECORDS FOR OKLAHOMA CITY IS THE LENGTH OF TIME OVER WHICH BOTH RECORDS HAVE STOOD. IN NO OTHER CASE HAVE EXISTING SAME-DAY RECORD HIGHS AND LOWS HELD OP FOR NEARLY AS LONG...NOR HAS THE RANGE BETWEEN THE TWO EXCEEDED THE 66-DEGREE RANGE OBSERVED AT OKLAHOMA CITY. OTHER KNOWN SAME-DAY RECORD HIGHS AND LOWS THAT EXIST TODAY FROM AROUND THE UNITED STATES INCLUDE... CITY DATE HIGH LOW BAKERSFIELD CA JAN 3 1930 75 23T PUEBLO CO JUL 26 1993 101TT 52 SIOUX CITY IA MAY 16 1997 91 33 MELBOURNE FL MAY 22 1998 97 68 AUSTIN TX AUG 1 1998 104 65 QUILLAYUTE WA JUN 25 2000 81 40 COLD BAY AK SEP 25 2000 58 29 COLD BAY AK MAY 14 2001 52 27 COLD BAY AK JUN 16 2001 64 30 PARK CITY UT AUG 11 2002 87 36 PARK CITY UT AUG 13 2002 83T 36 PARK CITY UT AUG 15 2002 89 39 SAFFORD AZ 25 AUG 2002 105T 52 ALAMOSA CO 25 AUG 2002 87 30T ALAMOSA CO 26 AUG 2002 88T 31 T - TIED RECORD FROM EARLIER YEAR. TT - RECORD TIED IN LATER YEAR.
Thanks to the Norman, OK NWS and Weatherwise magazine for that one. All those 1's on that unusual record setting day. Must have been a lot of warm extending very far north to begin the day then the cold front plowed on through and temperatures dropped big time! Interesting to note that Oklahoma City hasn't ever had a colder or warmer November 11th since. It's quite unusual to say the least to break a record high and record low on the same day. Just recently, a town in Nevada did it for like 3 straight days. That's even more unusual!
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
230 PM CDT THU NOV 14 2002
... PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY REPORT, PART 3 OF 4...
... TORNADOES IN ALABAMA ON NOVEMBER 10, 2002 ...
THIS IS PART 3 OF A SUMMARY OF TORNADOES THAT OCCURRED ACROSS
ALABAMA ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10. METEOROLOGISTS FROM THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE CONDUCTED ON-SITE SURVEYS OF THE DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY
THE TORNADOES.
SARAGOSSA TORNADO (FAYETTE, WALKER, WINSTON, CULLMAN)
THE FOURTH TORNADO TO OCCUR IN ALABAMA BEGAN IN FAYETTE COUNTY
JUST EAST OF THE SIPSEY RIVER ABOUT 6 MILES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF THE CITY
OF FAYETTE AT 8:15 PM. THE TORNADO MOVED NORTHEAST CROSSING PORTIONS
OF SR 102 AND 13 AND SR 102 AGAIN AROUND STODDARDS CROSSROADS.
THE TORNADO CROSSED INTO WALKER COUNTY AT 8:34 PM AND TRAVELED
THROUGH SPARSELY POPULATED AREAS OF WESTERN WALKER COUNTY. IT CROSSED
THE INTERCHANGE OF US 78 ABOUT 5.5 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF CARBON HILL
AND BECAME VERY STRONG AS IT TRAVEL THROUGH THE SARAGOSSA AREA. IT
CROSSED CR 5, CR 195, AND CR 257 BEFORE ENTERING WINSTON COUNTY.
THE TORNADO APPEARED TO BE AT ITS MOST INTENSE DURING THE TRAVEL
FROM US 78/SR 188 INTERCHANGE ACROSS SARAGOSSA AND THE AREAS NEAR SR 5
AND SR 195. EIGHT DEATHS OCCURRED IN THIS 10 MILES STRETCH OF THE
TORNADO TRACK ALONG WITH AN ESTIMATED 40 INJURIES.
AT 9:03 PM THE TORNADO CROSSED THE EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN TIP OF
WINSTON COUNTY CROSSING PART OF SMITH LAKE.
THE TORNADO ENTERED CULLMAN COUNTY AT 9:08 PM MOVING ACROSS
PORTIONS OF SMITH LAKE AND CROSS CR 222. CONTINUING NORTHEAST IT
CROSSED INTERSTATE 65 BEFORE ENDING AT 9:34 PM JUST SOUTH OF CULLMAN
NEAR THE CULLMAN GOLF COURSE. ONE DEATH WAS REPORTED IN CULLMAN COUNTY
AS THE PERSON WAS SEEKING SHELTER.
THIS WAS THE LONGEST TORNADO OF THE DAY WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 59.8
MILES AND A WIDTH OF 1100 YARDS. IT WAS THE SECOND F3 TORNADO OF THE
DAY. NINE DEATHS WERE REPORTED WITH THE STORM ALONG WITH AN ESTIMAGED
45 INJURIES.
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 748 WAS ISSUED AT 4:35 PM. A TORNADO WARNING
WAS ISSUED FOR FAYETTE COUNTY AT 7:54 PM, FOR WALKER COUNTY AT 8:24 PM,
FOR WINSTON COUNTY AT 8:49 PM, AND FOR CULLMAN COUNTY AT 9:08 PM.
Thanks to the Birmingham NWS for that one. Terrible day for tornadoes on Sunday in the Southeast and Ohio Valley. This was from the longest tornado of the day, lasting almost 60 miles. And it was deadly, killing 9 people. An F3 tornado this was, one of the strongest and the 2nd to occur in Alabama during the day. Some communities in the path of this one, felt an F3 tornado go by a couple of hours earlier! Winds in an F3 tornado are between 158-206 mph. The last time a tornado affected these counties was last November 24. And at it's strongest, that tornado was also an F3 on the Fujita scale.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 240 PM CST SAT NOV 16 2002 FIRST OFFICIAL SNOWFALL FOR CHICAGO. THIS MORNING...AT 912 AM...CHICAGO'S O'HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CARRIED SNOW FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON. THE AVERAGE DATE FOR THE FIRST SNOWFALL OF A TRACE OR MORE FOR CHICAGO IS OCTOBER 30TH...WITH THE EARLIEST BEING SEPTEMBER 25TH, 1942...AND THE LATEST IS DECEMBER 5TH, 1999. THE AVERAGE DATE OF 1 INCH OF SNOWFALL OR MORE IS DECEMBER 2ND...WITH THE EARLIEST OCCURRING ON OCTOBER 19TH, 1989...AND THE LATEST ON JANUARY 17TH, 1899. FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER CHICAGO WILL NORMALLY HAVE A TOTAL MONTHLY SNOWFALL OF 1.9 INCHES.
Thanks to the Chicago NWS for that one. Well, they're about 18 days late on the first snow there but hey, you knew it would happen eventually. That sure got Christmas shoppers in the mood as they walked down Michigan Avenue. They only picked up a trace of snow at O'Hare but some places in Chicagoland, especially on the Indiana side saw up to 5 inches in lake effect snow. An inch or two was common in the immediate Chicago area preferably on the south side in the area most favored from a lake effect snow with winds out of the north northeast.
The last time Asheville had a month with above normal precipitation and below normal temperatures was September 2001. We had 4.37 inches of rain which was a half inch below normal and our average temperature was 64.5 degrees which was 1.7 degrees below normal. This month, we're on pace to do that for the first time in 14 months. So far, we've picked up 4.04 inches of precipitation which is 1.75 inches above normal and our average temperature this month is 47.0 degrees which is 1 degree below normal.
I figured that one out. And do you also know that last November through the 19th, we hadn't recorded any precipitation in the month and for the fall, there was 4.97 inches. What a difference a year makes because this year, we've picked up 81% of the precipitation just this month over meteorological fall to this point last year and with 13.23 inches of precipitation since September 1 this year, we've gotten 266% of the precipitation from meteorological fall to this point over last fall. 14 of 19 days this month have been below normal as far as temperature. Just 7 days out of November last year had below normal temperatures.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 1200 PM CST THU NOV 21 2001 ...OFFICIAL SNOWFALL MEASUREMENTS FOR CHICAGO AND ROCKFORD... THE ILLINOIS TOLLWAY WILL TAKE THE OFFICIAL SNOWFALL MEASUREMENTS FOR CHICAGO FOR THE 2002-2003 WINTER SEASON. THE OBSERVATIONS WILL BE TAKEN AT THE TOUHY TOLL PLAZA AND MAINTENANCE GARAGE...WHICH IS ABOUT 2 ½ MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF THE CENTER OF OHARE AIRPORT. EMERY AIR...A FIXED BASE OPERATOR AT THE GREATER ROCKFORD AIRPORT...WILL TAKE THE OFFICIAL SNOWFALL OBSERVATIONS FOR ROCKFORD THIS WINTER. ROUTINE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS ARE TAKEN AT OHARE AND ROCKFORD BY AUTOMATED WEATHER OBSERVING SYSTEMS (ASOS) AND SUPPLEMENTED BY OBSERVERS. THE OBSERVERS REPORT SNOW DEPTH EVERY 12 HOURS. SNOW DEPTH IS THE TOTAL DEPTH OF OLD AND NEW SNOW AND ICE ON THE GROUND MEASURED TO THE NEAREST WHOLE INCH. SNOWFALL...WHICH IS NEW SNOW THAT HAS FALLEN...MEASURED EVERY 6 HOURS TO THE NEAREST TENTH OF AN INCH...IS NOT PART OF THE ASOS OBSERVATION.
Thanks to the Chicago NWS for that. The line of the day is the raw METAR report that comes from ASOS machines at airports across the country. They have all types of measuring devices on them like a precipitation gage, 3 cup anemometer, freezing rain sensor, lightning sensor, what have you. But there's no way it could measure snow. There is a code on the METAR for snow depth that starts with a 4/ but that's only updated like every 12 or 6 hours. So the NWS has assigned places near the airports of both Chicago and Rockford where they can calculate the snow depth. And there's lots of errors in it as it is not just as simple as sticking a ruler in the ground and reading it off. There's more involved in that. Oh incidentally, if people in the Chicago area want to argue about snow depth, don't call the toll plaza or Emery air but call the National Weather Service office there. Also, in the Chicagoland area, they have a program of cooperative observors that will be taking snow depth too just to supplement the official information.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 417 PM EST FRI NOV 22 2002 INDIANAPOLIS RECEIVED IT'S FIRST OFFICIAL MEASUREABLE SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON TODAY. BETWEEN 7 AM AND 1 PM EST ONE TENTH OF AN INCH OF SNOW WAS RECORDED. THE SNOW MELTED AS IT FELL ON THE WARMER GROUND. LAST WINTER SEASON THE FIRST MEASUREABLE SNOWFALL OCCURRED ON CHRISTMAS EVE WITH TWO TENTHS OF AN INCH MEASURED AT THE AIRPORT. THE GOOD AND THE BAD OF THIS SNOW...NOT ENOUGH FOR THE KIDS...AND PLENTY FOR SOME ADULTS.
