America's snowiest cities...

          If you feel like you have that one story about a crazy snowfall that will trump everyone else's story than you are probably right....if you live in the Northeast.  The Northeastern United States has 4 of the top 7 snowiest major cities.  From Nor'easters, to arctic clippers, to lake effect snow, the Northeast gets it all (in terms of major cities)!  So if you're a snow lover you will have to plan a trip up this way.  

          Of all the cities and towns in the United States the regions that tend to have the most snowfall every year are areas along the heaviest lake effect snow belts (Michigan's upper peninsula and the Tug Hill Plateau region of New York), areas in the foothills of the Rockies and Sierra Nevada's, and lastly area in the valleys and mountains of Alaska.  It seems obvious these are the places that would be getting the most snow as they have a continues moisture source (Great Lakes) and they are in the perfect locations for providing the lift for snowfall to occur (foothills). The snowiest town in all of the U.S. is believed to be Valdez, Alaska with an average of 326.3" of snow EVERY YEAR!  That is about 27 feet of snow!!! If you are not a fan of snow you will certainly need to stay away from there and I'm sure their only mode for transportation is sled or snowmobile.  So as someone who is used to getting up to 3 feet of snow in a day in Upstate NY where I'm from, I can't even imagine this much snow! For all you weather weenies who ask why Valdez gets so much snow when it's in a valley and on the Pacific Coast, 2 words.....Aleutian Low.  So when any of you New Englanders decide you want to complain about your little baby Nor'easters, think twice, you could be living in Valdez, AK.  

For more on the snowiest cities visit: http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/snowiest-six-cities_2011-11-29?page=1

                                                 

Freezing rain in the forecast??

Right now we are forecasted to get some mixed frozen precipitation, including some freezing rain.  The reason why this could be a concern is that freezing rain can cause a lot of damage depending on how much we get.  The pattern has been that we have been getting a lot more warm air advection and therefore much more rain still reaching up to New England, with the exception of the October/Halloween and November/Thanksgiving snowstorms.  Will this be the case again?  Well, typically in a freezing rain setting for areas in the Northeast we will see a low pressure system over the Great Lakes with a warm front or quasi-stationary front set up across upstate New York (with the freezing rain falling to the north of the surface front) and high pressure centered over Nova Scotia/the Canadian Maritimes.  Currently this is just about the exact setting we will be seeing Wednesday night into Thursday.  But something important to note when forecasting freezing precipitation is that most times it is the local features that have the biggest influence on freezing rain.  It is extremely important to have a well established cold pool at the surface where the falling rain drops can refreeze when they hit the ground.  This is what we will be watching at Wednesday night approaches. Stay tuned for an updated forecast...

The Soaker that was 2011

From severe thunderstorms, to frontal boundaries, to hurricanes, to snow storms, this year has proven to be one of the wettest on record for many, especially those of us here in the Northeast.  New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont have all set a new record with 2011, from records dating back from 1895.  Several places stretching from the Ohio River Valley to northern New England have had precipitation amounts 20 inches more than the normal!!  This is quite the figure and it will be interesting to see how the year will finish off.  It hasn't been much of a Winter so far with many places seeing much milder temperatures and there is no major storm in the forecast yet.  But that's the best thing about weather, it's always changing!

For more information on the record setting year for precipitation go to: http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/record-wet-year-east_2011-12-10

A glimpse into broadcast meteorology...

         After I graduate college in May I plan on look for a job as a TV weatherperson.  In the meteorology world it may not be the most looked to profession but I like it because it gives us a chance as scientists to explain something complex to the general public.  As a TV weatherperson you also get a sense of community involvement and most of all you get to share your love for the weather with the viewers.  In the summer I was able to intern at a CBS affiliate in Rochester, NY.   At this station I learned all the inter-workings of how a weather broadcast gets made.  I was also able to get practice in front of the green screen and work on graphics and monitor severe weather.  I also got involved in the community involvement aspect of the profession where I attended a few Backyard BBQs where the Chief Meteorologist would do a live broadcast from a viewer's backyard and mingle with them and answer any questions they had.  It was a great way to teach more about meteorology and gain the respect of the public while gaining viewership.
        This past semester I took part in a broadcasting class at my school, Plymouth State University, where every Monday (and occasionally Fridays) I created and taped my own weather broadcast to be seen on a public television station.  My broadcasts can be seen at this website vortex.plymouth.edu/tv/files as the files saved as Norris(month & date). m2p.mpeg.  I've learned that the most important thing about broadcasting is to be able to show your personality while still coming across as someone with plenty of knowledge and experience and who can be trusted.   It has been a ton of fun and I know I still have plenty of work to do but I am very excited for the career I have ahead of me!

Geminid Meteor Shower Forecast...

Our next visible meteor shower is the Geminid meteor shower on this Tuesday night and Wednesday night (Dec. 13th and 14th).  The best night for viewing here in the Northeast is Tuesday, December 13th.  Unfortunately the forecast for this Tuesday night is partly to mostly cloudy so it may not allow for the best viewing conditions.  Another factor which may hinder the viewing conditions is that our moon phase will be in the waning gibbous phase after we had a full moon on Saturday.  Therefore it will make the sky very bright and some of the meteors may be less visible to the naked eye.  On a good night the Geminid meteor shower can show up to 50 meteors per hour (that's almost 1 meteor per minute).  So even if you won't be able to see as many meteors you should still be able to see some so take some time to bundle up and head out to place without much light to get a  glimpse of some meteors!

