Icy Roads in Oklahoma
What happens when you get a moist storm out of the west and a surge of arctic air from the north? Just take a look at the past 48 hours in the south! What a mess! We’ve seen just about everything with this storm system–severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, heavy snow, thundersnow, gusty winds, freezing rain, sleet… Yikes. There have been reports of an ice pack of over 3″ on the roads thanks to the snow, sleet and freezing rain the state received. Major interstates were shut down. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management reported that heavy ice brought down electrical lines and trees limbs, leaving more than 179,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma without power Friday. Despite the storm’s exit in the South Central region of the U.S., Oklahoma is still reporting over 150,000 people without power. While temperatures are expected to warm up in the next few days, the reflective nature of ice and fresh snow inhibits the absorption of the sun’s radiation… which slows down the melting process. This means ice will be a problem for a while longer. Since 2000, the state has experienced seven major ice storms with ice totals of more than an inch.
A photo my friend posted on Facebook in Norman, OK.
The ice was not only a problem in Oklahoma, but in Arkansas, Tennessee and the mid Atlantic. A state of emergency was declared pretty much in all the states this storm tracked through.
Ice Reports 1/29/2010
Beyond just ice, we’ve also seen a tremendous amount of snow! The storm left 13 inches of snow in the northern Texas Panhandle, where nearly all of Interstate 40 from the Texas-Oklahoma line to New Mexico was closed for part of the day.
LOCATION SNOWFALL COMMENTS
IN/S/
GRUVER, TX 14.0 900 AM 1/29
DUMAS, TX 13.5 1208 AM 1/29
GUYMON, OK 13.0 200 PM 1/29
DALHART, TX 12.0 714 PM 1/28
AMARILLO, TX 10.0 700 AM 1/2
Heavy snow tracked eastward the mid Atlantic states have been hit the hardest today. Over 10″ of snow has been reported in the Roanoke/Blacksburg area in Virginia and the snow will continue into the evening. I’m betting the final snow totals will exceed 15″ in snow areas. Nearly a foot of snow had fallen in parts of western North Carolina. Nearly 10 inches had fallen in some areas north of Memphis, TN and about a half-foot of snow was on the ground in Nashville, according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy snow slams the mid Atlantic this afternoon.
Looks like we’re in the last chapter of this storm as it’s continuing to move eastward. By tomorrow, most of the snow will have ceased in the mid Atlantic and an area of high pressure will result in much drier weather for the area… a much needed break from this mess!
Susie Martin
WeatherNation Meteorologist
For those that will have a clear view of the sky at sunset will get to see the largest Moon of 2010. Astronomers say that tonight’s moon will be 30% brighter and 14% bigger than the other full Moons this year. The Moon’s orbit around Earth is elliptical, not a perfect circle. Tonight, the Moon is at it’s ‘perigee’, the closest point to Earth. The ‘apogee’ is when the Moon is farthest from the Earth in it’s elliptical orbit.
Diagram taken the spaceweather.com.
The Moon has a tendency to appear much bigger in contrast to foreground buildings and objects on the horizon. The reason for this optical phenomena is still being debated. In addition to the larger lunar planet, observers will be able to see the planet Mars just west of the Moon.
Have a great weekend!
Kristin Clark
WeatherNation Meteorologist
Snow, ice and rain will cover a nearly 2,000 mile stretch of real estate from New Mexico to the Carolinas, potentially affecting 21 million people. Lubbock, TX was the hardest hit area earlier today with reports of heavy freezing rain and thundersnow. Thundersnow is fairly unusual. It only occurs 6.3 times a year on average with March being the prime month. A large temperature gradient north to south over Oklahoma and Texas is responsible for the strength this winter storm is taking on. There has been a 30 degree temperature drop in north Texas and Oklahoma within the last 24 hours. Warm, moist air is allowed to ride up and over the much colder air to the north resulting in this wintery cocktail. The upward motion has been so intense at times that thunderstorms have developed, even in the cold air. In addition, the storm is moving at a snails pace as the steering winds aloft are rather weak. Ice and snow amounts will be significant in spots because of the storm’s sluggish movement and intensification. Schools are closed, thousands are without power, and major interstates are closed in Texas and Oklahoma.
Ice accumulation will be up to 1″…a potentially crippling ice storm. The sidewalk at the Southwest Oklahoma State University looked like a sheet of ice.
Tomorrow, the storm will maintain it’s strength as it taps into some Gulf of Mexico moisture. By then, however, strong upper level winds will pick it up and the storm will begin to accelerate. By Saturday, the storm will loose some of it’s pep’, vim and vigor.
Tomorrow:
Saturday:
Over the weekend, the lake effect snow will taper down in the Northeast but the cold air will remain in place over much of the northern U.S. Light rain returns to the Pacific Northwest this weekend as a weak storm move onshore.
Have a good one,
Kristin Clark
WeatherNation Meteorologist
This is big. For sixty-two years, Mount Washington, N.H. has been home to the world record for the fastest wind gust ever recorded. Besides being one of the windiest places on Earth, the adverse weather conditions on top of the 6,288 ft. mountain have put Mount Washington on the map as having “the World’s Worst Weather.” Mount Washington has been a site of weather observations since 1932 with scientists living on the summit year round in the extreme elements. On April 12, 1934, the famous wind gust of 231 mph was recorded on top the summit and has stayed in the record books ever since…until now.