Thanks to the Indianapolis NWS for that. It was expected that they'd get more snow than that with earlier precipitation, but it fell mainly as rain as thicknesses, or virtual temperatures, weren't low enough for all frozen. But they got their snow on wrap around from a trough also enhanced by a lake effect band that moved down across them. .1 inch of snow officially in Indianapolis for the season now. 1 less tenth than their first snow last season. The .1 inch snow they recieved was exactly normal for the date. They average 1.3 inches of snow in November with an annual average of 26.8 inches. Last year they picked up 10.9 inches of snow. Their average first measurable snow day is November 19 so they were just a couple of days after that this year.
RECORD REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 747 AM EST TUE DEC 03 2002 ...RECORD SHATTERING COLD AT LANSING... AT 543 AM THE TEMPERATURE AT CAPITAL CITY AIRPORT IN LANSING FELL TO 18 BELOW ZERO. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD FOR DECEMBER 3RD OF 8 BELOW ZERO SET IN 1869. THIS IS ALSO THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON...WITH OVER 135 YEARS OF RECORD AT LANSING. THE RECORD COLDEST TEMPERATURE IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER AT LANSING IS 25 BELOW ZERO...SET ON DECEMBER 8 1864 AND TIED ON DECEMBER 18 1884. MORE RECENTLY...IT WAS 18 BELOW ZERO ON DECEMBER 28 2000. THIS IS THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE OF 2002...REPLACING THE 0 DEGREE READING ON JANUARY 2ND.
Thanks to the Grand Rapids NWS for that. Can you say arctic blast? A 3 inche snowpack helped too for them. Geez, with cold like that, seems like so much more. -18 degrees seems so unrealistic down here where I am at but the got that low in Lansing this morning and it was a record. They haven't been that cold in the last couple of years. And they got this in December! Broke the record by 10 degrees and its the coldest so early in the season. Arctic high pressure at the surface built in with some of the coldest air on this hemisphere sitting across Michigan this morning. Areas away from the shoreline went below zero with single digits right along the immediate lakeshores. Lansing did warm to 21 degrees today but when you average the high and low from the today, it was 29 degrees below normal!
RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 715 PM EST THU DEC 5 2002 ...RECORD SNOWFALL FOR THE DATE AT PHILADELPHIA... TODAY'S SNOWFALL OF 7.0 INCHES AT PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS A RECORD FOR THE DATE. THE OLD RECORD FOR DECEMBER 5 WAS 4.5 INCHES SET IN 1886. OFFICIAL WEATHER RECORDS FOR PHILADELPHIA DATE BACK TO 1870. SIGNIFICANT SNOW THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON IS RARE IN PHILADELPHIA. THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF EARLY SEASON SNOW EVENTS OF 4 INCHES OR GREATER SINCE 1951. EARLY SEASON IS DEFINED HERE AS BEFORE DECEMBER 15. 14.6 INCHES ON DECEMBER 11 AND 12, 1960 8.8 INCHES ON NOVEMBER 6 AND 7, 1953 7.0 INCHES ON DECEMBER 3 AND 4, 1957 7.0 INCHES ON DECEMBER 5, 2002 6.8 INCHES ON DECEMBER 12, 1982 5.3 INCHES ON DECEMBER 14, 1951 4.9 INCHES ON NOVEMBER 30, 1967 4.6 INCHES ON NOVEMBER 22 AND 23, 1989 (THANKSGIVING).
Thanks to the Mount Holly, NJ NWS for that. Ok, so it wasn't the biggest snowstorm ever in Philly, but it was their biggest snowstorm in almost 2 years and with it coming so early in the season, one of the 3 biggest early season snows ever! This was the most snow since February 22, 2001 and more snow than they had all of last season! They issued a snow emergency for the city today as schools were cancelled across the Delaware Valley. The powderness of snow caused less in the way of problems with trees and power lines going down so this was more of a nuicence snow as it hampered routine travel in the area.
RECORD REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 840 AM EDT SAT DEC 7 2002 ...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES IN LYNCHBURG AND BLACKSBURG VIRGINIA... THE OVERNIGHT LOW AT THE AIRPORT IN LYNCHBURG VIRGINIA FELL TO 8 DEGREES...BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 15 SET IN 1882. AT THE NWS OFFICE IN BLACKSBURG THE LOW WAS 1 DEGREE BELOW ZERO... BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 2 ABOVE...SET IN 1977. THE LOW THIS MORNING IN BLACKSBURG IS ALSO THE FIRST TIME SINCE FEBRUARY 1996 THAT THE TEMPERATURE HAS BEEN BELOW ZERO.
Thanks to the Blacksburg, VA NWS for that. When you combine an arctic airmass with a fresh snowpack, you get record lows, or at least very cold temperatures! That happened in Blacksburg, VA on Saturday morning, a record low of -1 degree. They haven't seen temperatures like that since that brutally cold month of February 1996 when they also had some big snows from what I recall and one of the coldest airmasses of the 90s in place across the East coast. So who says you can't get below zero in December below the Mason-Dixon line?
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS 1212 PM CST TUE DEC 10 2002 ...BROWN CHRISTMASES HAVE OCCURRED IN RECENT YEARS IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY... THE LACK OF SNOW ON THE GROUND OVER EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA MAY HAVE SOME PEOPLE WONDERING IF A BROWN CHRISTMAS IS OUT OF THE ORDINARY. A WHITE CHRISTMAS IS DEFINED AS HAVING A SNOW DEPTH OF AT LEAST ONE INCH ON THE GROUND ON CHRISTMAS MORNING. IN AN ORDINARY WINTER...THE CHANCES ARE HIGH THAT AT LEAST ONE INCH OF SNOW WILL BE ON THE GROUND ON DECEMBER 25...ACCORDING TO THE DATA SUPPLIED BY THE NATIONAL DATA CENTER (NCDC) AND THE STATE CLIMATOLOGIST FOR MINNESOTA. GENERALLY...THE CHANCES OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS ARE GREATER THAN 80 PERCENT AT GRAND FORKS AND FARGO. HOWEVER...THERE HAVE BEEN YEARS IN THE PAST WHEN A TRACE OF SNOW OR LESS WAS ON THE GROUND DURING CHRISTMAS. THE LIST BELOW SHOWS THE LAST FIVE YEARS WHEN A TRACE OF SNOW WAS REPORTED ON CHRISTMAS DAY AT THE GRAND FORKS AND FARGO AIRPORTS. GRAND FORKS 1997 1994 1991 1982 1979 FARGO 1999 1994 1991 1986 1982 THE LAST TIME BOTH GRAND FORKS AND FARGO REPORTED A SNOW DEPTH OF ZERO ON CHRISTMAS DAY WAS BACK IN 1957. ON THE CONTRARY...CHRISTMAS CAN BE A WINTER WONDERLAND IN THE NORTHERN PLAINS. THE LIST BELOW CONTAINS THE TOP 5 SNOW DEPTHS REPORTED AT THE GRAND FORKS AND FARGO AIRPORTS ON CHRISTMAS DAY. GRAND FORKS 1. 27 INCHES IN 1996 2. 18 INCHES IN 1985 3. 12 INCHES IN 1955 4. 11 INCHES IN 1964 5. 10 INCHES IN 1948 AND 1947 FARGO 1-2. 17 INCHES IN 1996 AND 1909 3. 15 INCHES IN 1947 4. 14 INCHES IN 1927 5. 13 INCHES IN 1896
Thanks to the Eastern North Dakota/Grand Forks, ND NWS for that. Lost in all of the wintry weather over the south and up the East Coast has been the lack of snow in the northern Plains. Sure it's been cold up there but they really haven't seen a snowstorm in quite awhile, no wonder the people are wondering if there's going to be snow for Christmas. Only 0.2 inch of snow this month in Grand Forks with 5 inches during the Fall months and 2.2 inches in Fargo this month with 5.9 inches during the Fall months. When you're chances are greater than 80 percent at a White Christmas then it should be guaranteed to have snow on the ground at this juncture a little over 2 weeks before the big day right? Perhaps, but unfortunately, the forecast is not looking good for any substantial snow in the short term or through at least Christmas Eve. With a dry northwest flow, there's not a chance of snow in the next 7 days and looking long range out to 6 to 14 days, below normal precipitation is expected in the Plains with near to above normal temperatures. Bad news for those that want to see the ground white on Santa's big day.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 200 PM EST SUN DEC 15 2002 ...WILL THERE BE A WHITE CHRISTMAS IN THE TRIAD?... ...WILL THERE BE A WHITE CHRISTMAS IN THE TRIANGLE AREA?... [IN THE TRIAD] THE AVERAGE DECEMBER 25TH IS PARTLY CLOUDY WITH PRECIPITATION ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS. THE DAYTIME HIGH IS 48 AND THE MORNING LOW IS 30. THE RECORD HIGH FOR DECEMBER 25 IS 74...SET IN 1955. THE RECORD LOW IS 1...SET IN 1983. [IN THE TRIANGLE] THE AVERAGE DECEMBER 25TH IS PARTLY CLOUDY WITH PRECIPITATION ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS. THE DAYTIME HIGH IS 51 AND THE MORNING LOW IS 31. THE RECORD HIGH FOR DECEMBER 25 IS 75...SET IN 1955. THE RECORD LOW IS 4...SET IN 1983. THE MEAN YEARLY SNOWFALL AT THE PIEDMONT TRIAD AIRPORT IS 8.9 INCHES... HOWEVER...THE MEAN SNOWFALL FOR DECEMBER IS ONLY 1.3 INCHES. JANUARY... FEBRUARY...AND EVEN MARCH HAVE LARGER MONTHLY MEAN SNOWFALL AMOUNTS (3.4 / 2.4 / AND 1.7 INCHES RESPECTIVELY). THE SNOWIEST CHRISTMAS ON RECORD FOR THE PIEDMONT TRIAD AIRPORT OCCURRED IN 1947...WHEN 2.8 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. SINCE THEN...THERE HAS BEEN MEASURABLE SNOWFALL...DEFINED AS SNOWFALL OF ONE TENTH OF AN INCH OR MORE...ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN 1962 (0.8 INCH)...AND 1969 (1.1 INCH). THESE RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1933. LIGHT FLURRIES OCCURRED ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN 1948...1970...1975 ...1981...1993...AND 1998. FREEZING RAIN OCCURRED IN 1943. AN ICE STORM THAT BEGAN JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN 1998 SNARLED TRAFFIC...CLOSED BUSINESSES...AND CAUSED POWER FAILURES THROUGHOUT THE TRIAD. SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN BEGAN FALLING ON THE 23RD... AND CONTINUED INTO THE MORNING OF THE 24TH...BEFORE CHANGING TO RAIN. JUST A FEW FLURRIES FELL ON THE 25TH. ON A FEW OCCASIONS THERE WAS SNOW REMAINING ON THE GROUND CHRISTMAS MORNING FROM A PREVIOUS SNOWFALL. THIS HAPPENED IN 1935 (1 INCH)... 1963 (1 INCH)...AND 1966 (2 INCHES). IN SUMMARY...THE PROBABILITY OF SNOW ON CHRISTMAS IN THE TRIAD IS SLIM...BUT...NOT IMPOSSIBLE. THE MEAN YEARLY SNOWFALL AT RALEIGH-DURHAM IS 7.3 INCHES...HOWEVER ...THE MEAN SNOWFALL FOR DECEMBER IS ONLY 0.8 INCH. JANUARY... FEBRUARY...AND EVEN MARCH HAVE LARGER MONTHLY MEAN SNOWFALL AMOUNTS (2.6 / 2.5 / AND 1.3 INCHES RESPECTIVELY). CONTINUOUS WEATHER RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN THE RALEIGH AREA SINCE 1887. SINCE THAT TIME...THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MEASURABLE SNOWFALL ON CHRISTMAS DAY. A MEASURABLE SNOWFALL IS DEFINED AS ONE TENTH OF AN INCH OR MORE. TRACES OF SNOW FELL ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN 1897...1899...1915...1947 ...1953...1970...1981...1993...1998...AND 1999. SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN WERE REPORTED ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN 1975. ON A FEW OCCASIONS THERE WAS SNOW REMAINING ON THE GROUND CHRISTMAS MORNING FROM A PREVIOUS SNOWFALL. THIS HAPPENED IN 1930...1935... 1966...AND 1967. THE GLAZED YULETIDE OF 1998 WOULD BE A WHITE CHRISTMAS ONLY BY GRINCH STANDARDS. STEADY FREEZING RAIN AND FREEZING DRIZZLE BEGAN LATE ON THE MORNING OF THE 23RD AND CONTINUED THROUGH THE DAY AND NIGHT. THE PRECIPITATION RETURNED TO RAIN DURING THE MORNING OF THE 24TH...BUT BY THEN THE DAMAGE HAD BEEN DONE. A COLD RAIN CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE DAY CHRISTMAS EVE...THEN RETURNED TO FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET IN THE EVENING. THE PRECIPITATION ENDED AS LIGHT SNOW DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS CHRISTMAS DAY. ONLY A TRACE OF SNOW WAS REPORTED AT THE OFFICIAL OBSERVING SITE AT THE RALEIGH DURHAM AIRPORT...ALTHOUGH SOME AREAS OF WAKE COUNTY REPORTED NEARLY ONE INCH. THE ICE THAT COATED THE AREA WAS THICK ENOUGH TO FELL TREES AND POWER LINES...RESULTING IN WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WERE WITHOUT POWER ON CHRISTMAS EVE...ROUGHLY 90,000 IN WAKE COUNTY ALONE. FORTUNATELY...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES PRECEDING THE EVENT PREVENTED MAJOR ICING ON THE ROADS. ANOTHER ICY CHRISTMAS OCCURRED IN 1962. PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET FELL THROUGHOUT CHRISTMAS DAY. THE GROUND WAS COVERED WITH ICE...WHICH REMAINED UNTIL THE AFTERNOON OF THE 26TH. RESIDENTS OF THE AREA JUST MISSED A WHITE CHRISTMAS BACK IN DECEMBER OF 1892. LIGHT SNOW BEGAN FALLING ON DECEMBER 26...THEN REALLY PILED UP (BY SOUTHERN STANDARDS) ON THE 27TH WITH 8.5 INCHES RECORDED. ANOTHER INCH OF SNOW FELL ON THE 28TH FOR A STORM TOTAL OF 9.5 INCHES. A COLD WEEK FOLLOWED...WITH 4 INCHES OF SNOW STILL ON THE GROUND ON NEW YEAR'S EVE. ANOTHER NEAR MISS FOR THE RALEIGH AREA OCCURRED MORE RECENTLY...IN 1989. ON DECEMBER 22ND THROUGH THE 24TH A RECORD SNOWSTORM BLANKETED EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA WITH SNOW AMOUNTS AS HIGH AS 19.5 INCHES. MEASURABLE SNOWFALL EXTENDED AS FAR WEST AS ANSON COUNTY...IN THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT...WITH THE SNOW LINE EXTENDING NORTHEAST ACROSS CENTRAL WAKE COUNTY. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF ONE INCH WERE REPORTED IN EXTREME EASTERN WAKE COUNTY. AT THE RALEIGH-DURHAM AIRPORT ...VERY LIGHT SNOW FELL DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF DECEMBER 24TH...HOWEVER...THERE WAS NO ACCUMULATION. EVEN AS RECENTLY AS 1993...TWO DAYS WOULD HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE. A 3.1 INCH SNOWFALL WAS RECORDED ON DECEMBER 22ND AND 23RD. THREE INCHES OF SNOW COVERED THE GROUND ON THE MORNING OF THE 23RD... HOWEVER...IT HAD ALL MELTED BY THE MORNING OF THE 24TH. IN SUMMARY...THE PROBABILITY OF SNOW ON CHRISTMAS IN THE TRIANGLE IS PRETTY SLIM...BUT...NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
Thanks to the Raleigh NWS for that. So at least 3 white Christmases with at least an inch of snow on the ground in the Greensboro area but none in Raleigh. And they were so close in 1989 with that major winter storm that affected more of the area east of I-95 with over a foot of snow for Christmas and just flurries in the Raleigh area. Well it's been cold enough to snow in the last 3 out of 4 Christmases with highs into the 30s and as early as 1999, both cities did have flurries on Christmas Day. But you have to have an inch on the ground for it to be an official white Christmas, something very rarely seen in Greensboro but not seen at all in Raleigh. Who would have thought that northern Florida would have a white Christmas but Raleigh hadn't ever?
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
245 PM EST WED JAN 29 2003
...DRY AND COLD JANUARY SO FAR...
SO FAR JANUARY HAS BEEN VERY DRY WITH LITTLE IF ANY RAIN OVER MUCH
OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. SINCE THE STORM ON NEW YEARS
DAY MOST LOCATIONS HAVE RECEIVED LESS THAN A QUARTER OF AN INCH OF
RAIN. IF IT DOES NOT RAIN BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH...THIS WILL
END UP BEING THE 3RD DRIEST JANUARY IN TAMPA SINCE RECORDS BEGAN AND
4TH DRIEST IN SARASOTA-BRADENTON. BELOW ARE TABLES OF THE DRIEST
MONTHLY PRECIPITATION RECORDS FOR JANUARY.
TOP 5 DRIEST TOP 5 DRIEST
JANUARIES IN TAMPA: JANUARIES IN SARASOTA-BRADENTON:
1 TRACE IN 1950 1 0.00 IN 1950
2 0.08 IN 1927 2 0.03 IN 1974
3 0.17 IN 1974 3 0.22 IN 1956
4 0.18 IN 1949 4 0.29 IN 1990
5 0.26 IN 1932 5 0.34 IN 2001
CURRENT TOTAL AT TPA CURRENT TOTAL AT SRQ
THROUGH JAN 28TH = 0.11 IN. THROUGH JAN 28TH = 0.25 IN.
NORMAL FOR TPA = 2.27 IN. NORMAL FOR SRQ = 2.94 IN.
RECORDS BEGAN APRIL 1890 RECORDS BEGAN JULY 1948
AT FORT MYERS - PAGE FIELD...THE TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR JANUARY
2003 IS CURRENTLY 1.88 INCHES WHICH IS ONLY ABOUT A THIRD OF AN INCH
BELOW NORMAL. HOWEVER...1.70 INCHES OF THIS FELL EARLY ON NEW YEARS
DAY.
JANUARY HAS ALSO BEEN MUCH COLDER THAN NORMAL ACROSS WEST CENTRAL
AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WITH SEVERAL FREEZES ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS
OF THE AREA. BELOW ARE TABLES OF THE COLDEST MONTHLY AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE RECORDS FOR JANUARY.
TOP 10 COLDEST TOP 10 COLDEST
JANUARIES IN TAMPA: JANUARIES IN SARASOTA-BRADENTON:
1 50.4 IN 1981 1 50.7 IN 1981
2 51.2 IN 1977 2 52.5 IN 1977
3 52.0 IN 1940 3 55.2 IN 1978
4 53.3 IN 1958 4 56.0 IN 1958
5 54.0 IN 1970 5 56.1 IN 1985
6 55.0 IN 1978 6 56.4 IN 2001
7 55.0 IN 1893 7 57.4 IN 1976
8 55.2 IN 2001 8 57.7 IN 1970
9 55.2 IN 1905 9 57.8 IN 1956
10 55.3 IN 1956 10 58.1 IN 1961
CURRENT AVG AT TPA CURRENT AVG AT SRQ
THROUGH JAN 28TH = 54.0 THROUGH JAN 28TH = 54.0
NORMAL FOR TPA = 61.3 NORMAL FOR SRQ = 61.6
RECORDS BEGAN APRIL 1890 RECORDS BEGAN JULY 1948
TOP 10 COLDEST
JANUARIES IN FORT MYERS:
1 55.7 IN 1981
2 55.9 IN 1977
3 57.2 IN 1958
4 57.3 IN 1940
5 58.1 IN 1970
6 58.7 IN 2001
7 58.7 IN 1956
8 59.2 IN 1978
9 60.6 IN 1985
10 60.9 IN 1976
CURRENT AVG AT FMY
THROUGH JAN 28TH = 56.5
NORMAL FOR FMY = 64.9
RECORDS BEGAN JANUARY 1931
FOR FURTHER UPDATES VISIT OUR CLIMATE PAGE AT THE FOLLOWING LINK:
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW/CLIMATE/INDEX.HTM
RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UTAH 400 PM MST FRI JAN 31 2003 ...LEAST AMOUNT OF SNOW FOR JANUARY ON RECORD IN SALT LAKE CITY... JANUARY 2003 WILL GO INTO THE RECORD BOOKS AS THE LEAST SNOWIEST JANUARY EVER RECORDED IN SALT LAKE CITY. A TRACE OF SNOW WAS ALL THAT FELL AT THE AIRPORT...BREAKING THE OLD RECORD OF 0.1 INCHES LAST SET IN 1961. NORMAL SNOWFALL FOR JANUARY IS 14.5 INCHES...AND THE MOST EVER RECORDED IN THE MONTH IS 50.3 INCHES IN 1993. ...SECOND WARMEST JANUARY ON RECORD IN SALT LAKE CITY... JANUARY 2003 WILL ALSO GO DOWN AS THE SECOND WARMEST JANUARY ON RECORD IN SALT LAKE CITY. THE MEAN TEMPERATURE WAS 38.3 DEGREES... BREAKING THE PREVIOUS SECOND WARMEST JANUARY RECORD OF 37.9 DEGREES SET IN 1998. THE WARMEST JANUARY ON RECORD IS 39.5 DEGREES SET IN 1953. THE NORMAL MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY IS 29.2 DEGREES. EVERY MAXIMUM DAILY TEMPERATURE DURING JANUARY WAS ABOVE NORMAL... AND THE AVERAGE MEAN TEMPERATURE OF 38.3 DEGREES WAS WARMER THAN A NORMAL JANUARY'S AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 37.0 DEGREES.
