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

[knocker]

Snow in Oregon and northern California.

[fine wine]

Where has our friend Phillipe M gone? I for one am really missing his reports. It must be getting pretty cold there now!

Edited November 5, 2011 by fine wine

[SteveB]

Where has our friend Phillipe M gone? I for one am really issing his reports. It must be getting pretty cold there now!

+1 that, would be really nice to get an update from him.

[knocker]

The midday plots for Canada and just for good measure the Arctic. Might need the thermals in Siberia.

[Coopsy]

Overnight temp: -17oC

Temp at 9am: -14oC

Projected high: -4oC

Lovely sunny day today with no snow on the ground still. There was a snowstorm all around us in calgary and up in Banff but we missed it all thankfully.

Also you can see them making snow at the Nordic Center on one of the webcams in my sig.

[knocker]

Temps and plots at 1800z for Canada and the Arctic.

[stewfox]

Temps and plots at 1800z for Canada and the Arctic.

Do you have the web link for those pics you have posted ?

[knocker]

Afraid not stewfox they are generated on my PC using some weather graphics software.

[cheeky_monkey]

Overnight temp: -17oC

Temp at 9am: -14oC

Projected high: -4oC

Lovely sunny day today with no snow on the ground still. There was a snowstorm all around us in calgary and up in Banff but we missed it all thankfully.

Also you can see them making snow at the Nordic Center on one of the webcams in my sig.

Had some cold nights fri and sat -16 & -15c but like you we have no snow..warmer again towards mid week then cooler by weekend again back to average..no snow forecast in the next 10 days..it has been very dry since the beginning of August.

[knocker]

TORNADO WATCH 873 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 AM CST FOR THE

FOLLOWING LOCATIONS

OKC001-015-017-019-021-027-031-033-041-049-051-063-065-067-075-

081-083-087-091-099-101-103-107-109-111-119-123-125-133-137-141-

081000-

/O.CON.KWNS.TO.A.0873.000000T0000Z-111108T1000Z/

OK

. OKLAHOMA COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE

ADAIR CADDO CANADIAN

CARTER CHEROKEE CLEVELAND

COMANCHE COTTON DELAWARE

GARVIN GRADY HUGHES

JACKSON JEFFERSON KIOWA

LINCOLN LOGAN MCCLAIN

MCINTOSH MURRAY MUSKOGEE

NOBLE OKFUSKEE OKLAHOMA

OKMULGEE PAYNE PONTOTOC

POTTAWATOMIE SEMINOLE STEPHENS

TILLMAN

$$

OKC001-015-017-019-021-027-031-033-041-049-051-063-065-067-075-081-083-087-091-099-101-103-107-109-111-119-123-125-133-137-141-081000-

/O.CON.KWNS.TO.A.0873.000000T0000Z-111108T1000Z/

OK

. OKLAHOMA COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE

ADAIR CADDO CANADIAN

CARTER CHEROKEE CLEVELAND

COMANCHE COTTON DELAWARE

GARVIN GRADY HUGHES

JACKSON JEFFERSON KIOWA

LINCOLN LOGAN MCCLAIN

MCINTOSH MURRAY MUSKOGEE

NOBLE OKFUSKEE OKLAHOMA

OKMULGEE PAYNE PONTOTOC

POTTAWATOMIE SEMINOLE STEPHENS

TILLMAN

[knocker]

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI

347 PM CST WED NOV 9 2011

CORRECTED TYPOS IN VILAS AND LINCOLN ADVISORY SECTION

...HEAVY SNOW CONTINUES TO FALL OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST

WISCONSIN...

.A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL TRACK FROM CENTRAL LAKE MICHIGAN

THIS AFTERNOON TO EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN THIS EVENING. THE STORM

WILL BRING SNOW TO MUCH OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN WISCONSIN. A

RAIN...SLEET AND SNOW MIX WILL TURN OVER TO ALL SNOW OVER EAST

CENTRAL WISCONSIN DURING THE AFTERNOON. IT WILL ALSO BECOME

RATHER WINDY...BUT THE HEAVY WET NATURE OF THE SNOW WILL LIMIT

THE POTENTIAL FOR BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF THE SNOW.

WIZ010>013-019>021-031-100200-

/O.CON.KGRB.WS.W.0005.000000T0000Z-111110T0200Z/

ONEIDA-FOREST-FLORENCE-NORTHERN MARINETTE-LANGLADE-MENOMINEE-

NORTHERN OCONTO-SHAWANO-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...RHINELANDER...CRANDON...ANTIGO...

KESHENA

347 PM CST WED NOV 9 2011

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CST THIS

EVENING...

* SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL LINGER INTO THE EARLY EVENING

BEFORE DIMINISHING.

* A TOTAL ACCUMULATION OF 5 TO 8 INCHES IS EXPECTED...WITH THE

GREATEST ACCUMULATIONS ON GRASSY SURFACES.

