Big Story Weather – December 9, 2013
redOrbit Meteorologist Joshua Kelly
Big Story Weather from December 6-8:
This past weekend was quite busy. Heavy rainfall extended along the Gulf Coast into the Tennessee River Valley. Some places in Mississippi picked up around 2-3 inches of precipitation. Heavy snowfall was recorded from Tennessee up into the Northeast with some places seeing between 4-14 inches. Near record high temps were seen along the Gulf Coast and some places approaching an unseasonal 80F. Record cold was recorded on the northern side over the Plains and the Northern Rockies. Some places saw temps fall to near 30 below zero and wind chill values plunged to near 50 below zero. Lastly, was the cold air that found its way into SOCAL where the citrus crops were threatened over the weekend from a frost/freeze.
Big Story Weather Discussion for December 9:
Surface Map 11AM: Low pressure moving into Southeast Canada – along with the low pressure moving over the Mid-Atlantic – will provide the region with snow showers in the north and rain showers along with some wintry mix throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. High pressure will build in over the Central Plains and will bring another round of bitterly cold temps from the Northern Plains to the Southern Plains. High pressure over the Rockies will also create another area of very cold air from Montana to Wyoming and back into Nevada.
Surface Map 11PM: Low pressure will slide into the Northern Plains bringing some light snowfall along with another round of cold weather and strong winds. Look for a few showers from the Gulf Coast to the Carolinas as well. High pressure over the Rockies will bring tranquil weather to the region along with colder weather again overnight.
Severe Weather: No forecasted regions for today.
Winter Weather: Winter storm watches/warnings are in effect for the Northeast into the Mid-Atlantic as the region will see another day of snow, rain and ice all mix. Snowfall accumulations of around 4 inches are expected for Maine to Boston. Freezing rain and snow will mix into New York City southward into Baltimore. A second winter weather advisory is in place for Northern New Mexico where a few inches of snowfall will be possible. Winter storm watches/warnings are also in effect for the Northern Rockies into North Dakota. This area will see accumulating snowfall around 4-5 inches. Frost and freeze watches and warnings are scattered along California into the Southwest as another round of cold weather heads into the region. Wind chill advisories and warnings are in effect from the Western Lakes back into the Northern Rockies and to the Central Plains. Some places in these regions will see wind chill values from -30 to -60F through the day and overnight hours.
Winds: There will be strong winds over the Lakes with wind gusts near 45mph. A second area of strong winds will be found over the Northern Rockies and Plains along the new frontal boundary. This region will see 30-40mph wind gusts.
72hr Westward Storm Watch: Storm 1 is now south of Alaska and moving eastward this morning. This storm will impact the open Pacific with strong winds and rain showers. Storm 2 is now impacting Japan with showers and snow showers. This low will push northeastward towards the Kuril Islands over the next 24-48 hours.
Today’s Spotlight Cities Forecast:
New York NY: Mostly cloudy with showers. High temps around 46F and overnight lows near 30F. Total rainfall near 0.25 inches. Tuesday mostly cloudy with snow. High temps around 30F and overnight lows near 19F. Total snowfall near 2 inches. Wednesday partly cloudy with a high near 25F and overnight lows near 20F. Thursday partly cloudy with a high near 23F and overnight lows near 16F. Friday partly cloudy with a high near 21F and overnight lows near 19F.
Gulfport MS: Mostly cloudy with showers. High temps around 64F and overnight lows near 43F. Total rainfall around 0.25 inches. Tuesday partly cloudy and breezy with high temps near 42F and overnight lows near 36F. Wind gusts near 40mph will create wind chill values in the 30’s. Wednesday partly cloudy with a high near 54F and overnight lows near 36F. Thursday partly cloudy with a high near 48F and overnight lows near 40F. Friday partly cloudy with a high near 70F and overnight lows near 50F.
Sioux Falls SD: Partly cloudy with a high near 12F and overnight lows near 2F. Tuesday mostly cloudy with light snow. High temps around 18F and overnight lows near 5F. Total snowfall around 2 inches. Wednesday partly cloudy with a high near 19F and overnight lows near 3F. Thursday partly cloudy with a high near 34F and overnight lows near 26F. Friday partly cloudy with a high near 36F and overnight lows near 18F.
Billings MT: Partly cloudy with a high near 25F and overnight lows near 16F. Tuesday mostly cloudy with light snow. High temps around 23F and overnight lows near 18F. Total snowfall around 3 inches. Wednesday partly cloudy with a high near 34F and overnight lows near 23F. Thursday partly cloudy with a high near 41F and overnight lows near 35F. Friday partly cloudy with a high near 41F and overnight lows near 36F.
Portland OR: Mostly cloudy with light rain. High temps near 34F and overnight lows near 30F. Total rainfall near 0.15 inches. Tuesday partly cloudy with a high near 41F and overnight lows near 39F. Wednesday partly cloudy with a high near 45F and overnight lows near 39F. Thursday mostly cloudy with showers. High temps around 45F and overnight lows near 43F. Total rainfall around 0.25 inches. Friday partly cloudy with a high near 46F and overnight lows near 42F.
Ask The Weatherman for December 9, 2013:
Question: What makes ice fall?
