Record Highs Monday – But Snow By Next Week?
Flip-flops In December? Where is the snow?
If you read our blog yesterday, you saw Todd Nelson discussing some of the warming potential for the day – along with the record highs we had been seeing the past few days. Yesterday’s blog post even included a picture of someone in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota wearing flip-flops in December!
Well, that trend continued as we headed through the day yesterday – with more warming to come.
Take a look at this collection of records from around the nation yesterday:
Record Highs Yesterday
Then we focus in on the central Plains for some more examples:
More Record Highs Yesterday
A few other spots hit records as well: Madison, WI, at 65 degrees. Wichita Falls, TX, hit 84 degrees. Impressive temperatures, to say the least – for both spots. Madison about 30 degrees above average.
So Where Is The Snow?
I can tell you where the snow isn’t. Take a look at this picture:
Snow: Not In Honolulu
A good friend of mine was just on vacation in Honolulu for a while. Jealous of the warmth? Probably not if you live in Chicago – where you made it up to 70 degrees yesterday for just the THIRD time in recorded history in the month of December.
70s In Chicago
There is some snow in the forecast for this same spot. I’m sure you’re not *too* surprised by that (although, given the warmth this year I will grant you a small amount of surprise).
Look at this forecast for some potential Thursday-Friday snowfall, using the European (ECMWF) model – this would be wave 1 of 3 if this model run pans out:
Thursday To Friday Snow *Potential*
Then you tally up another potential snowfall that would impact the same region come this weekend. This one is also being picked up by the main American (GFS) long-term computer model:
Weekend Snow *Potential* - Keep in mind that these totals are highly unlikely at this point!
Finally, both models are showing a “doomsday” snowstorm for the Midwest/Great Lakes region. Take this with a HUGE grain of salt, as it likely will slide either east or west by a couple hundred miles before things are said and done, but if this morning’s model run pans out, here are the totals we could be looking at snow-wise:
Massive Snowfall Potential: Early Next Week... Again, keep in mind that totals will likely be lower in reality.
Well, there you go. Maybe winter will come to the Midwest this year after all. Already, we’ve seen the Northwest picking FEET of snowfall – but the snow drought from last year continues for many in the center of the nation. We’ll have more on that over the next couple of days.
If you like snow, keep your fingers crossed!
Aaron Shaffer, WeatherNation Meteorologist @ashafferWNTV
