North American Weather (U.S.A & Canada)

[Coopsy]

Glorious weather here in Southern Alberta the past few days, rapid snow melt, temps around 6oC. Actually went to the shops in a t-shirt, felt like spring.

[WhiteFox]

Forecasts under-estimated temperatures by some way here in NYC today. I figured something was up when the recordings at LGA read 54oF at 0051! Originally I think we were forecast to top out at around 7oC or so. Anyway, the reading at 1251 was 64oF (18oC)! The colder flow which will arrive soon looking at the squall line on the radar to the West, has also been downgraded. Wednesday and Thursday now look like the coldest days with temperatures just crawling above freezing.

As for yesterday's storm (quite a weak affair here), it brough rain all the way through Maine and up into Canada, such was the strength of the warm air. Reading the forecast on Friday for Albany they were calling for a couple of inches of front-end snow then rain, but this brought all rain pretty much everywhere south of Montreal.

[debs]

Helloe all,

I'm beginnning to think I should build and Ark, its been raining here for almost 24hours and I have a lake in my garden.

Temps are presently higher than Basingstoke. Has spring started or have we more cold weather to come?

TTFN

Debs

[Roger J Smith]

Debs, that standing water will freeze late Tuesday as this mild sector leaves for parts unknown. Much colder air is drifting southeast from Manitoba through Ontario tonight and will reach NB (and NYC) on Tuesday, then a small snowstorm will develop near DCA and could give NYC 1-3 inches on Wednesday but should miss NB to the south. It will turn very cold and temps will fall to -15 or -20 in NB and about -11 C in NYC.

[WhiteFox]

Debs, that standing water will freeze late Tuesday as this mild sector leaves for parts unknown. Much colder air is drifting southeast from Manitoba through Ontario tonight and will reach NB (and NYC) on Tuesday, then a small snowstorm will develop near DCA and could give NYC 1-3 inches on Wednesday but should miss NB to the south. It will turn very cold and temps will fall to -15 or -20 in NB and about -11 C in NYC.

It's a tight call. Arctic front pushes through tomorrow evening with some snow, but not much as they are usually pretty devoid of moisture by the time they reach here. Of more interest is where the clipper passes on Wednesday. Currently forecast to pass to the south of Long Island which would deliver snow, but too far south and we miss out of course; too far north and it rains!

As for NB, only a brave person would call spring whilst still in February! You'll still be getting snow fall in April up there; an April storm which brough cold and very heavy rain to NYC last year (about 6 inches in Central Park) dumped all snow upstate and further north. It'll be into May before you can rule out any more snow up there...

[debs]

As for NB, only a brave person would call spring whilst still in February! You'll still be getting snow fall in April up there; an April storm which brough cold and very heavy rain to NYC last year (about 6 inches in Central Park) dumped all snow upstate and further north. It'll be into May before you can rule out any more snow up there...

And just when I was beginning to see grass for the first time in 2 months http://nwstatic.co.uk/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif

I'll put off buying a pool for a while then and use the lake in the garden

TTFN

Debs

[Coopsy]

The warm weather continues here in Alberta, above freezing now for about 6 days running, beginning to see grass in palces like Debs. However, experience tells me we have the heaviest falls of the season to come in March/April....at least I will put my neck on the line and say thats the last of the minus 25/30's.

[Roger J Smith]

We're also enjoying some much-needed sunshine and warmth here, currently it is about 12 C and quite plesaant in the sun. Yes, Rich, winter is not over for Alberta, as you say more snow falls in April than January in a typical year. Not so sure about having all the -25 done with, let's hope so, but March is usually good for one such return and the mild ridge at present is hardly a block-buster, it's just adequate to the task shall we say.

And Debs, your freeze-up is on the way now, I think you'll find your lake is freezing over by morning as it should be close to -15 C by then. Still thinking 1-3 inches snow for NYC, everything looks favourable for a light snow, it certainly will be cold enough with the front setting up near Ocean City MD east at about 37 N. Not a huge storm althougth it becomes one in two days time and that's the strong low expected to bring in warmth for the weekend in the UK.

[debs]

Hi All,

Freeze up arrived with a vengence, I now no longer have a pond in my garden, but I am thinking of asking the Toronto Maple Leafs if the want to use the ice rink I have outside to do some training.......I'll charge them just enough to buy a house outright.......

Keep seeing Ice Cakes floating over the Fundy Bay........must be of the melt we had over the weekend.

TTFN

debs

[Coopsy]

As Debs experiences the cooldown in the east, as is often the case, we are experiencing a mini heatwave here in the west. Temps today at 10oC, very warm with most snow going now. Lots of grass to be seen, albeit brown. Superb weather

[WhiteFox]

A storm moving in here tonight and into tomorrow brings some interest:

2-4" FOR LI AND NYC/METRO NJ/SE CT. .10 INCH ICE ACCUM.

