Big Story Weather – February 21, 2013
Daily weather forecast and wrap-up provided by redOrbit meteorologist Joshua Kelly.
redOrbit Meteorologist Joshua Kelly
Big Story Weather from February 20: Heavy snowfall over the Southwest tops all stories from yesterday as blizzard like conditions were seen in Arizona. Places like Phoenix that don’t often see snow got quite a bit of the white stuff. The other story was the colder air that has been in place over the Eastern two-thirds of the United States these past few days.
Weather Outlook for February 21: High pressure along the East Coast will make for another nice day along the coast, while a few lake effect snow showers move through the Eastern Lakes. A powerful storm system will be pushing into Western Texas today. Along with this storm we will see the severe weather and winter weather get really active with tornadoes and blizzard conditions. High pressure along the Western Rockies will bring nice weather to the region, while a trailing cold front will bring showers to the Northwest. Below is the weather for a few select cities.
Buffalo NY: Cloudy with snow and a high near: 24F
New Orleans LA: Partly Cloudy with Showers and Thunderstorms by this afternoon and a high near: 72F
Kansas City MO: (Cloudy with heavy snow and blizzard like conditions along with a high near: 25F
Billings MT: Partly Cloudy with a high near: 33F
Seattle WA: Cloudy with Showers and a high near: 42F
International Weather Outlook for February 21: High pressure over Eastern China will bring partly cloudy skies to the region and this will expand into the Koreas and Japan as well. The monsoonal trough will bring showers to portions of Southeast Asia this afternoon. Low pressure moving towards England and Western Europe will bring increased clouds today with a few showers. A weak upper level trough will move through the tip of South America creating a few showers for the region. High pressure will dominate most of Australia’s weather with a weak low pressure area to the East bringing a few showers to the Eastern part of the country. Here is the forecast for a few select international cities.
Tokyo Japan: Partly Cloudy with a low near 3C
Hong Kong China: Partly Cloudy with a low near 8C
Bangkok Thailand: Partly Cloudy with a low near 25C
London England: Mostly Cloudy with a low near 1C
Perth Australia: Cloudy with Showers and a low near 20C
February 21, 2013 Storm Tracker Update:
Atlantic Basin: Low pressure moving through Central Europe will bring showers and snow showers to the area. Another area of low pressure is moving towards England and Western Europe. A third area of low pressure is moving off towards Iceland bringing winds and seas and a few wrap around snow showers to the Northeast US. Low pressure pushing into the Southern Plains is bringing a wide variety of weather from severe weather to winter weather.
Eastern Pacific: Low pressure to the east of Hawaii continues to push towards the West Coast of the US, while another low pressure area is moving through the central part of the Gulf of Alaska bringing a few snow showers to Southern Alaska.
Western Pacific: Tropical Depression 2W is moving towards Southeast Asia with winds around 25kts and a pressure of 1004mb. This storm will make landfall in the Southeast Asia area as a weak tropical depression. Low pressure moving towards the dateline should push into the Western Gulf of Alaska overnight. Another weaker area of low pressure is moving through Central Russia.
Indian Ocean: Tropical Cyclone Haruna is currently moving over Madagascar bringing very strong winds and heavy rainfall to the region as current winds are around 95kts and a pressure of 952mb. Another area of low pressure is moving along the monsoonal trough towards India.
Southern Hemisphere: Low pressure located southeast of the Fiji Islands is bringing moderate rainfall to the region along with stronger winds. Another area of low pressure is moving south of Africa creating some strong winds and high seas through the region. A third area of low pressure is moving just to the Northwest of Australia creating a few showers in the region.
Five-Day Storm Index Outlook for February 21-25:
Buffalo NY: A few snow showers today will bring a slight impact to the region. Expect another area of showers to move in on the 23rd and 24th creating another slight impact to the area.
New Orleans LA: There will be a moderate impact over the next three days associated with a cold front that could bring some severe weather to the region.
Kansas City MO: The next two days will have moderate impact associated with the very heavy snowfall that is going to hit the region. Slight impact on the 25th as more snow moves into the region.
Billings MT: Look for a slight impact to the region on the 23rd as some light snow moves into the region.
Seattle WA: Showers will be impacting the region for the next five days.
Climate Watch for February 16-February 20:
Buffalo NY: The period started with temps around 5-13 degrees below normal, followed by a brief warm up with temps around 3-9 degrees above normal and then finished the period with temps around 11 degrees below normal.
New Orleans LA: The period started with temps around 4-11 degrees below normal, followed by a warm up with temps about 1 degree above normal and then rapidly cooled back down with temps about 1-13 degrees below normal.
Kansas City MO: The period started with temps about 10 degrees below normal and then warmed to around 13-14 degrees above normal followed by another cool down with temps around 12-20 degrees below normal.
Billings MT: The period started with temps about 3-9 degrees above normal followed by a cool down with temps falling to around 7-11 degrees below normal for the remainder of the period.
Seattle WA: The majority of the period saw temps just at or just below normal followed by a cool down on the 20th as temps fell to around 4 degrees below normal.