* THIS WILL BE A WET...HEAVY SNOW...WHICH WILL MAKE TRAVEL

DIFFICULT AND SHOVELING VERY STRENUOUS. IT COULD ALSO CAUSE

TREE BRANCHES TO FALL ON POWER LINES...RESULTING IN POWER

OUTAGES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER

CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. THE SNOW WILL MAKE TRAVEL HAZARDOUS. THE

LATEST WISCONSIN ROAD CONDITIONS CAN BE OBTAINED BY CALLING 511.

&&

[Coast]

Colorado round up:

There wasn't much snow accumulation as of Sunday morning, but the storm continued to blow hard enough to peel fences off their nails and down the power in the southern end of the county. “Summit County got a lot of wind but not a lot of snow with this one,†National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Koopmeiners said. “There were some fierce (winds).â€

Five miles south of Frisco, wind speeds were reported to reach 115 miles per hour, and gusts hit 100 mph two miles southwest of Loveland Pass. Southeast of Berthoud Pass in Clear Creek County, winds hit 113 mph. “These are high, but they're not totally the worst I'm aware of,†Koopmeiners said. Records show 201 mph in the winter of 1981 at Longs Peak and 147 mph on Jan. 25, 1971, in Boulder. “It gets windier, but that was pretty windy,†he said.

According to an Xcel Energy spokesperson, a power outage in Blue River, Breckenridge, Leadville and Fairplay affected roughly 1,000 residents, some up to 9 hours. “It looks like trees were blown down at several places along our line that caused the outage,†the spokeswoman said, adding the problem appeared to be fixed as of 9 a.m. SundayRoads became slick, with layers of snow and ice that required chains on eastbound commercial vehicles between Silverthorne and the Johnson Tunnel. Loveland Pass closed at roughly 9 p.m. Saturday and remained closed through Sunday. The Dillon Dam Road closed at 7:20 p.m., reopening nearly 12 hours later at 6:40 p.m. The storm mostly hit further north, with Rabbit Ears Pass getting up to a foot in places, Koopmeiners said.

Forecasts for the area for Sunday evening called for snow through the night, but with limited accumulation of an inch or two — not the depths meteorologists initially predicted would come with the storm. Some precipitation could continue through today and Tuesday.

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20111114/NEWS/111119926/1078&ParentProfile=1055

[Coast]

Well while things may be relatively quiet and mild here at home, our cousins over the pond are at least seeing some of the white stuff. Here is a report from Washington State:

Snow has started piling up in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, and forecasters say they expect it will drop to valley floors this week. Two new storms are expected Wednesday and Friday, the first bringing about 2 inches and the second potentially dropping 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

This comes after the season’s first measurable snowfall dropped 1.7 inches at Spokane International Airport on Saturday. Lookout Pass ski area announced Monday that it would open Friday after 21 inches of snow fell there last weekend. Snow continued to fall in the mountains of North Idaho on Monday as well as in the Cascades. Eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass were closed for a few hours Monday because of heavy snow and accidents. On Wednesday, snow at lower elevations is expected from U.S. Highway 2 northward and in North Idaho as far south as St. Maries.

“We have an active week ahead,†said John Livingston, meteorologist in charge of the weather service office in Spokane. The system is carrying a shot of milder ocean air, which should allow snow to switch to rain overnight Wednesday, he said. But a deep low-pressure area associated with the storm could cause strong winds with gusts to 40 mph in some locations and 32 mph in Spokane on Thursday. A second storm passing into Oregon and Northern California on Friday could send a wave of snow northward to the Inland Northwest. The current forecast is calling for just less than 4 inches in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, but Livingston said those numbers could change as the week goes on.

Whatever snow falls Friday could stick around. Friday’s high is forecast at 35, and Saturday may only get to 31. Spokane city officials on Monday announced that crews are now on winter snow shifts to allow them to respond to storms and icy conditions as they develop. De-icer and traction sand are in stock. Trucks have been applying de-icer for at least a week now. The city has contracted with private plow operators to help in case of a big storm.

Spokane residents are reminded that they should park on the side of the street with odd house numbers this year when plows are expected on their streets. A light snow was falling as city officials talked about their system for clearing snow. “I think we’ll get a chance to test it out,†said City Administrator Ted Danek

http://www.spokesman...g-snow-to-area/

[knocker]

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Latest Seasonal Assessment - The Drought Outlook for November 3, 2011 through January 2012 reflects forecasts and outlooks for periods ranging from the next few days to the next few months, La Niña composites for the November – January period, climatology and, to a lesser extent, composites of the small set of La Niña events that immediately followed a previous La Niña episode. In a broad area across the Southeast and along the southern tier of states, drought is forecast to persist and expand. In this region, the November – January outlook and La Niña composites favor below-normal precipitation for the period as a whole, even though the first half of November should bring near- to above-normal precipitation to the lower Mississippi Valley, northern and eastern Texas, central and western Arizona, and southeastern California. Farther north, at least some improvement is anticipated from central Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma northward through the rest of the eastern Plains and adjacent Mississippi Valley. Monthly and seasonal outlooks lean wet in northern parts of this area. Farther south, heavy precipitation over the next two weeks is expected to keep drought conditions in check through the remainder of the period. Rainfall may total several inches in the east-central Plains by mid-November. Meanwhile, the various tools almost unanimously favor subnormal precipitation on all time scales across eastern Colorado and the western halves of Oklahoma and Kansas, where drought should persist. In Hawaii, no tilt of the odds toward dryness or wetness is discernible for November – January, but some improvement is anticipated later in the period as the Islands progress toward a time of year when La Niña conditions favor above-normal precipitation.

