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

[January Snowstorm]

Haven't seen any tornado reports yet. I think the tornado watches for Oklahoma and Northern Texas are due to expire in the next couple of hours.

Just to show how quickly the weather can change here, All areas from Dallas to Chicago are under Winter Storm Watches!

Kansas City is under an Ice Storm watch. They just showed pictures of accumulating sleet (believe it or not!). Sleet had accumulated on car windscreens and froze solid.

All a bit more interesting than winter in Reading!

Addit: Current readings show temperature in Oklahoma City at 29oF (-2oC) and Dallas at 73oF (23oC). Quite a powerful cold front!

High of 80oF in Dallas today, high of 34oF tomorrow...

12-18 inches of snow forecast for Missouri from the developing storm. I wonder how the board would cope with that in the British Isles?

Thanks for the updates.

Please keep us informed of any snowfall in New York

[johnholmes]

I wonder how the board would cope with that in the British Isles?

badly I would imagine with total mayhem, but nothing compared to what it would be like outside in the areas affected.

[WhiteFox]

Latest forecasts are going for light snow starting around 3pm, becoming heavy later. Accumulations between 5-10 inches, with 8-12 inches possible to the SW of Chicagoland.

This storm has been giving the forecasters real headaches; yesterday morning it looked as if it was heading to the East of the area; during the day it was forecast to be much worse and it finally looks like they have nailed it (maybe!).

No doubt I'll be stuch in O'Hare airport tomorrow, so I'll report back then. No sign of snow for New York yet, but it does look rather windy for tomorrow as they are on the Eastern side of the Low pressure system with the warm temperatures.

[acrossthepond]

Looking like the heavy stuff not starting until after midnight with 6-12 inches expcted and possibly more in places.

According to NWS, heaviest snow of 10 inches plus from SE Wisconsin through McHenry,DeKalb and La Salle counties. Thats puts my town right in the firing line!!

[disco-barry]

yeehaa.....

Edited November 30, 2006 by disco-barry

[acrossthepond]

never got that sort of snow when I lived in Nottingham

[disco-barry]

No sorry i was just imagining how what you posted before would of sounded like in an american accent...made me go all yeehaa

[acrossthepond]

hehe...luckily I've not lost my English accent yet

Edited November 30, 2006 by acrossthepond

[WhiteFox]

Looking like the heavy stuff not starting until after midnight with 6-12 inches expcted and possibly more in places.

According to NWS, heaviest snow of 10 inches plus from SE Wisconsin through McHenry,DeKalb and La Salle counties. Thats puts my town right in the firing line!!

I'm in Oak Brook and have to drive to a station to commute downtown. Hoping for a heavy fall so I can call in and say I'm working remotely... Would suit me nicely! Have booked Friday at the hotel as I'd rather stay here than spend the night at O'Hare airport.

Will try and get some pics. Looks like being rather a large winter storm. It's been a long time since a ten inch snowstorm hit before January in Chicagoland.

[Tim]

This is amazing reading! I've not seen 10 inches of snow since the early 80`s!

[WhiteFox]

Just driven back from downtown to Oak Brook. Currently heavy freezing rain falling; very strange! Driving along, it sounds like it's absolutely pouring with rain, but nothing appears to be hitting the windscreen. I reckon there's about 2 or three centimetres of ice on the ground right now. Should provide a good base for when the ppn turns to snow in a bit. Still going for 8-12 inches here in the Western Suburbs with downtown getting slightly less - probably about 8-10 inches.

Outlook is cold for the forseeable future up here: maximum of 1oC on Saturday, followed by maxima of -5oC for Sunday and Monday with the temperature not forecast to get above freezing for most of the week. Looks like the snow will be sticking around for a while.

[acrossthepond]

10 inches so far here at 7.20am!!

[drgl]

10 inches so far here at 7.20am!!

pictures pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease!!

[acrossthepond]

8.45am and now 12 inches on the ground and still snowing hard.

Will try and post some pictures later on today

[drgl]

Look forward to it (as i look out of window to nothing but green fields and trees!!)

[acrossthepond]

Almost over now..haven't measured but looks like around 15 inches total

[acrossthepond]

here are some photos of the snowstorm in Illinois

[drgl]

That is very nice!! I haven't seen snow like that for many years Sometimes i wonder if i ever will in the UK at least,thanks for the pictures-made my day

[HellyHanson]

Wow! Nice pics mate especially the first one. Brilliant scenery: unplowed roads, sunshine shimmering of the snow and deep snow cover. Brilliant! we would do well to get 1.5" nevermind 15".