3-7" IMMEDIATE NORTHERN SUBURBS INCLUDING PORTIONS OF NE NJ...

LOWER HUDSON VALLEY AND CSTL CT. 1/4 INCH ICE ACCUM.

4-8" INTERIOR. 1/4 INCH ICE ACCUM.

Amounts depend on how soon the transition to sleet takes place. Boston is forecast to stay all rain so they are looking at 6-10 inches from this event. For NYC, I'll keep you updated!

To think that five hours ago I was sitting on the beach in Miami in temperatures of 31oC!

[WhiteFox]

Snow arrived earlier than forecast by about three hours. The dry air became saturated much more quickly than expected (seems to be a recurring theme this year) and we now have close to 3 inches on the ground with snow falling at about an inch per hour at the moment. Given that any changeover is not supposed to happen until around lunchtime, the forecast totals could well be bust to the high side. NWS went for 2-4 inches, but that now looks too conservative. Some places could potentially see six inches or more.

[WhiteFox]

As expected, the snow totals are now forecast to bust on the high side:

WILL UPGRADE TO WINTER STORM WARNING ACROSS NYC/HUDSON AND UNION

COUNTIES IN NJ/AND NASSAU AND NW SUFFOLK COUNTIES IN LI FOR UPGRADED

EXPECTED SNOW TOTALS AND FREEZING RAIN THIS AFTERNOON AS TEMPS NOT

EXPECTED TO GET ABOVE FREEZING DURING THE DAY ACROSS NORTHERN AND

WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE COUNTIES.

6-9" FOR NYC/NASSAU/NW SUFFOLK/METRO NJ/SE CT. 1/10 TO 1/4 INCH

ICE ACCUM.

All the storms have been tricky to call with regards to PPN types this year, so it's nice to have one come in on the non liquid side for a change!

I'd estimate about 4-5 inches out there at the moment with snow still falling steadily. Given that there are another 3 to 5 hours before the 850 temperatures are forecast to climb above freezing, plus a radar still showing the snow band extending as far down as Philadelphia, another 3-4 inches does not seem totally unreasonable, so we could have 7-9 inches before the sleet and freezing rain arrives to glaze everything over. I wouldn't be surprised for somewhere to hit the magical foot of snow, probably in Northern New Jersey, or in Connecticut where it will stay as snow for longer...

[Yozzer]

Latest storm approaching North East US from Ohio Valley expected to dump a foot or so on N New England, maybe 18" or so through Northern Maine. High amounts not due to intensity of snowfall, more due to length of event. High winds on the tail of the storm likely to cause some drifting too, so not great travelling conditions.

Expect some snowfall in NB, but probably a changeover to sleet/rain will keep amounts from being too excessive.

[debs]

Hi all,

Snowday yesterday, gone today though. Not too much rain fell but snow was wet, so didn't hang around too long. Snow packs beginning to diminish somewhat.

Apparently The Maritimes has seen approx 10feet of snow this Winter, with March still to come. Is this about the Norm?

Wether today, lovely and warm, -6 but could honestly sit out on the porch in a T Shirt the sun is that strong. Can I mention it feels like Spring yet or will I be called crazy........lol

TTFN

Debs

[johnholmes]

the prediction here is that day max could get as low as PLUS 1-3C in some places.

If we had -6C other than an isolated instance I don't think there would be many sitting in a porch with just a tea shirt on Debs!

It must be great to be young and have 'proper' blood in ones veins!

Edited February 28, 2008 by johnholmes

[Roger J Smith]

Another sleet to rain event on the way, Debs, hang in there ... as you say, the sun can feel unexpectedly warm in subfreezing weather near the end of winter, after all your latitude there is only 45 to 46 N which is about like Bordeaux.

You've probably had about the normal amount of precip of both types this winter, perhaps a touch more than normal, but as one goes further west the snowfall totals are above normal for Quebec and Ontario. They were saying on the news that Montreal is closing in on their 1970-71 winter snowfall but they will need about three more substantial storms to get there. March is often quite snowy in Quebec while spring begins to push in to southern Ontario.

[debs]

t

It must be great to be young and have 'proper' blood in ones veins!

Not too sure what to say here, accept this as a compliment and deny deny deny or let you know that I'm a 60's child John, so the young blood has gone...... http://nwstatic.co.uk/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif

Its still nice to be think of shorts instead of snow pants though.