Major Weather Impacts Discussion for February 21, 2013:
Day 1-3: The big event of the day will be the storm system that is pushing into the Southern Plains. This storm will create a large area of blizzard and heavy snow conditions through the Southern and Central Plains, while along the Gulf Coast this storm will create severe weather. High pressure along the East Coast will keep the region nice. A few showers over the Pacific Northwest will also be expected. By the middle of the period the storm will split into two storm systems with the first going up into the Great Lakes and the second storm moving across the Gulf Coast. High pressure will build in over the Plains and another storm system will move onshore over the Pacific Northwest. The period will finish with the storm system moving up the East Coast and high pressure over the Ohio River Valley, while another storm system gets together over the Plains region.
Day 4-7: The period will start with a storm system moving into the Great Lakes region creating more widespread snowfall, while a stationary boundary develops along the Gulf Coast. High pressure will build in over the Rockies. Day five will push one storm system into the Great Lakes, while another storm moves up the East Coast bringing rain to the Mid-Atlantic region. High pressure over the Rockies will begin to push into the Plains, while another storm system approaches the West Coast. Towards the end of the period a big storm system will be over the Northeast with heavy rain and snows, while high pressure builds in over the Gulf Coast. A very strong high pressure area will develop over the Rockies and another storm system will approach the Pacific Northwest.
Day 8-12: The period will start with some lake effect snows over all of the Lakes. High pressure will dominate the majority of the country and one storm system will approach the Northwest. By day nine high pressure will be over a good portion of the country while a storm system pushes onshore over the Northwest. A major snow storm will push into the Northeast, while strong high pressure pushes over the Midwest and Southeast region. The period will end with a major winter storm over the Northeast, while high pressure centers over the Northern Gulf of Mexico and another storm system pushes into the Northern Plains.
Day 13-15: The period will start with a storm system moving into the Great Lakes, while high pressure will be over the Southeast. Another storm system will be pushing in over the West Coast. The middle of the period will have a storm system pushing into the Plains region, while another storm system enters the West Coast and a stronger storm system will be pushing towards California. The period will end with a major storm system in the Plains creating heavy rain, severe weather and winter weather.
Today’s Spotlight Forecast is for Baltimore MD:
Thursday: Partly Cloudy and mild with a high near 36F, winds from the Northwest 12-17mph as overnight lows fall to around 27F.
Friday: Mostly Cloudy with Showers and mild as high temps will be around 38F, winds from the Southeast 8-13mph as overnight lows fall to around 33F.
Saturday: Mostly Cloudy with isolated showers, high temps around 43F, winds from the Northwest 12-17mph as overnight lows fall to around 37F.
Sunday: Partly Cloudy and mild with a high near 44F, winds from the Northwest 10-15mph as overnight lows fall to around 29F.
Monday: Mostly Cloudy with isolated showers and a high near 45F, winds from the Southeast 9-14mph as overnight lows fall to around 38F.
Ask The Weatherman for February 21, 2013:
Question: What is the name of one American Weather Model?
Answer: The United States has developed a weather model known to the world as GFS. This model is a global scale weather model, meaning it is best used for identifying large scale weather features such as a low pressure over the Pacific Ocean that may be moving towards the West Coast of the United States. We can track how far it will move and where it will move over the next couple of weeks.
*** To have your question of the day answered or have your city spotlighted for the day make sure to visit redOrbit on Facebook. ***
Green Energy Weather Report for February 21, 2013:
Wave Energy: There will be moderate areas of wave energy found along the Pacific Northwest and another location will be over the Western Gulf of Mexico ahead of the next storm system.
Solar Energy: The best solar energy locations today will be along the Southwest coast of California and also over the East Coast and portions of the Southeast.
Wind Energy: The prime area for wind energy today will be coming off the Rockies behind the next cold frontal boundary.
Hydro-Energy: The Pacific Northwest will get some moderate rainfall along with snow in the higher elevations which will create some short- and long-term energy for the region. The second place is going to be through the drought-stricken Southern Plains where there will be a mix of snow and rain creating both short-term and long-term energy for the region. One last place will be along the Eastern Lakes where we will be seeing long-term snow energy for the region.
February 21 Weather and Your Wallet (Kansas City MO):
Dining: As the snow begins to move into the region this morning conditions will go downhill quickly making it a good day to have an indoor lunch.
Transportation: This morning’s commute will be slow, however this afternoon and evening as the heavier snow begins to hit expect road conditions to get worst.
Shopping: The snow in the air and the strong winds will make it a challenging day to get out and enjoy some shopping.
Electricity: A large amount of heating will be needed for today as the HDD’s will be around 41 for the day.
Yard Work: Today will be a day to make sure and take it easy if you are going to be shoveling snow off the sidewalk or driveway.
Construction: Today will be the best for the indoor projects due to the heavy snow and strong winds.
Outdoor Venues: The heavy snow that is forecasted for the region will make any outdoor plans quite tricky.
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2013-02-21 08:17:27
Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112788487/big-story-weather-022113/
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