Hello and happy Halloween Monday everyone, hope all is well and you’re the weather where you are isn’t too scary. We’ll have your Halloween forecast for you in just a second, but let’s take a look back at the record breaking snowfall event that took place this weekend in the Northeast. Below is a snowfall total map, the heaviest of which fell across parts of the New England States including the high elevations of central and western Massachusetts:
Snowfall Totals
The information below comes from that National Weather Service
“The rare early-season winter storm that affected the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast over the weekend broke record snowfall totals for October. Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit, with snowfall totals of 32 inches reported in Peru, Mass., and 30.8 inches reported in Plainfield. Jaffrey, N.H., reported 31.4 inches. Dozens of locations from Virginia to Maine set daily snowfall records on October 29 and 30. New York’s Central Park recorded 2.9 inches of snowfall during the storm. This is the first time since records began in 1869 that an inch or more of snowfall has been recorded during the month of October. From January 1 through October 29, 65.75 inches of precipitation has fallen at Central Park — 24.10 inches above normal for the year to date — making 2011 the third wettest year on record.”
Snow Seen From Space
This is a great satellite image from nearly 23,000 miles high, you can actually see the carpet of white a day after the system roared through.
Many in the Northeast Still Without Power
The worst part about this storm is that there were millions of people without power and there are still up to 2 million without power as of midday Monday. Below is a story from Bloomberg.com:
A big wet, heavy snow with lots of wind helped to bring down lots of trees on to power lines. The early season storm caught trees off guard as many of the trees still had leaves on them. This was more surface area for the snow to pile up on allowing additional weight to bring trees crashing to the ground.
Take a look at the next system moving in to the Northwest. This is likely to bring another round of snow to the Central Rockies into Tuesday.
More Snow in the Central Rockies
Look at the snow across the Central Rockies by November 1st. An up slope flow has snow piling up across the front range of the Rockies through early Wednesday
Winter Weather Headlines Posted
The National Weather Service has issued winter weather headlines for parts of the Central Rockies through early Wednesday for snow amounts that could be up to 8″+
Snowfall Forecast
The upslope flow could bring more than 12″ in a few spots in the Central Rockies as seen by the snowfall forecast below thru 1pm Wednesday
That’s all for now, thanks for checking in. We’re tracking a fairly active beginning to November 2011, which chat about a little more tomorrow! Happy Halloween!!
The snow has finished falling and the numbers are coming in. We are now just beginning to assess the impact this storm has had on the Northeast. New records have been set. Records that will likely remain in place for next several decades. It was one of those storms people will talk about years later. Here are some of the new snowfall records from yesterday:
WV
Terra Alta #1
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
10
5 in 1969
PA
Middletown Harrisbg Ap
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
9.7
Trace in 1971
MD
Frostburg 2
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
6.6
3.4 in 1969
PA
Somerset
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
5.6
2.8 in 1969
WV
Bartow, 1 miles S of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
4.5
0.5 in 1969
PA
Meyersdale, 2 miles SSW of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
4
3 in 1969
NY
Albany Intl Ap
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
3.8
0.4 in 1961
PA
Boswell
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
3
1 in 1969
PA
Neshaminy Falls
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
2.5
Trace in 1971
PA
Washington, 3 miles NE of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
2.1
Trace in 1969
WV
Rock Cave, 2 miles NE of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
2
0.5 in 1969
VA
Millgap, 2 miles NNW of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
2
Trace in 1971
PA
Ebensburg Sewage Plt
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
2
2 in 1969
VA
Gathright Dam
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
1.7
Trace in 1970
PA
Pittsburgh Asos
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
1.6
0.6 in 1969
VA
Mt Weather
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
1.2
Trace in 1968
WV
Albright
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
1
Trace in 1969
PA
Buffalo Mills
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
1
0.3 in 1969
WV
Gassaway
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
1
Trace in 1968
VA
Kerrs Creek, 6 miles WNW of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
1
Trace in 1968
PA
Williamsport Rgnl Ap
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
1
0.2 in 1963
PA
Sunbury
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.8
Trace in 1971
NY
Binghamton Greater Ap
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.7
0.6 in 1969
PA
West Chester, 2 miles NW of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.6
Trace in 1968
VA
Washgtn Dulles Intl Ap
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.6
Trace in 1971
WV
Sutton Lake
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.5
0.1 in 1969
PA
Creekside
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.5
Trace in 1952
WV
Rowlesburg 1
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.5
0.5 in 1913
PA
Sabinsville, 3 miles SE of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.5
Trace in 1969
NY
Islip Li Macarthur Ap
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.3
Trace in 1971
PA
Shingle House
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.3
Trace in 1859
PA
Philadelphia Intl Ap
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.3
Trace in 1971
VA
Craigsville, 2 miles S of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.1
Trace in 1968
MD
Cumberland 2
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.1
Trace in 1968
WV
West Union 2
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.1
Trace in 1968
VA
Charlottesville, 2 miles W of
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
0.1
Trace in 1971
Other mind blowing snow totals from Massachusetts:
...HAMPSHIRE COUNTY...
PLAINFIELD 30.8 810 AM 10/30
CHESTERFIELD 28.0 1017 AM 10/30 HAM RADIO
GOSHEN 25.0 803 AM 10/30 HAM RADIO
WORTHINGTON 24.0 730 AM 10/30 HAM RADIO
WESTHAMPTON 19.3 103 AM 10/30
The snow that fell was heavy and wet. It weighed down trees and power lines. With a little wind, those were easily snapped, power and power lines taken down.