TTFN

Debs

[Coopsy]

Again in conrast to Deb , as she sits on her porch in her swimming costume, we have had the first snowfall for about 3 weeks. After nearly all snow melting and glroius spring like weather, we have had about 2 cm's, nothing much, temps hovering around freezing so feeling much colder than of late

[Roger J Smith]

Debs, I didn't mention this earlier, the next sleet storm is due on Saturday night and Sunday. Once again it looks like snow, freezing rain, sleet and rain turning back to more snow.

This storm is of interest to UK readers in that it does not come firing out across the Atlantic like the last 35 or so, but digs in and rests for a while off Newfoundland. This is where the current model debate about Tuesday-Wednesday begins, because when this low peters out, the Greenland lee trough has nothing stopping it from brewing up some kind of storm for Iceland on Monday and then the northern UK for Tuesday. Details of how strong that might be vary tremendously on this morning's 12z runs. The GEM is actually middleman this time around, which is unusual for it.

[Yozzer]

Hi all,

Snowday yesterday, gone today though. Not too much rain fell but snow was wet, so didn't hang around too long. Snow packs beginning to diminish somewhat.

Apparently The Maritimes has seen approx 10feet of snow this Winter, with March still to come. Is this about the Norm?

Wether today, lovely and warm, -6 but could honestly sit out on the porch in a T Shirt the sun is that strong. Can I mention it feels like Spring yet or will I be called crazy........lol

TTFN

Debs

News is that records are being broken in many areas of US and Canada for snowfall this winter, despite fact it has not been (relatively speaking) particularly cold. For instance, Concord in NH, about an hour north of Boston has had over 96" of snow since 1st Dec, beating all records going back to the 19th Century!

March about to start on a snowy note as well with an Alberta clipper pepping up as it reaches the coast, 6-12" should keep Northern New England under the firm grip of winter for a while longer!

[WhiteFox]

News is that records are being broken in many areas of US and Canada for snowfall this winter, despite fact it has not been (relatively speaking) particularly cold. For instance, Concord in NH, about an hour north of Boston has had over 96" of snow since 1st Dec, beating all records going back to the 19th Century!

March about to start on a snowy note as well with an Alberta clipper pepping up as it reaches the coast, 6-12" should keep Northern New England under the firm grip of winter for a while longer!

That's been the main story. Chicago has had a snowy winter, but not especially cold; the same is true of Southern Wisconsin. I guess that's to be expected though; the coldest weather is associated with a persistent trough over the Midwest which is bitterly cold, but also dry. Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin have been colder, but somewhat dryer. Minneapolis and Duluth are both below normal snowfall.

A persistent storm track has set up all winter, with storms tracking from South West to North East and just enough cold air in place for everywhere from a line North of Kansas to Boston to see a lot of snow. South of this, it's been more a snow to rain or pure rain story.

Anyway, looking at the clipper coming in late tomorrow. Looking at up to 3 inches for the city. It looks like a mighty close call to me though. 850 temperatures stay below freezing for the duration, but the dewpoints are borderline and the ground temperature looks like being freezing or thereabouts. A slight shift north and this is rain for NYC.

[Yozzer]

That's been the main story. Chicago has had a snowy winter, but not especially cold; the same is true of Southern Wisconsin. I guess that's to be expected though; the coldest weather is associated with a persistent trough over the Midwest which is bitterly cold, but also dry. Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin have been colder, but somewhat dryer. Minneapolis and Duluth are both below normal snowfall.

A persistent storm track has set up all winter, with storms tracking from South West to North East and just enough cold air in place for everywhere from a line North of Kansas to Boston to see a lot of snow. South of this, it's been more a snow to rain or pure rain story.

Anyway, looking at the clipper coming in late tomorrow. Looking at up to 3 inches for the city. It looks like a mighty close call to me though. 850 temperatures stay below freezing for the duration, but the dewpoints are borderline and the ground temperature looks like being freezing or thereabouts. A slight shift north and this is rain for NYC.

WF, What are your views on the storm being progged for the east coast late next week? Depending on the track, NYC could get a fair dump out of it.

PS, Dalton in NH, where I have my vacation home got down to -34C this morning!!

Edited February 29, 2008 by Yozzer

[❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️]

In the US and Canada they always seem to be breaking record snowfall and cold records. Here nuffin'

[debs]

Hi all,

Very windy outside, snow blowing around creating whiteouts. Had about 2 inches of snow in about 90 minutes. Supposed to be turning to rain for a short period tonight, but more snow forecast tomorrow.

I'm off on holiday tomorrow as its Spring (ha ha) Break here, hopefully the house will not be blown into the Bay overnight.

Its been a fabulous Winter here so far, I'm glad we moved here.....

TTFN

Debs