Thanks to the Salt Lake City NWS for that. And to think a year ago, they hosted the Winter Olympics. If it were held this year, officials there would have had a lot of 'splainin to do. Oh, to add insult to the January record warmth, on Friday they set the all time record high for the month of January with a temp of 63 degrees. Geez, only a trace of snow in the month of January there and only 3.6 inches of snow for the whole season. That's what a persistent ridge of high pressure will do to the climate, putting the kabosh on the cold and the precipitation. Alas, February is a new month and guess what...it snowed today. 4.3 inches as of this evening in Salt Lake City and just as quickly as a they can be drastically below normal with snowfall, for the month of February, they're 3.5 inches above normal. Still a large snow deficit that they have to make up for the season.
The February snow drought in Asheville in recent history
February 2002: 2 snow events (0.3", Trace)
February 2001: 2 snow events (0.7", 0.1")
February 2000: 2 snow events (both a Trace)
February 1999: 6 snow events (all a Trace)
February 1998: 1 snow event (Trace)
I came up with that research this evening. My goodness, the last 5 Februarys we can't even total up an inch of snow in one month with a cumulative total of 1.1 inches in the month through the period. Believe it or not, one of those trace snow events in February 2000 set the record for the snowiest date when it happened, so even further back in history, Asheville hasn't really gotten much big snows in the month. The last time there was over an inch of snow in the month was in February 1997. What we've seen over this period is a lot of temperature fluctuations and presumably, when it gets cold there must not be enough moisture in place to bring much if any snow to the airport. Oddly enough, the most snow we ever recieved in any month was in the month of February and it occured in 1969 with 25.5 inches.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 1141 AM EST SAT FEB 8 2003 THE FLUFFY SNOW SHOWERS THAT WERE CONCENTRATED AROUND CHARLESTON FRIDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SATURDAY MORNING...HELPED RAISED THE SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL TO 21.9 INCHES FOR THE CAPITOL CITY. THIS AMOUNT IS NEARING LAST WINTER'S TOTAL OF 22.3 INCHES. DESPITE THE FREQUENT SNOWS OF JANUARY AND EARLY FEBRUARY... WE HAVE NOT SEEN A BIG STORM...AT LEAST NOT YET. MUCH OF SNOW REMOVAL FROM SIDEWALKS AND DRIVEWAYS COULD BE HANDLED WITH BROOMS...INSTEAD OF SHOVELS. MATTER OF FACT...JANUARY 2003 WAS ACTUALLY MUCH DRIER THAN NORMAL. NORMAL SEASONAL SNOWFALL FOR AN ENTIRE SEASON IN THE CHARLESTON VICINITY IS AROUND 30 INCHES. HOWEVER...CHARLESTON HAS NOT SEEN SEASONAL SNOW FALL AMOUNTS NEAR NORMAL VALUES...SINCE THE WINTER OF 1997 INTO 1998. THE PAST 4 WINTERS HAVE SEEN BELOW NORMAL AMOUNTS OF SNOW. THE LAST TIME CHARLESTON HAD A SEASONAL SNOW FALL AMOUNT ABOVE THEIR NORMAL...WAS DURING THE MEMORABLE WINTER SEASON OF 1995 INTO 1996.
Thanks to the Charleston, WV NWS for that. It seems that almost every other day you look at a radar out of West Virginia and there's echos on it and of course it's going to be cold so you assume that they just get snow after snow. Well they do get the snow showers that drop what a couple of inches but the big storms have been lacking there for a good 8 years or so. 21.9 inches so far this winter when they normally get 30, well they can get up to that average because they almost always have that chance of snow showers every other day. They can nickel and dime their way up to that mark and could exceed it. But unless they get a big storm, they won't end up anywhere near that epic winter of 1995-96 when they recieved 92.2 inches of snow!
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON, MS 1000 AM CST TUE FEB 11, 2003 TO ALL USERS OF THE JACKSON, MS (KJAN) RADAR DATA TODAY AT NOON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON WILL BEGIN TESTING OF THE NEW BRANDON RADAR (KDGX). THE TEST WILL LAST FOR A PERIOD OF 72 HOURS DURING WHICH TIME THE JACKSON RADAR (KJAN) WILL BE SHUT DOWN AND NO DATA WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM EITHER RADAR. SHOULD ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER MOVE INTO THE AREA DURING THE TEST PERIOD THE TEST WILL BE SUSPENDED AND THE JACKSON RADAR TURNED BACK ON. WHEN THE TESTING OF THE BRANDON RADAR IS COMPLETED AND ASSUMING ALL GOES AS PLANNED, THEN THE JACKSON RADAR WILL BE BROUGHT BACK UP ON FRIDAY AND WILL STAY UP UNTIL NEXT WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2003. AT NOON CENTRAL STANDARD TIME (1800Z) ON WEDNESDAY THE SWITCH OVER TO THE BRANDON RADAR WILL BE MADE AND IT WILL BECOME THE OFFICIAL RADAR FOR THE JACKSON NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.
Thanks to the Jackson, MS NWS for that. A new doppler radar for the weather service office to control which should be good for the residents of central Mississippi. The Jackson radar at the airport will be 10 years old this March and by that time, the new radar in Brandon, which is a bit further to the east of the airport along I-20 will have been operational for many weeks which is ahead of the original schedule. The new radar won't come with any fancy new gadgets and with it being just a few miles away from the radar they currently use, shouldn't provide too much less coverage than the old one.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 320 PM EST THU FEB 13 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE'S NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER ON MOUNT WASHINGTON CONTINUES TO BE INOPERABLE DUE TO SUNDAY'S FIRE ON THE SUMMIT. WHILE THE TRANSMITTER DID NOT SUFFER ANY PHYSICAL DAMAGE, POWER WAS LOST TO THE TRANSMITTER, AND MORE SIGNIFICANTLY, COMMUNICATION LINES TO THE TRANSMITTER WERE DESTROYED BY THE FIRE. RESTORATION OF POWER AND COMMUNICATION TO THE TRANSMITTER IS HIGHLY WEATHER DEPENDENT. CURRENTLY, THE EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS ON THE SUMMIT ARE NOT FAVORABLE FOR ANY OUTSIDE REPAIRS. AS OF 2 PM THURSDAY, CONDITIONS AT THE SUMMIT WERE: BLOWING SNOW, VISIBILITY 1/8 MILE, TEMPERATURE -27 F, WEST WIND 85 MPH GUSTING TO 97 MPH, WIND CHILL INDEX -77. AT THIS TIME, THE MOUNT WASHINGTON TRANSMITTER IS EXPECTED TO BE OFF THE AIR THROUGH AT LEAST THE MIDDLE PART OF NEXT WEEK AND QUITE POSSIBLY LONGER.
Thanks to the Gray, ME NWS for that. To have a fire in one of the windiest places on Earth and one of the coldest has got to be quite miserable. First of all with the wind and stuff, the fire wouldn't probably stay confined for long. Although with it being so cold and with the tundra vegetation, I suppose nothing would get burned real extensively except the building itself. So that place is still inoperational. Well at least it would give the people who live and work up in that place a break. With winds gusting almost to 100 mph and hardly no visibility and with wind chills down to almost -80 degrees, going down to the base of the mountain would be like going to a tropical island. They hope to make the repairs next week but more like July would be a good time to do that.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS, MI 325 PM EST THU FEB 13 2003 ... IT IS TIME FOR A BREAK FROM PRECIPITATION IN GRAND RAPIDS ... FROM JANUARY 31 THROUGH FEBRUARY 13TH IN GRAND RAPIDS THERE HAS BEEN AT LEAST A TRACE OF PRECIPITATION EVERY SINGLE DAY. IN FACT... SINCE THE 28TH OF DECEMBER THERE HAS BEEN AT LEAST A TRACE OF PRECIPITATION ON EVERY SINGLE DAY BUT 6! THOSE WERE DECEMBER 29 AND 31...THEN JANUARY 4TH...8TH...16TH AND 30TH. WE HAVE TO LOOK BACK TO DECEMBER 26TH AND 27TH TO GET TWO DAYS IN A ROW WITH NO PRECIPITATION AT THE NWS OFFICE IN GRAND RAPIDS. THAT MEANS IN THE PAST 48 DAYS... WE HAVE HAD SOME PRECIPITATION ON 42 OF THOSE DAYS. WE ARE FINALLY IN FOR A BREAK... THE LATEST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST DOES NOT CALL FOR ANY PREICITATION IN THE GRAND RAPIDS AREA UNTIL TUESDAY. THAT WILL BE EVEN LONGER THAN THE DRY STRETCH FROM THE 10TH THROUGH THE 12TH OF DECEMBER. YET SINCE DEC 1 2002... WE HAVE HAD ONLY 3.46 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION. THE NORMAL IS 5.41 INCHES FOR THAT TIME PERIOD. WHICH PUT GRAND RAPIDS 1.95 INCHES BELOW NORMAL...EVEN WITH ALL OF THOSE DAYS OF PRECIPITATION. IT SHOULD BE POINTED OUT THAT ALMOST ALL OF THAT PRECIPITATION HAS BEEN SNOWFALL. THE GRAND RAPIDS SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL AS OF MIDNIGHT LAST NIGHT WAS 71.1 INCHES. NORMAL FOR THE SEASON THROUGH LAST NIGHT IS 54.6...SO THAT IS 16.5 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. POINT BEING...OUR COLD WINTER HAS PRODUCED FREQUENT PERIODS OF SNOW. THE SNOW HAS HAD A LOW WATER CONTENT...SO EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE HAD PRECIPITATION ALMOST DAILY FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS... IT REMAINS DRY AS FAR AS THE TOTAL PRECIPITATION IS CONCERNED.