Mount Washington, N.H. The summit and observatory are located on the right.
The World Meteorological Organization just accepted a new record for the fastest surface wind gust. In 1996, Typhoon Olivia caused a 253 mph wind gust on Barrow Island, Australia. In the years since, a careful review of the methods in which the wind gust was taken, including the type of instrument and calibration, was done to make sure the reading was legitimate.
Even though Mount Washington, N.H. got bumped from the top spot, it is still known as having the highest surface wind in the Northern and Western Hemisphere. Educators, scientists and students that dwell on top the summit and take daily weather observations are ready for the next big wind gust. You can check out the Mount Washington Observatory website with the current weather conditions and live webcams here.
Kristin Clark
WeatherNation Meteorologist
Hello and happy Tuesday everyone. I hope your doing alright and having a good week so far. Take a look a the image below of the ground blizzard that occurred yesterday in Huron, SD
Looks pretty bad doesn’t it? How’d it get so bad? Take a look at the surface map from yesterday. The low pressure was centered over the U.P. of Michigan and note the lines of equal air pressure, which are called isobars. The closer those lines get, the windier it is.
And it certainly was windy! Take a look at some of the wind gusts yesterday across Dakota:
PEAK WIND GUSTS ACROSS WEST AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA FROM MONDAY
JANUARY 25 ENDING AT 5 PM CST.
LOCATION..............GUST..........TIME
HETTINGER AIRPORT.....52 MPH........818 AM CST
WILLISTON AIRPORT.....41 MPH........712 AM CST
DICKINSON AIRPORT.....48 MPH........535 AM CST
GARRISON..............46 MPH........1217 PM CST
BISMARCK AIRPORT......48 MPH........1216 PM CST
MINOT AIRPORT.........53 MPH........957 AM CST
JAMESTOWN AIRPORT ....53 MPH........1135 AM CST
Thanks to Wanda Brandt for this nice photo of snow falling in Duluth, MN on Monday:
Here’s a map of how much snow fell over the Weekend in the Duluth area:
Here are the actual snow totals:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
723 PM CST MON JAN 25 2010
THE FOLLOWING ARE MORE RECENT SNOWFALL TOTALS RECEIVED SO FAR FOR
THE ONGOING WINTER STORM. THESE AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY NOT THE FINAL
AMOUNT FOR EACH LOCATION.
SNOW REPORTS LISTED BY AMOUNT
INCHES LOCATION ST COUNTY TIME
------ ----------------------- -- -------------- -------
19.00 20 WNW GRAND MARAIS MN COOK 0900 AM
14.00 6 E PATZAU WI DOUGLAS 0800 AM
TWO DAY TOTAL 6 IN PAST 24HRS
14.00 ADOLPH MN ST. LOUIS 0800 AM
TWO DAY TOTAL
12.00 8 NNW LUTSEN MN COOK 1000 AM
TWO DAY TOTAL
11.50 DULUTH MN ST. LOUIS 0600 PM
STORM TOTAL. 2.4 ADDITIONAL INCHES TODAY,
1/25/2010
11.50 BABBITT MN ST. LOUIS 1000 AM
10.80 4 NE PATZAU WI DOUGLAS 0230 PM
STORM TOTAL...4 INCHES SINCE THIS
MORNING...SNOWING LIGHT TO MODERATE AT THIS
TIME
10.50 CORNUCOPIA WI BAYFIELD 0355 PM
9.90 ELY MN ST. LOUIS 0900 AM
TWO DAY TOTAL
9.30 3 E ORR MN ST. LOUIS 0355 PM
9.00 SAGINAW MN ST. LOUIS 0455 PM
8.70 INTERNATIONAL FALLS MN KOOCHICHING 0600 PM
STORM TOTAL SO FAR, 1 INCH SINCE 6 AM TODAY.
8.50 15 N LUTSEN MN COOK 0800 AM
TWO DAY TOTAL
7.00 5 S HERBSTER WI BAYFIELD 0355 PM
STILL COMING DOWN
6.00 IRON JUNCTION MN ST. LOUIS 0230 PM
5.50 7 ESE SUPERIOR WI DOUGLAS 0625 PM
AMNICON RIVER VALLEY...2 MILES SOUTH OF LAKE
SUPERIOR.
5.00 PARK FALLS WI PRICE 0524 PM
STORM TOTAL...1.5 INCHES SINCE 8AM...STILL
SNOWING
4.00 CLOVERLAND WI DOUGLAS 0405 PM
3.80 GILE WI IRON 0530 PM
1.3 SINCE 4 PM TODAY
3.50 15 N GRAND RAPIDS MN ITASCA 0630 PM
1.10 ILLGEN CITY MN LAKE 0800 AM
0.80 12 N ISLE MN AITKIN 0800 AM
Potential Ice Storm Looms in the South:
Take a look at the forecast for Thursday, it could be BAD in northern Texas and Oklahoma! The ice threat is growing.
Winter Storm Watches are already posted for those areas:
We’ll keep an eye on the situation… in the meantime, have a good Tuesday!
Meteorologist Todd Nelson – WeatherNation LLC