BERLIN, Conn. – October 30, 2011 – Damage assessment efforts have begun following a rare October nor’easter that sent trees and branches crashing down on electrical wires and equipment across the state. All of the 149 cities and towns served by Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) were affected by the storm. Nearly 770,000 CL&P customers were without power earlier this morning, surpassing the peak number of outages caused by Tropical Storm Irene two months ago.
“This will not be a ‘quick fix’…this may take more than a week to restore all of our customers. There are reports of trees down practically everywhere,” said Jeff Butler, president and chief operating officer, CL&P. “To help with damage assessments, we’re using two helicopters. Our other priorities today are handling emergency situations and working in partnership with the towns to clear the blocked roads.”
This event differs from Tropical Storm Irene in that this storm has caused significant damage to our transmission lines, which are the lines that take power from electric generating plants and feeds it to the distribution grid that serves local homes and businesses.
CL&P is scheduling crews to work around the clock until restoration efforts are complete. During a multi-day restoration such as this, approximately 75 percent of crews will begin their shifts around 7:00 a.m. in order to maximize daylight hours and be most productive. The remaining 25 percent of crews will begin their shifts around 3:00 p.m. and will work through the night. “The safety of our employees, contractors and our customers is of our utmost concern and we want to make sure everyone working on this restoration has appropriate time to rest between shifts,” added Butler.
Light on the Horizon
Although it maybe days before life is returned to normal, the weather is taking a turn for the better today. As high pressure builds in, wind speeds decreasing and there is plenty of sunshine to assist in the clean up efforts. Temperatures today are still a bit cooler than normal for this year.
Freak October Snowstorm? The latest guidance is in, and I almost fell off my couch last night. Models consistently print out a second, coastal storm Friday night into Saturday, and there may be enough cold air in place for mostly snow. It’s hard to believe, but there’s a potential for a heavy, wet (“plowable”) snowfall from Richmond to D.C., Baltimre and Philadelphia. A few of the computer models are hinting at a foot of snow for some of the major population centers in the Mid Atlantic states. Good grief – this is all happening a little too quickly…
Saturday Snow Blitz? Man, I hope the models are wrong. This is pretty incredible – models now suggesting that enough cold air will be in place for mostly snow as a coastal storm pushes north Friday night into Saturday, a fast-moving shield of snow falling at the rate of 1″/hour, from near Richmond to Washington D.C. to Philadelphia, the suburbs of New York City, to Hartford. The Twin Cities has yet to see a flake of snow, and our nation’s capital and the Big Apple may be digging out from at least 10″ snow by Saturday evening.
Surreal. Let’s see if the models are on the right track. Stay tuned.
Wisconsin Snow Burst. “Thanks to Jerry Veverka for sending us this pic of snow falling 5 miles southwest of Phillips, WI.” (source: Duluth National Weather Service).
First Snow. NWS Burlington VT: “First images of snow this morning across central and southern VT as well as the southern Adirondacks. This image is from a web cam near Chelsea, VT. Mainly light amounts of snow today with up to an inch or two in the higher elevations of the southern Green Mts.”
Rina Weakens To Tropical Storm As It Approaches Yucatan Peninsula. Reuters has the latest: “Hurricane Rina weakened to a tropical storm on Thursday as it swept toward Mexico’s Caribbean coast after causing travel chaos and spurring evacuations from island resorts. Rina is expected to continue to weaken as it sweeps the eastern coast of the Yucatan peninsula by evening, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. The coast is home to the strip of resorts known as the Riviera Maya. In Playa del Carmen, strong rain had eased by the morning although the sea was choppy and the dock for ships to the tourist island of Cozumel was closed. While most souvenir and gift shops on the pedestrian boulevard 5th Avenue had their steel shutters drawn, only a few beach-front properties had their windows secured with wooden panels. ”
Taken From http://www.startribune.com/weather/blogs/Paul_Douglas_on_Weather.html
Hello and happy Thursday everyone, hope all is well on this last Thursday of October 2011. Take a look at the weather across the nation today and note the blue showing up across the Panhandle of Texas… Indeed that is snow falling across northern Texas! In fact, Amarillo Texas had 2.5″ of snow today, which is a new record. The old record in Amarillo, TX was 2.4″ set in 1911.
Snowing In Northern Texas
This was one of the earliest snowfalls on record for northern Texas. The image below is from Wyland Baptist University just south of Amarillo, TX
Winter Weather Advisory
The National Weather Service had a winter weather advisory in northern Texas earlier today.
Snow In Colorado
Take a look at all the snow visible via satellite from the latest system the crossed through the Central Rockies over the last couple of days.
This is a look at the snowfall analysis from the Central Rockies, note the blob near the Rocky Mountain National Park. This indicates nearly 18″ to 21″ fell there. Snowfall amounts around the city of Denver vary
Big Changes @ Colorado State University
This picture is courtesy the Colorado State University FB page
Take a look at the high temps across the nation today… 40s in Texas is pretty chilly!
Well Below Normal Temps
WOW – look at those temperature departures across the nation today! Almost 30° cooler than average across parts of Texas. What would you rather have??? Chilly Temps like today or the blazing heat that we endured over the summer???
Some Fun Space Weather
This image was released by NASA’s Earth Observatory earlier this week. The photo was actually captured on September 29th, but it shows a lot of great stuff!