[WhiteFox]

Just back from Chicago; my decision to book into the hotel for Friday night was a good one!

The storm was interesting in that there was a very clear cut-off point. The North and Western suburbs outwards all received something like 10-15 inches. Downtown Chicago received about 3 inches I think. Oak Brook came in at six inches. Warmth pumped into the system meant that the ppn stayed as freezing rain for longer in those areas. To the North and West, the ppn changed to snow very quickly.

The real story there now is the intense cold. I believe that 3oF was recorded to the West of Chicago last night. Highs look like being in the low to mid twenties (about -5oC I'd guess). I learnt a lesson in Chicago: clean the snow off your car straight away. If you don't, the snow freezes hard and flies off when driving on the freeway; I had to prise the boot open this morning! 23oF at 10am...

Looks like a developing system off the Eastern Seaboard could bring some interest to New York early this week...

[Soaring Hawk]

Are you driving around with studded snow tyres or chains fitting on normal ones? When I used to live in Canada we had to have snow tyres fitted by a certain date. Does that apply where you are, or do you pop them on when snow/ice is forecast.

This question was prompted by the casual way you mentioned driving on the freeway. Even 3" in the UK would cause complete gridlock but then we don't invest in snow tyres or chains unless we're skiers and go up mountains in Scotland or Europe.

[WhiteFox]

Are you driving around with studded snow tyres or chains fitting on normal ones? When I used to live in Canada we had to have snow tyres fitted by a certain date. Does that apply where you are, or do you pop them on when snow/ice is forecast.

This question was prompted by the casual way you mentioned driving on the freeway. Even 3" in the UK would cause complete gridlock but then we don't invest in snow tyres or chains unless we're skiers and go up mountains in Scotland or Europe.

No special tyres. I believe they enforce snowchains or studs in the high country and through passes. Illinois is as flat as a pancake (as is much of the MidWest) and they clear the major roads extremely quickly. Saying that, I was surprised to find that they don't grit the roads when there is frost forecast.

Anyway, I managed to take a coup0le of shots. Unfortunately I was working for most of the daylight hours...

The view from my hotel window at about 7.20am:

The same view when I got back from work. Shows how poor visibility was at one point. Thundersnow was reported in places:

Had to dig out my car. Made me miss my train into town!

My car this morning (Saturday). This was taken just after 10am with the car sitting in bright sunlight for 3 hours. I had to chip the ice from around the boot and lever it open! Extremely slight thaw with any liquid freezing again instantly:

And finally, a lovely view this morning. It was only two months ago that I watched the most severe thunderstorm I've ever witnessed from exactly the same windows (albeit about four floors higher). The flattish area you can see to the bottom left is the green for a par 3 hole on the Oakbrook Hills golf course. Guess the course will be closed until about April!

Edited December 2, 2006 by WhiteFox

[frozen_north]

Amazing pictures there. The joys of a continental climate. Hot summers and the chance of heavy snow storms in the winter where the snow lasts more than 1 day.

[WhiteFox]

Interesting map showing minimum temps in North America overnight Monday into Tuesday (don't forget to allow for the time difference!). Can anyone spot where the snow fell in the Midwest??

Just goes to show the difference that a snow pack can make to minimum temperatures; something we have missed in the UK for a few years now.

Anyway, as you can see from the chart below, another cold front drops down from Canada over the Great Lakes and reinforces the cold air over the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region:

The 510dm thickness is over most of Wisconsin and Northern Michigan, with the 528 as far south as the northern edge of Arkansas.

By Monday, a potential Nor'Easter is developing for the East Coast:

Forecast is still uncertain for this one as the exact path of the Low will make all the difference. At the moment it's looking like New York may get an inch or two of snow, with Boston receiving up to four inches. Upper air temps look marginal as does thickness, but dewpoint is comfortably below freezing. Wait and see on this one!

Whatever happens with the storm, New York is odds on for the first cold blast of the winter. By Tuesday we're sitting under what they call frigid air over here:

It's about time we had some decent frosts in NYC! November has produced some unseasonably warm weather; whilst I was feezing in Chicago and defrosting the car, New York was up near 21oC with a tornado watch on Friday! Incidentally, looking at those charts, I'd fully expect Lake Effect Snow watches to be out in upstate New York; Buffalo, Watertown and Syracuse and the surrounding areas could be looking at 6 inches to a foot of snow. Always hit and miss with LES though; be great for snowchasing so long as you have the ability to see a radar!

[January Snowstorm]

Thanks for the update.

Looks like my relations in New York will soon be seeing the white stuff