Thanks to the Grand Rapids, MI NWS for that. Those kind of events can be decieving. Perhaps we think of it as if there's precipitation every day there, it must be a very rainy/snowy place. That's true and not true. There's no reason to believe just because they have a streak like that that there's a deluge each and every day. Take Seattle for example. They have more rain days than a lot of cities like Atlanta, but Atlanta has more annual precipitation because Seattle usually gets a lot of light precip in those rainy/snowy days. Same is the case here in west Michigan. Grand Rapids is in the hole for precipitation this winter by over 2 inches and they're a little bit worse off than last year at this time. But they are about 16 inches above normal with snowfall so far. Still the water equivalent is what's important and they had a dry Sunday in the Grand Rapids area although freezing drizzle is forecast to start tonight there.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 500 AM CST TUE FEB 18 2003 ...FEW INDUSTRIAL SNOW FLURRIES... RADAR ECHOES AND AT LEAST ONE AUTOMATED SURFACE OBSERVATION INDICATE THAT THERE ARE AREAS OF VERY LIGHT SNOW THIS MORNING AROUND THE CHICAGO METRO AREA. RADAR INDICATES PLUMES COMING OFF OF HEAVY INDUSTRY SITES WHICH ARE SEEDING THE RATHER SHALLOW DECK OF LOW CLOUDS THAT PERSISTS OVER THE AREA THIS MORNING. NO MORE THAN A LIGHT DUSTING CAN BE EXPECTED.
Thanks to the Chicago NWS for that. If you were in Chicagoland today and looked out the window, you'd probably say that it sure did look industrial outside. Dust from factories is an aerosol or means for condensation to be acted upon it in the atmosphere. Also it is called a cloud condensation nuclei because tiny water droplets when cooled can form into ice crystals in very cold clouds. So this morning, that industrial cloud was enough of a catalyst that the ice crystals formed on that and had enough of a terminal velocity or in essence a fall speed and direction to fall as light snow and that was observed in Prospect Heights/Wheeling area between 4:25am and 5:04am. It didn't amount to a whole lot but an interesting microscale feature that came from an unlikely source.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
628 PM CST THU FEB 20 2003
...SO YOU THINK IT'S BEEN QUITE AWHILE SINCE MILWAUKEE SAW A 50
DEGREE READING...NOT REALLY...
MILWAUKEE'S MITCHELL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REACHED A VERY
PLEASANT HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 52 DEGREES AT 3:59 PM THIS
AFTERNOON...BUT IT WAS WELL SHORT OF THE RECORD FOR FEBRUARY 20TH...
WHICH IS 60 DEGREES SET IN 1930.
IT HASN'T BEEN THAT LONG SINCE MILWAUKEE SAW READINGS IN THE 50S.
THE LAST TIME A TEMPERATURE OF 50 DEGREES PLUS WAS EXPERIENCED IN
MILWAUKEE WAS ON JANUARY 8TH...WHEN THE MERCURY SOARED TO 54 DEGREES.
IT WAS THE ONLY TIME THAT MONTH THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 50 DEGREES.
THERE WERE EVEN 3 TIMES IN DECEMBER WHEN THE 50 DEGREE PLATEAU WAS
REACHED...
DECEMBER 18TH...51 DEGREES.
DECEMBER 19TH...53 DEGREES.
DECEMBER 30TH...56 DEGREES.
NOVEMBER ALSO HAD 5 DAYS OF TEMPERATURES IN THE 50S AND EVEN 3 DAYS
IN THE 60S.
THE WARMTH WAS PREVALENT OVER ALL OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN TODAY...SOME
CITIES AND THEIR HIGH TEMPERATURES INCLUDED...
CITY HIGH
TEMPERATURE
WEST ALLIS 55 DEGREES
WAUKESHA 54
BURLINGTON 54
WEST BEND 54
NWS/SULLIVAN 52
KENOSHA 52
RACINE 52
WATERTOWN 52
MADISON 51
Thanks to the Milwaukee NWS for that. What a nice day across the upper Midwest region today as temperatures modified after some cold air advection the past couple of days. A west to east upper flow brought in mild Pacific air and readings went into the 50s across southern Wisconsin. Daytime highs were off some 20 degrees above normal in the region. Phew, that's a nice late winter break from typical frozen tundra like conditions. Ok, maybe its not that bad but it gets very cold in Wisconsin even here in late February. And, whatever snow that was left on the ground from the weekend is about all gone. Another warm day on Friday before temperatures tumble below normal by the weekend behind a cold front that will bring some very cold temperatures especially by the first part of the work week.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1158 AM EST SUN FEB 23 2003 ...STORM DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED TWO MILES WEST OF OAKDALE SATURDAY HAD AN F1 TORNADO EMBEDDED IN STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS... A STORM SURVEY TEAM FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON DETERMINED THAT THE STORM DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED AROUND 4:13 PM EST SATURDAY FEBRUARY 22ND...TWO MILES WEST OF OAKDALE...WAS THE RESULT OF AN F1 TORNADO EMBEDDED IN DOWNBURST WINDS. A LARGE SWATH OF DOWNBURST WINDS...NEARLY 450 FEET WIDE...SWEPT THROUGH THE DAMAGED AREA. EMBEDDED IN THESE WINDS WAS AN F1 TORNADO...WITH WINDS BETWEEN 100 AND 112 MILES PER HOUR...THAT WAS ON THE GROUND FOR APPROXIMATELY 100 YARDS AND WAS 75 YARDS WIDE. THIS STORM CLAIMED TWO LIVES AND INJURED SEVEN. AT LEAST FIVE TRAILERS WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED AND NUMEROUS OTHER STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED.
Thanks to the Jackson, KY NWS for that. An unfortunate fact from a very stormy weekend in the East as we had our first fatalities from tornadoes in 2003. Originally thought to be straight line winds, it was determined that an F1 tornado swirled amongst downburst winds with winds inside the tornado between 100 and 112 mph. It was a brief tornado touch down but no matter how brief, the loss to life and property was tragic. Showers and thunderstorms were ongoing ahead of a powerful low pressure center. In nearby Jackson at the time of the tornado, winds gusted to 35 mph with heavy rain and temperatures cooling out of the 60s. The ingredients came together in the eastern part of the state with strong directional and speed wind shear and instability to produce that deadly tornado.
RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA 103 PM EST MON FEB 24 2003 ...THE SNOWIEST FEBRUARY EVER... AT 1PM EST...THE OFFICIAL SNOWFALL TODAY...FEBRUARY 24TH FOR THE PITTSBURGH AREA WAS 3.0 INCHES. THIS BRINGS THE OFFICIAL MONTHLY SNOWFALL TOTAL TO 25.0 INCHES...A NEW RECORD MONTHLY SNOWFALL TOTAL. THE PREVIOUS RECORD SNOWFALL TOTAL FOR FEBRUARY FOR PITTSBURGH WAS 24.2 INCHES WHICH OCCURRED IN 1972. THE DAILY SNOWFALL RECORD FOR PITTSBURGH FOR FEBRUARY 24TH OCCURRED FORTY YEARS AGO IN 1963...WHEN 3.6 INCHES OF SNOW FELL OFFICIALLY.
Thanks to the Pittsburgh NWS for that. A weak surface low powered by a pretty potent vort max in the mid levels brought some moderate snows throughout the Ohio Valley overnight and into the early afternoon. 3 inches of snow fell in Pittsburgh, not a record for the date but just enough to vault them to their snowiest February ever. More light snow was falling into the evening so they could add on to that. Thru early evening though, 25 inches of snow for the month with most of that snow occuring on the back end of the President's Day storm from 16th through the 19th when they saw 15.8 inches. For the winter, the Pittsburgh area has been buried in snow with 57.4 inches since October 1.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE IDAHO 830 AM TUE FEB 25 2003 ...THIS MORNINGS LOW TIED FOR THIRD COLDEST LOW THIS WINTER SEASON... WITH THE MILD WINTER WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING IN BOISE...IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT THIS MORNINGS LOW OF 18 DEGREES TIES THE THIRD COLDEST LOW SO FAR THIS SEASON. THE LAST TIME THE MERCURY WAS AT THIS LEVEL WAS ON NOVEMBER 2ND OF 2002. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE SO FAR FOR THE SEASON HAS BEEN 13 DEGREES SET ON OCTOBER 31ST LAST YEAR. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE DAY ALSO HAD THE GREATEST DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL OF 22 DEGREES. THE SECOND COLDEST READING FOR THE SEASON HAS BEEN 17 DEGREES ON NOVEMBER 1ST WITH A DEPARTURE OF 18 DEGREES FROM NORMAL.
Thanks to the Boise, ID NWS for that. With such a location amongst the Rockies, you'd think it would be cold all throughout winter. Not really the case this season. While the East has been freezing, portions of the intermountain west have not. Ridging in the West has kept parts of the region much warmer than usual. But a large Polar airmass has encompassed areas from the Rockies to the Northeast this week and allowed Boise to fall into the teens. Now temperatures there this time of the year aren't usually too bad with average highs in the upper 40s and lows in the low 30s but when you're coldest temperature of the year was 13 degrees and temperatures for all time records there have been in the minus twenties then you know something is up.
RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 430 PM EST SAT MAR 22 2003 ...MIAMI AND FORT LAUDERDALE SIZZLE UNDER RECORD HEAT... ...MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT... AT 249 PM THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 93 DEGREES AT MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THIS IS NOT ONLY A DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORD, BUT THE RECORD HIGH FOR THE MONTH. THE PREVIOUS DAILY AND MONTHLY HIGH WAS 92 DEGREES WHICH WAS SET ON THIS DATE IN 1977 AND IN PREVIOUS YEARS. THIS IS THE 14TH DAY THIS MONTH THAT THE DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORD HAS EITHER BEEN TIED OR BROKEN. THIS IS ALSO THE WARMEST DAY AT MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SINCE THE TEMPERATURE CLIMBED TO 92 DEGREES ON OCTOBER 30TH 2002. AT THIS POINT ON THE 22ND OF MARCH THE AVERAGE DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE THIS MONTH IS 88.0 DEGREES. THE RECORD DAILY AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE IS 83.7 DEGREES WHICH OCCURRED IN 1948. THE NORMAL AVERAGE DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR MIAMI IN MARCH IS 80.7 DEGREES. ...FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT... AT 1:47 PM THE TEMPERATURE CLIMBED TO 93 DEGREES AT THE FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THIS IS ALSO NOT ONLY THE RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE DAY, BUT THE RECORD HIGH FOR THE MONTH. THE PREVIOUS RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS 92 DEGREES SET IN THIS DATE IN 1977 AND PREVIOUS YEARS. THIS IS THE 8TH DAY THIS MONTH WHERE THEIR DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORD HAS BEEN TIED OR BROKEN. THIS IS ALSO THE WARMEST DAY AT THE FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SINCE OCTOBER 30 2002 WHEN THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 91 DEGREES. SO FAR THIS MONTH THE AVERAGE DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS 86.9 DEGREES. THE NORMAL DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR MARCH IS 79.1 DEGREES. THERE ARE NO RECORDS AVAILABLE WITH THE RECORD AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH.
Thanks to the Miami NWS for that. Record scourching heat in South Florida for the month. Being south of the subtropical jet has allowed very warm, tropical air to surge into far southern portions of Florida and temperatures in the low 90s to be common throughout the month. All time record highs for the month of March set in Miami and Fort Lauderdale with more record highs set on Sunday in Miami. Every day this month has seen temperatures above average in Miami. And 6 days has seen temperatures of 90 degrees or above. 5 days has seen temperatures of 90 degrees or above in Fort Lauderdale. For both cities, average temperatures for the month are way above normal and could be record breaking for the month of March before all said and done.
WINTER WEATHER SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MICHIGAN
800 AM EDT TUE MAR 25 2003
...THE 2002/2003 WINTER IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN...
GRAND RAPIDS LANSING MUSKEGON
------------ ------- --------
...TEMPERATURE DATA
AVERAGE FOR WINTER 22.4 21.4 25.3
DEPARTURE -2.6 -2.9 -0.7
AVERAGE MAXIMUM 29.2 29.7 31.2
AVERAGE MINIMUM 15.6 13.3 19.2
HIGHEST 50 52 53
OCCURRED ON DEC. 30 DEC. 30 DEC. 19
LOWEST -12 -18 3
OCCURRED ON JAN. 27 DEC. 03 JAN. 15
...PRECIPITATION DATA
WINTER TOTAL 3.50 1.35 1.38
DEPARTURE -2.83 -3.94 -5.06
...SNOWFALL DATA
SINCE JULY 1 72.7 43.3 42.8
DEPARTURE +12.0 -0.4 -49.0
...REMARKS/MONTHLY RECORDS
*THIS WAS THE COLDEST WINTER FOR ALL OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN SINCE THE
WINTER OF 1993/1994.
*AT LANSING THIS WAS THE 7TH COLDEST WINTER FOR THE PERIOD
1948 TO 2003 (AS WAS THE WINTER OF 1985/1986).
Thanks to the Grand Rapids, MI NWS for that. With the Arctic flow on top of Michigan for most of the winter, this turned out to be the coldest winter in 9 years in some spots. The air was so cold during the season that the deep Arctic trough didn't allow for moisture to get into the area so precipitation was much lower than usual. Also throw in that this was a weak El Nino year and variations in the NAO were also contributing factors. As far as snow, what an anomaly. You had Muskegon being far far below normal with snow, down 49 inches from normal but if you go 45 minutes east on I-96, Grand Rapids was plus 12 inches for the year. Quite a gradient and Muskegon is one of the snowiest places in the nation highly dependent on lake effect snow but again, the very cold temperatures really prevented much lake effect development.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 725 PM CST THU MAR 27 2003 ...EARLIEST TORNADO EVER REPORTED IN NORTH DAKOTA... AT 418 PM CST YESTERDAY...WEDNESDAY MARCH 26 2003...A TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF EDMUNDS IN STUTSMAN COUNTY. THIS IS ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF JAMESTOWN. THERE WAS MINOR DAMAGE FROM THE TORNADO...A DOOR WAS TORN OFF A HOPPER BIN AND THROWN 300 YARDS. THE BACK WALL OF THE HOPPER WAS BLOWN DOWN. THE TORNADO IS BEING RATED F0 ON THE FUJITA TORNADO DAMAGE SCALE. PREVIOUSLY THE EARLIEST REPORTED TORNADO IN NORTH DAKOTA WAS ON APRIL 15 1982 IN RANSOM COUNTY.
Thanks to the Bismarck, ND NWS for that. How about that, a weak tornado touched down in North Dakota yesterday. Their earliest ever by over 2 and a half weeks. There wasn't a real strong weather system and it was unusual in how the tornado formed. North Dakota yesterday was well north of a stationary front in the cold air. There was a lot of low level shear though as winds in the eastern part of the state were coming from the south and in the central part coming out of the due north. Directional shear in the vertical was present too with a jet streak over 115 mph running from west-northwest to east-southeast over the state. So there was deep shear which allowed for the tornado vortex to reach the ground but the instability was very weak and the tornado was only an F0 fortunately. Probably not what was forecast for the area and thankfully there weren't any injuries or major damage. North Dakota sees about 18 tornadoes a year.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 1045 PM EST FRI MAR 28 2003 ...WARM AND SOMEWHAT WET MARCH SO FAR... MARCH 2003 HAS BEEN VERY WARM ACROSS MOST OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA...OVER 5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL... WITH SEVERAL RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES AND A FEW RECORD HIGHS BEING SET. HOWEVER...A STRONG COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO MOVE ACROSS FLORIDA SUNDAY USHERING IN MUCH COOLER AIR WITH TEMPERATURES ON MONDAY EXPECTED TO BE 10 TO 15 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THEREFORE...THE CURRENT AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY BE A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN THEY ARE CURRENTLY BY THE END OF THE MONTH. BELOW ARE TABLES OF THE WARMEST MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE RECORDS FOR MARCH AT A FEW SITES. TOP 10 WARMEST TOP 10 WARMEST MARCHES IN TAMPA: MARCHES IN SARASOTA-BRADENTON: 1 73.9 IN 1997 1 72.6 IN 1997 2 73.2 IN 1945 2 70.5 IN 1974 3 72.7 IN 1921 3 70.4 IN 1953 4 72.2 IN 1907 4 70.2 IN 1989 5 71.9 IN 1897 5 69.8 IN 1973 6 71.8 IN 1948 6 69.6 IN 1963 6 71.8 IN 1938 7 69.5 IN 1995 6 71.8 IN 1918 7 69.5 IN 1990 9 71.3 IN 1935 9 69.3 IN 2000 10 71.0 IN 2000 9 69.3 IN 1961 10 71.0 IN 1903 CURRENT AVG AT TPA CURRENT AVG AT SRQ THROUGH MAR 28TH = 72.6 THROUGH MAR 28TH = 72.7 NORMAL FOR TPA = 67.4 NORMAL FOR SRQ = 67.2 RECORDS BEGAN APRIL 1890 RECORDS BEGAN JULY 1948 TOP 10 WARMEST MARCHES IN FORT MYERS: 1 75.9 IN 1997 2 74.4 IN 1948 3 73.0 IN 1982 4 72.5 IN 2002 4 72.3 IN 1938 6 72.1 IN 1939 7 71.9 IN 2000 7 71.9 IN 1974 7 71.9 IN 1964 7 71.9 IN 1953 CURRENT AVG AT FMY THROUGH MAR 28TH = 75.6 NORMAL FOR FMY = 69.9 RECORDS BEGAN JANUARY 1931 MARCH HAS ALSO BEEN SOMEWHAT WET ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. MANY LOCATIONS HAVE RECEIVED OVER FOUR INCHES OF RAIN...WHICH IS ABOVE THE NORMAL RAINFALL WHICH IS GENERALLY AROUND THREE INCHES. HOWEVER...THESE AMOUNTS ARE STILL WELL BELOW THE WETTEST MONTHLY PRECIPITATION RECORDS FOR MARCH. BELOW ARE TABLES OF THE WETTEST MONTHLY PRECIPITATION RECORDS FOR MARCH. TOP 10 WETTEST TOP 10 WETTEST MARCHES IN TAMPA: MARCHES IN SARASOTA-BRADENTON: 1 12.64 IN 1959 1 11.10 IN 1987 2 12.01 IN 1987 2 10.77 IN 2001 3 11.00 IN 1960 3 10.60 IN 1958 4 9.87 IN 1930 4 8.81 IN 1959 5 7.59 IN 1983 5 8.63 IN 1983 6 7.36 IN 1900 6 7.42 IN 1982 7 6.98 IN 1957 7 7.37 IN 1969 7 6.98 IN 1947 8 7.11 IN 1998 9 6.73 IN 2001 9 7.10 IN 1970 10 6.57 IN 1893 10 6.31 IN 1957 CURRENT TOTAL AT TPA CURRENT TOTAL AT SRQ THROUGH MAR 28TH = 3.87 IN. THROUGH MAR 28TH = 3.93 IN. NORMAL FOR TPA = 2.84 IN. NORMAL FOR SRQ = 3.36 IN. RECORDS BEGAN APRIL 1890 RECORDS BEGAN JULY 1948 TOP 10 WETTEST MARCHES IN FORT MYERS: 1 18.58 IN 1970 2 10.31 IN 1958 3 7.41 IN 1983 4 6.38 IN 1984 5 6.33 IN 1984 6 5.86 IN 1987 7 5.40 IN 1998 8 5.02 IN 2001 9 4.87 IN 1992 10 4.74 IN 1969 CURRENT TOTAL AT FMY THROUGH MAR 28TH = 3.39 IN. NORMAL FOR FMY = 2.74 IN. RECORDS BEGAN JANUARY 1931 FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR CLIMATE PAGE AT THE FOLLOWING LINK: HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW/CLIMATE/INDEX.HTM
Thanks to the Tampa NWS for that. It's been warm and wet across central Florida but not record setting. In fact, with this cold front that has moved through the state this weekend and falling temperatures, average temperatures for the month may not make it into the top 10 warmest in Tampa especially with readings expected to be near record lows for tomorrow. Still, with an El Nino pattern in place with a strong subtropical jet stream, it has allowed copious amounts of tropical moisture to invade the state this month and with various upper level disturbances to lift the air, they've seen a lot of rain. Works also with temperatures, with the subtropical jet stream over the state, it has not allowed for cold polar air outbreaks to move on in. At least not until this weekend.