For more information on the Geminid meteor shower visit:

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide

Lunar Eclipse

Some of you may not know, but early Saturday morning there was a lunar eclipse.  This eclipse will be the last lunar eclipse we will be able to see for 3 years.  The eclipse was not too visible here in the eastern United States (because of the location and cloudy skies), but it was much more visible on the West Coast.  A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly behind the earth.  When this happens, the sun's rays are blocked by the Earth from reaching the moon therefore casting a shadow on the moon.
A video of the lunar eclipse viewed around the world:
http://www.weather.com/weather/videos/news-41/space-449/eclipse-views-from-around-the-world-22896
Another video of the full lunar eclipse:
http://www.weather.com/weather/videos/news-41/space-449/eclipse-views-from-around-the-world-22896#loc=62/436/22895
videos provided by www.weather.com

Lake effect snow on its way!

As westerly flow has been set up across the region of Upstate/Western New York it will bring about another chance for some lake effect snow.  This westerly flow has been set up after a cold front passed through the region earlier this week.  This same cold front has brought some cold arctic air across the region as well, another very important ingredient for lake effect snow.  For areas north of Buffalo this will be the first significant lake effect they have seen.  The snow will begin later tonight and last though much of the day tomorrow, although it will be much lighter by tomorrow evening.  There is plenty of moisture moving into the region ahead of a low pressure system that will be moving in, in a few days.
So how much snow will most of us get?  This is not a very significant event so most areas will get 1-4" with other localized areas receiving 6-12".  The areas receiving more snow will be the ones set up under the heavier lake effect bands.
Here's an image of expected amounts of snow:


This image was made by Scott Hetsko and taken from WROC's webpage in Rochester, NY. (where I interned over the summer)

Brrrrrrr, it's cold out here!

In the wake of the 2 systems that have passed through the past 48 hours we will be getting some very cold, arctic air filtering down into the region.  This cold air has been positioned over much of the central United States after it moved down from Canada early in the week.  It has brought some very cold single digit highs, highs in the 20s and even Phoenix, AZ experienced a high of 53 on Monday, a temperature very unlikely for this time of year.  These will be the coldest temperatures we've felt in quite some time; with high temperatures only reaching the lower 30s and lows in the teens.  One positive of these colder temperatures is that it will bring some sunshine back for the weekend.  How long will these temperatures last you might be asking?  Temperatures will return to the 40s again early next week and it has also been forecasted that the average December 2011 temperature will be above normal.  One of the reasons for this is the position of the jet stream.  The jet stream has not dug too far south below us yet and it isn't expected to either as there is no blocking system set up and there seems to be no drastic pattern change in sight to bring us significantly colder temperatures.

Here's a really cool image showing the temperature changes in the US over the past 24 hours or so:

Image from: The Weather Channel (www.weather.com)

Snow on the way....

A stalled cold front off the east coast will help to bring some cold temperatures to the region as a rapidly intensifying low pressure system quickly moves through our region tonight and early tomorrow morning.  We will remain rain for the rest of the day but we will change over to snow around 1-2am overnight as some colder air filters in to the region and temperatures begin to fall below freezing.  As the bulk of the system moves through in the early morning hours we could see some heavier snowfall rates (up to an inch an hour).  So exactly how much snow will we expect to get?  Right now I'd say we will end up with an accumulation around 3", even though the snow will be coming down it won't accumulate as much because the ground is so soggy from the rain and relatively warmer temperatures.  After the system moves out tomorrow morning the wind will pick up (could see gusts up to 40mph) and there will be some slick spots on the roads.  The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory in effect from midnight tonight through 8am tomorrow morning. So if you're heading out somewhere late tonight or early tomorrow morning make sure you leave some extra travel time as roads will be slick and slushy and probably a bit icy in higher elevations.
For updated information regarding this storm go to: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Plymouth&state=NH&site=GYX&textField1=43.7386&textField2=-71.6983&e=0

A Tad Bit on the Warm Side...

     A new statement from the National Weather Service in Buffalo, NY (http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/) states that this past November has been the 6th warmest on record for both Rochester, NY and Buffalo, NY.  In the month of November Buffalo was found to be 5.8 degrees above the average temperature for the month and Rochester at 5.3 degrees above average (see climate data).  Another interesting finding is that Buffalo almost tied the record for the latest date of measurable snow, December 3rd.  This record is a record set way back in 1899.  Buffalo missed this record today by recording 4" of snow so far today associated with a cold front moving through the region.
     So what exactly does this mean for our snow season this year in Upstate/Western NY?  Well, with the warmer temperatures the Great Lakes will stay warmer but that doesn't necessarily mean a more intense lake effect season as there are many other variables that come into play with lake effect (i.e. presence of very cold air, proper wind direction, lifting mechanisms).  The climatology has shown that even with warmer November temperatures and a late snow, a winter with normal winter temperatures and snowfall amounts has pursued, but there have been a few times where it was below normal for both.  So it will certainly be interesting to see how this winter rounds out!
     The climatology report for Plymouth, NH has states that we have also had above average temperatures at 4.1 degrees above normal.  While we ended the month of November on the warm side, we are starting off December on the cool side.  Although it may seem like a cold start, it is actually right around the normal for this time of year in Plymouth (normal high: 39, normal low: 19).  And today we even have a slight change of snow as a cold front passes through later this afternoon/evening! So it's a pretty good start to December!


Climate Data:
Rochester, NY - http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/getclimate.php?wfo=buf
Buffalo, NY - http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/getclimate.php?wfo=buf
Plymouth, NH - http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/getclimate.php?wfo=gyx