Answer: When forecasters are watching for the potential of ice (or freezing rain) to fall during the forecast period, it is very important that we identify the freezing levels of the atmosphere. When you look at the atmosphere at around 15,000ft, the air is below freezing and saturated. This means that precipitation is falling as snow. Once it hits around 9,000ft, the temperature warms above freezing allowing for the parcels to revert partially back to liquid. Before hitting the surface, temperatures are below freezing again allowing for the parcels to re-freeze and hit the surface as ice.
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December 9, 2013 Storm Tracker Update:
SST Analysis (right image): The ENSO Phase remains in the neutral phase.
ICE Analysis Northern Hemisphere: The latest imagery shows that ice has now expanded into the Hudson Bay and has completely frozen over. The ice line has pushed a tad bit further south along the Eastern slopes of Greenland.
Eastern Pacific Ocean: Low pressure moving across the Pacific is slowly moving towards the SOCAL region. A second area of low pressure is moving towards the Gulf of Alaska and will bring strong winds and seas to the region. A third, weaker area of low pressure is moving away from Hawaii and slowly to the east.
Atlantic Ocean: Low pressure will impact most of Western Europe along with Northern Africa with showers, clouds, colder temps and strong winds. Low pressure moving along the Eastern US will bring snow, rain and wind to the Northeast US today. Low pressure moving through Northern Europe will bring snow to the region along with strong winds.
Western Pacific: Low pressure to the east of Japan will push away from land. Another area of low pressure will be pushing into Japan bringing gusty winds, showers and snow showers.
Indian Ocean: Tropical Cyclone Mabi currently has winds around 60kts and pressure near 978mb as it continues to spin in the Bay of Bengal moving slowly to the south-southwest and towards Sri Lanka and Eastern India. A second area of low pressure is being watched just to the southeast of India.
Southern Hemisphere: Multiple low pressures are moving through the region. Impacts are being felt over Argentina with showers and thunderstorms. A second low pressure will bring isolated showers and gusty winds to South Africa. A third low pressure area is moving towards South Central Australia with showers and thunderstorms.
Major Weather Impacts Discussion for December 9, 2013:
Day 1-3: Low pressure over Southeast Canada and also low pressure off the Eastern US will combine to form a large area of showers and snow showers for the northeast. This will extend into the Southeast and Gulf Coast with showers as well. High pressure over the Central Plains will bring cold and dry weather to the region. An area of low pressure and the cold front will extend into the Northern Rockies. Look for a few snow showers in the region. Day three will be fairly quite from east to west with a large area of high pressure dominating the weather for many locations.
Day 4-7: The period will start out with very dry weather from east to west as high pressure dominates the country. Day six a new storm system will take shape over the Northern Plains and a second low will be over the Southern Plains. The Northern Plains will see cold, windy and snowy conditions. The Southern Plains will see showers and a few thunderstorms. The period will end with low pressure moving up the East Coast bringing rain and a few snow showers to the region.
Day 8-12: The period will start with high pressure over both the West and East Coasts. A clipper system will push through the Northern Plains and the Great Lakes bringing snowfall to the regions. Day ten a weak clipper system will move through the Northern Plains, while the rest of the country remains dry. Day eleven a new storm system will be pushing over the Gulf of Mexico with rain, snow and thunderstorms expected for the region. High pressure will dominate the Plains and a new storm system will push towards the West Coast. The period will end with a major storm system moving up the Eastern US with showers and snow showers. High pressure will dominate the center of the US and a new storm system will be entering the Northern Rockies bringing more snow and cold to the region.
Long Range Outlook: The period will start with another Gulf Low moving across Florida bringing rain, snow and thunderstorms to the region extending from Mississippi to South Carolina. High pressure will be over the Great Lakes, while another clipper system hits the Northern Plains. High pressure will dominate the Western US. The period will finish around Dec 25th with a very tranquil weather pattern across the entire United States.
Green Energy Report for December 9, 2013:
Wave Energy: There will be ample amounts of wave energy along the Western US ahead of the next storm system. The Gulf Coast will see lower amounts of energy today as the winds weaken along the shores. The entire East Coast will see ample amounts of energy today as well.
Hydro Energy: There will be small amounts of short term energy over portions of the Pacific Northwest. There will also be long term and short term energy for portions of the Southwest. There will be a mix of short term and long term over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast and the Gulf Coast will have some short term energy today.
Solar Energy: The best places for solar energy today will be over the Mid-Mississippi River Valley where high pressure is located and also over Southern Florida.
Wind Energy: The best place for wind energy today will be over the Pacific Northwest and also over the Northern Rockies and Plains behind the frontal boundary and then across the Western Lakes region.
Weather and Your Wallet for Miami FL:
Sunny skies will make for a nice day on the beach.
Dining: There will be no issues with enjoying an outdoor lunch today.
Transportation: The airports and roadways will enjoy an impact-free weather day.
Shopping: The weather will be perfect for holiday shopping today.
Electricity: The area will see around 14CDD’s this afternoon as temps rise to near 80F.
Yard Work: The yard will have a nice day with the forecast for 29GDD’s on the day.
Construction: There will be no impacts with the outdoor road projects or any outdoor construction projects today as plenty of sunshine will be in the area.
Outdoor Venues: Today will be a wonderful day to hit the beach, take a walk along the boardwalk, or just sit in the backyard and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113022845/big-story-weather-120913/