PUBLIC INFORMATION MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 722 AM EST MON APR 1 2003 ...ALBANY BREAKS 100 INCH MARK FOR SNOW SEASON... THIS MORNING ALBANY MEASURED 3 TENTHS OF AN INCH OF SNOWFALL FROM LAKE ENHANCED SNOW SHOWERS THAT MOVED DOWN THE MOHAWK VALLEY. THAT BRINGS ALBANYS SEASONAL SNOWFALL TO 100.1 INCHES SO FAR. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME ALBANY HAS BROKEN THE 100 INCH MARK SINCE THE 1970 TO 1971 SNOW SEASON...WHEN 112.5 INCHES FELL...WHICH IS THE ALL TIME RECORD. THIS SNOWFALL SEASON NOW RANKS THIRD ALL TIME...TRAILING ONLY THE 1887 TO 1888 SEASON...WHEN 110 INCHES FELL...AND THE 1970 TO 1971 SEASON.
Thanks to the Albany, NY NWS for that. Over 100 inches of snow for the snow season, the 3rd snowiest on record there in the Capital District. They've been in the storm track for a lot of storms that ran up the East coast this winter. The first snow there fell on October 23, 2002 with a half an inch of snow. Their biggest snowstorm of the year occured on Christmas Day with 19.2 inches and that began a long string of days that ended March 23 with a snow depth of at least a trace. From the 24th to the 30th of March, a warming trend helped melt away all of the snow but snow returned on the 30th and on Tuesday they picked up 0.9 inch. The 100.7 inches of snow so far this season is 40.9 inches above normal. Another shot of colder air with a storm system moving in brings the next chance of snow potentially by next Monday.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA 500 AM PST FRI APR 3 2003 ...A LOOK BACK AT MARCH 2003... DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES...RAINFALL AVERAGES 3.14 INCHES...AND MEASURABLE RAIN TYPICALLY FALLS ON 6 DAYS. A QUICK GLANCE AT THE DATA FOR MARCH 2003...WHICH HAD ONLY THREE DAYS OF MEASURABLE RAIN...WOULD SUGGEST A DRIER THAN NORMAL MONTH. HOWEVER... ON MARCH 15TH...A RECORD 4.10 INCHES OF RAIN FELL...NEARLY AN INCH MORE THAN WHAT IS NORMAL FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH. MARCH 15TH 2003 WAS THE WETTEST CALENDAR DAY IN NEARLY 50 YEARS... SINCE JANUARY 26 1956. IT WILL ALSO GO DOWN IN THE BOOKS AS THE NINTH WETTEST DAY IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1877...THE SECOND WETTEST DAY EVER RECORDED IN THE MONTH OF MARCH...AND THE WETTEST DAY ON RECORD FOR SO LATE IN THE RAINY SEASON. IN ADDITION... THE RAINFALL TOTAL OF 4.10 INCHES ON THE 15TH WAS JUST 0.32 INCHES LESS THAN THE RAINFALL DURING THE ENTIRE 2001-2002 RAIN YEAR (4.42 INCHES). HERE ARE THE WETTEST DAYS EVER RECORDED IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES... 1......5.88 INCHES 03/02/1938 2......5.71 INCHES 01/26/1956 3......4.86 INCHES 12/31/1933 4......4.80 INCHES 02/24/1913 5......4.30 INCHES 12/12/1889 6......4.26 INCHES 02/18/1914 7......4.19 INCHES 12/20/1879 8......4.16 INCHES 01/17/1916 9......4.10 INCHES 03/15/2003
Thanks to the Los Angeles/Oxnard, CA NWS for that. They're public information statement went on to say more about how the rain year from July 1 to June 30 is above normal and how January of this year was the 4th all time without measurable rain since records were kept. Wanted to focus on this part of the statement though. El Nino winters like this past winter, usually brings a southern storm track right into the Los Angeles area and brings them a lot more rain. While rain has been above normal, there wasn't really any astronomical rain events unlike in previous stronger El Nino's of the past. Usually theyir big rains come early in the year but as you read on March 15, it was the rainest day for so late in the rainy season and rainiest day in over 47 years. Interesting that those rainiest days are usually in December and January but the rainiest day there occured in March. So it can happen and this year proved that heavy rains can fall late in the rain year.
RECORD REPORT...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 735 AM CDT MON APR 7 2003 ...ALL TIME RECORD DAILY RAINFALL SET AT JACKSON AND FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL... A TOTAL OF 7.38 INCHES OF RAIN FELL INTO THE RAINGAGE AT THE JACKSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON APRIL 6TH. THIS SETS THE ALL TIME DAILY RAINFALL RECORD! THE PREVIOUS HIGHEST DAILY RAINFALL WAS 6.97 SET ON OCTOBER 4 TH 1964. IN ADDITION TO THE ALL TIME DAILY RECORD...THIS RAINFALL MAKES APRIL 6TH...2003 THE ALL TIME RECORD RAINFALL OBSERVED ON ONE DAY IN JACKSON DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL. THE PREVIOUS RECORD FOR DAILY RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL WAS 6.30 INCHES SET ON APRIL 16TH...1921. THE PREVIOUS RECORD DAILY RAINFALL FOR THE DATE OF APRIL 6TH WAS 4.50 INCHES IN 1983.
Thanks to the Jackson, MS NWS for that. Rainiest day ever in Jackson on Sunday and it was no surprise with high precipitation supercell after supercell training right along I-20 in central Mississippi. The thunderstorms started there at 1pm and lasted almost continuously the rest of the day till after midnight today. Doppler estimated between 5 and 8 inches of rain across the Jackson area. That much rain caused widespread flooding in the city from 1 to 3 feet of water ponding and a rise in creek levels. Before flooding was the major threat, the storms caused some wind damage initially and did spawn an F1 tornado to the north of Jackson that did significant roof damage to a number of homes and uprooted trees.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 716 PM CDT TUE APR 08 2003 WEATHER HISTORY IN NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS APRIL 9TH, 1953. AS THE WEATHER BUREAU STARTED A NEW ERA OF TRACKING STORMS BY RADAR, THE FIRST RADAR IMAGE OF A TORNADO WAS DETECTED BY RADAR EQUIPMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AIRPORT IN CHAMPAIGN, IL. STUDIES OF THE RADAR PICTURES FROM THAT DAY SHOWED THAT A TORNADO OF SIGNIFICANT SIZE AND INTENSITY COULD BE DETECTED, IDENTIFIED BY A HOOK-SHAPE ON THE SOUTHWESTERN EDGE OF A THUNDERSTORM.
Thanks to the Chicago NWS for that. It wasn't too long ago when the first tornado warning was issued...successfully. And now, 50 years later we've been able to recognize tornado signatures on radar. The people who came across the hook didn't realize it at the time as the radar was used for military purposes. It took phone calls from people in the area to realize that that hook on the radar was actually indicating rotation which was the tornado. So using radar for tornadoes was born and improved over the years. Advances in technology with the advent of Doppler radar in the 80s helped detect rotation and tornado vortex signatures giving people increasingly more warning time.
The two biggest snowfalls of the 2002-03 snow season in Asheville did not occur in winter. 4 inches of snow fell on December 4 and 4 inches fell on April 10
I figured that fact out. That's an amazing fact that during our two biggest snows they didn't occur within the bounds of astronomical winter which runs from December 21 to March 21. Two different storms too that dropped those 4 inch snow amounts in Asheville but both were relatively brief events. That first one was apart of the same storm system that brought North Carolina its most destructive ice storm ever. We had more freezing rain than snow as far as time duration with that 4 inches falling from around sunrise to 2pm. And then the storm last Thursday where we saw that burst of heavy thundersnow around noon time that in the grand scheme of things didn't last long followed by rain for much of the rest of the day.
RECORD REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 527 AM CDT THU MAY 1 2003 ...RECORD PRECIPITATION SET FOR APRIL... APRIL OF 2003 WILL GO INTO THE BOOKS AS THE SEVENTH WETTEST DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL. 11.89 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL INTO THE RAIN GAGE AT THE JACKSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THIS DISPLACES THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 11.88 INCHES SET 39 YEARS AGO. RECORDS FOR THE JACKSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT DATE BACK TO 1890.
Thanks to the Jackson, MS NWS for that. Surpassed it by that much. A smidge, just .01 more than the previous mark. And it sure was wet in central Mississippi highlighted by the day they picked up over half of the rain in the month on April 6 with 7.38 inches as supercell thunderstorms kept training over the area all that day. Other big rain days included 1.12 inches on the 7th and 3.24 inches on the 24th. Basically, they got all their rain in bunches with more days than not seeing no rain in the area. The monthly amount is 5.91 inches above what is normally seen in the month of April there.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WFO NORMAN OK 1030 AM CDT FRI MAY 2 2003 ...FOUR YEARS AFTER A DEADLY TORNADO OUTBREAK...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING READY... MAY 3RD IS A DATE THAT IS ETCHED IN THE MEMORIES OF MANY OKLAHOMA RESIDENTS. ON THAT MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN 1999...NEARLY 60 TORNADOES RAKED PARTS OF OKLAHOMA...KILLING 42 PEOPLE...INJURING HUNDREDS AND CAUSING OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS IN DAMAGE. IT WAS THE LARGEST TORNADO OUTBREAK IN OKLAHOMA HISTORY.
Thanks to the Norman, OK NWS for that. Just 4 years ago this weekend is when we had one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history and one of the deadliest. One of the tornadoes in the Oklahoma City area registered the highest wind measurment ever in a tornado. The area was pummeled and it was also a destructive and historic tornado day for Kansas and other parts of the central Plains. 4 years later, more violent tornadoes were affecting the same region but safely for Oklahoma City, to the north of that region. In their public information statement, they stressed safety and telling the public to have an action plan just in case the next outbreak comes.
Jackson, TN the tornado magnet.
Hit by an F4 tornado Sunday night but they've been targeted by devestating tornadoes before. An F1 hit in 2002 and an F4 in 1999.
I figured this fact out. Part of the tornado that went through Jackson, TN on Sunday night was of F4 strength in the downtown area where 2 people were killed and 2 people remained missing as of Tuesday evening. Winds were estimated around 210 mph which is the low end of an F4 magnitude tornado as it did major destruction to the downtown area. In 2002, an F1 tornado hit northwest of Jackson destroying a house and damaging many homes and businesses on its way to causing 3 million dollars in damage. The most damaging tornado before the one on Sunday hit just 4 years earlier in May of 1999. The tornado destroyed over 200 homes on the south end of Jackson and did major damage to a high school then it headed northeast toward the northside of town destroying over 30 apartments and running over the airport. 6 people died in that tornado and damages ran up to 25 million dollars.
PEAK TORNADO ACTIVITY IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND OCCURS BETWEEN JUNE AND AUGUST, BUT TORNADOES HAVE OCCURRED AS EARLY AS MAY AND AS LATE AS NOVEMBER. MOST TORNADOES OCCUR BETWEEN 3 AND 9 PM AND HAVE AN AVERAGE FORWARD SPEED OF ABOUT 30 MPH. FOR THE 40 YEAR PERIOD BETWEEN 1950 AND 1990, 74 TORNADOES OCCURRED IN MAINE WHILE 68 TORNADOES OCCURRED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. BASED ON THESE DATA, EACH STATE AVERAGES ABOUT TWO TORNADOES PER YEAR. DURING THIS PERIOD, THE AVERAGE PATH LENGTH OF THE TORNADOES WAS 1.08 MILES FOR MAINE AND 1.64 MILES FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE. THE STRONGEST TORNADO OBSERVED IN MAINE WAS AN F2, WHILE THE STRONGEST TORNADO OBSERVED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WAS AN F3.
Thanks to the Gray, ME NWS for this one. On the subject of tornadoes, as it has been front page news all week, we look at the Northeastern U.S. which usually doesn't see a whole whole lot of tornadic activity. This week's severe weather outbreak has spared the region of tornadoes but typically in New England, tornadic development usually occurs during the summer months as the jet stream runs right over the region with warm, moist unstable air getting advected from the south. There were 3 tornadoes in Maine last year and the last time a tornado struck in New Hampshire was 1999.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI 221 PM CDT SAT MAY 24 2003 ...SOME WEATHER FACTS FOR MADISON ON MEMORIAL DAY... ...THERE HAVE BEEN SOME VERY WARM MEMORIAL DAYS...AND SOME COLD ONES... HIGHEST TEMPERATURE...88 DEGREES IN 1988. LOWEST TEMPERATURE... 32 DEGREES IN 1992. LOWEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE...50 IN 1925. HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE...73 IN 1871. NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURE... 73 DEGREES NORMAL LOW TEMPERATURE... 49 DEGREES ...SOME WEATHER FACTS FOR MILWAUKEE ON MEMORIAL DAY... ...THERE HAVE BEEN SOME VERY WARM MEMORIAL DAYS...AND SOME COLD ONES... HIGHEST TEMPERATURE...91 DEGREES IN 1994. LOWEST TEMPERATURE... 33 DEGREES IN 1961. LOWEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE...50 IN 1903. HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE...71 IN 1991 AND 1929. NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURE... 70 DEGREES NORMAL LOW TEMPERATURE... 50 DEGREES
Thanks to the Milwaukee NWS for that. With Memorial Day upon us, it's always good to look back at the weather to see what usually happens on the unofficial start of summer. Perhaps people in Wisconsin want to jump in Lake Michigan on this holiday. Well, the lake is pretty cold still in the 40s so that's not a good idea but with an average afternoon temperature of 70 degrees on land, you'd probably have to be really brave to get out there. In Milwaukee in recent years on Memorial Day, the average temperature has been below normal or near normal with scant rainfall amounts. In fact, less than half of all Memorial Days in the city's history produce rain with a pretty modest percentage of those rainy days producing more than a trace. The forecast for this year calls for mid 60s near the lake and lower 70s inland with partly cloudy skies. Typical weather on such a memorable day in Wisconsin.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 403 PM CDT MON MAY 26 2003 ...NO 80 DEGREES SO FAR THIS MAY IN LA CROSSE... AS OF 4 PM ON MAY 26TH...LA CROSSE HAS NOT REACHED 80 DEGREES THIS MAY. NORMALLY...THE LA CROSSE AREA SEES 6 DAYS IN WHICH THE TEMPERATURE REACHES 80 DEGREES OR HIGHER DURING THE MONTH OF MAY. SINCE 1873...THERE HAS BEEN 9 MAYS WITH NO 80 DEGREE OF HIGHER DAYS. THE LAST OF THESE OCCURRED BACK IN MAY 1983. HERE ARE THE MAYS IN WHICH LA CROSSE RECEIVED NO 80 DEGREE DAYS OR HIGHER...1878... 1883...1884...1888...1892...1910...1924...1935...AND 1983. EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE NOT SEEN AN 80 DEGREE DAY YET...WE MAY GET ONE ON TUESDAY...THURSDAY...OR FRIDAY.
Thanks to the La Crosse, WI NWS for that. Well, that was the case until today when they made it up to 82 degrees. It would have been the first time in 20 years that they could have done it but it wasn't the case. Normal high today was 76 degrees. Their first day of averaging 80 degrees for a high is June 8. Still, with the trough across the East, it has kept very warm temperatures away from western Wisconsin this year. But the warm air advection ahead of a cold front helped warm them up today over the 80 degree plateau.
RECORD EVENT REPORT...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UTAH 430 PM MST WED MAY 28 2003 ...99 DEGREES TODAY IN SALT LAKE CITY... THE HIGH TEMPERATURE TODAY AT THE SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HAS BEEN 99 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE RECORD FOR THE MONTH OF MAY OF 96 DEGREES SET ON THE 30TH IN 2002...MAKING IT THE EARLIEST IN THE SEASON THAT IT HAS BEEN THIS HOT. THE PREVIOUS EARLIEST DATE ON RECORD FOR REACHING AT LEAST 99 DEGREES WAS JUNE 7TH 1985...WHEN IT HIT 100. THE OLD RECORD HIGH FOR MAY 28TH OF 92 DEGREES SET IN 1958...NEVER STOOD A CHANCE.
Thanks to the Salt Lake City, UT NWS for that. Another near 100 degree today for the former Olympic city. Average high in Salt Lake this time of year is 75 degrees. Hottest for so early in the season all thanks to a ridge that has been parked over the Four Corners area the second half of the month. That has contributed to a lot of warming across the region with many days of records and above normal temperatures. 9 straight days of above normal temperatures this month and this marks day 6 of temperatures at 90 degrees or more.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR 530 PM PDT SAT JUN 07 2003 ...JUNE 2003 HOT SPELL AT THE PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT... FOR THE PAST 4 DAYS THE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE DAY HAS BEEN 90 DEGREES OR GREATER WITH 98 BEING THE HIGHEST YESTERDAY. THE LAST TIME 4 DAYS IN A ROW WITH TEMPERTURES OF 90 DEGREES OR GREATER OCCURRED 9 THRU 12 AUGUST 1997. DURING THAT HOT SPELL THE HIGHEST RECORED TEMPERATURE WAS 93 DEGREES. THE LAST TIME A HOT SPELL THAT LASTED 4 DAYS OR LONGER IN JUNE WITH TEMPERATURES OF 90 DEGREES OR GREATER OCCURRED 21 THRU 24 JUNE 1992. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE DURING THAT HOT SPELL WAVE WAS 100 DEGREES. THE LONGEST HOT SPELL RECORDED SINCE 1871 WITH TEMPERATURES REACHING 90 DEGREES OR GREATER WAS 12 THRU 19 AUGUST 1967 A PERIOD OF 8 DAYS. DURING THAT HOT SPELL THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED WAS 98 DEGREES.
Thanks to the Portland, OR NWS for that. Quite hot and dry in the Pacific Northwest under a big ridge the first part of this month so far. Temperatures for highs some 20 degrees above normal. Last year, the opposite with unseasonably cool temperatures some 10 to 15 degrees below normal with troughiness. Normal just isn't what occurs usually I guess. And through this heat wave, which ended today as a trough dug in from the northwest, a high of 79 degrees, no rain for the month so far. They're down about a half inch for the month.
Tropical Depression #2 formed this evening at 11pm. It is only the third depression to form in the month of June in the eastern Atlantic since 1886 and the earliest to do so. The first depression to form that far east in the Atlantic developed on June 27, 1933 and it later became a category 2 hurricane. It developed well south and east of the Windward Islands becoming a hurricane crossing the southern most islands, then weakened to a tropical storm in the Caribbean before regaining hurricane strength as it crossed the western tip of Cuba. It peaked as a category 2 in the central Gulf of Mexico and made landfall along the Mexican Gulf coast as a category 1 hurricane. Ana formed east of the Lesser Antilies in 1979 on June 19. That became a tropical storm as it hit the islands before weakening below tropical depression status in the Caribbean. Last year, the first Cape Verde wave to form in the eastern Atlantic was Dolly forming on August 29. That one too only became a tropical storm which weakened and did not affect anyone.
Thanks to the National Hurricane Center and Unisys Weather archives for helping me dig up this fact. We already had a tropical storm in Ana this year and the Hurricane Center believes that this depression could become Bill by Wednesday evening. It is quite unusual for a depression to form this far east, some 1235 miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands this early in the season. Usually, water temperatures are marginal at best and there's not too many strong waves to come off the African continent just yet. TD 2's fate if history is a guide isn't very formidable. First African waves in the month of June usually do become storms but minimal ones at that and they weaken quickly (except the one in 1933). And the last time the first successful African tropical wave to become a depression that later became a major hurricane that affected a land area was Hurricane Bertha in 1996. It was a category 3 north of Hispanola and moved northeast making landfall in North Carolina as a category 2 hurricane.
b>Tuesday, October 7 is the average date for the first freeze in Denver.
I came up with that. Seems like a meaningless fact. Trust me, I've been looking for something, the weather has been rather benign across the country. But I wanted to see how average affected reality and my assumptions were that reality would be quite different especially in a weather crazy region as the Front Range of the Rockies and the Denver area. I mean one day it could be 80 degrees and that night heavy snow could fall. So going back into history, and just looking from the start of meteorological fall (September 1) onward, here's the dates of the first freezes in Denver:
September 14, 2003 (29 degrees)
October 4, 2002 (31 degrees)
October 5, 2001 (30 degrees)
September 22, 2000 (32 degrees)
September 28, 1999 (29 degrees)
October 6, 1998 (30 degrees)
October 12, 1997 (31 degrees)
September 25, 1996 (32 degrees)
September 20, 1995 (30 degrees)
Interesting the colder numbers, readings in the 20's, have occured in September rather than in October. The earliest first freeze was September 8, 1962 with 31 degrees.