http://www.cpc.ncep....al_drought.html

Edited November 15, 2011 by weather ship

[Coast]

Two EF-2 Tornadoes Confirmed in New York Sate:

WESTFIELD, N.Y. -- Residents in some parts of Chautauqua County continued picking up the pieces Tuesday from a powerful line of storms that spawned two tornadoes but left Erie and Crawford counties relatively unscathed Monday. The storm, which blew through the region beginning late Monday afternoon, produced tornadoes that touched down in the outskirts of the village of Westfield and the area of Pomfret, said Julius Leone, director of emergency services for Chautauqua County.

Officials from the National Weather Service toured the areas on Tuesday and confirmed the presence of the tornadoes. The tornado that hit Pomfret left about a four-mile path of destruction about 125 yards wide, Leone said. It toppled some garages, but mostly traveled across open fields, he said. The tornado that hit the town of Westfield traveled three to four miles and also left a path of about 125 yards wide. It heavily damaged one house and leveled a number of outbuildings, including barns and sheds, Leone said.

Two people were taken to the hospital for observation Monday night after their house received substantial damage in the storm, he said.

Those affected by the storm included Elaine Hall, 87, who lost four outbuildings in the storm. Her 150-year-old farmhouse on South Gale Street, where Hall has lived for 45 years, was not damaged."It' s a disaster, but it's done, and now we can pick up the pieces," Hall said Tuesday afternoon as she wandered around her backyard, where a three-car garage once stood. Hall then chuckled. "Might as well be philosophical about it," she said.

Utility crews and tree service employees remained in both areas of Chautauqua County on Tuesday, repairing downed power lines and cutting up and removing fallen and broken trees. Most people who had lost power during the storm had their service restored Monday night, Leone said. Erie and Crawford counties, as well as parts of western New York, were under a tornado watch for most of Monday evening as the line of storms brought high winds, heavy rain and lightning. Emergency management officials in Erie and Crawford counties said they received reports of some street flooding in their areas during the storm, but no other significant damage was reported. Frank Kieltyka, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland, said the only notable report his agency received from the Erie area was the report of nickel-sized hail that fell in East Springfield at about 5:20 p.m.

http://www.goerie.com/article/20111116/NEWS02/311159917/Weather-service%3A-Tornadoes-touched-down-Monday-in-Chautauqua-County

00

NOUS41 KBUF 152032

PNSBUF

NYZ010-019-020-085-160445-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY

332 PM EST TUE NOV 15 2011

...MULTIPLE TORNADOES CONFIRMED ON NOV 14 2011...

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR FREDONIA IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY NEW YORK...

LOCATION...FREDONIA IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY NEW YORK

DATE...NOV 14 2011

ESTIMATED TIME...454-505 PM EST

MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF2

ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...105-115 MPH

MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...125 YDS

PATH LENGTH...4.6 MILES

BEGINNING LAT/LON...42.4463N/79.4279W

ENDING LAT/LON...42.4429N/79.3391W

* FATALITIES...NONE

* INJURIES...NONE

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO

CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS

STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BUFFALO NY HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO

NEAR FREDONIA IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY NEW YORK ON NOV 14 2011.

THE TORNADO FORMED OVER LAKE ERIE AND MOVED ONSHORE ON BEACH PLACE

IN FREDONIA. THERE IT RIPPED SHINGLES OFF TWO HOMES. ONE TREE FELL

ON A HOME. THE SCREEN FROM THE VAN BUREN DRIVE IN WAS BLOWN OVER.

SEVERAL PINE TREES WERE TOPPED ALONG VAN BUREN DRIVE. ALSO ON VAN

BUREN DRIVE A BARN WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED. AS THE TORNADO MOVED

EAST ACROSS FAREL ROAD EIGHT POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED. ADDITIONAL

TREES WERE TOPPED AS THE TORNADO MOVED TOWARD THE VILLAGE OF

FREDONIA. A GARAGE WAS DESTROYED NEAR THE CORNER OF UNIVERSITY

PARK AND RISLEY STREET. A FEW MORE TREES WERE TOPPED NEAR CENTER

STREET BEFORE THE FINAL LIFTOFF.

ALTHOUGH THE PATH LENGTH WAS OVER FOUR MILES, THE TORNADO WAS NOT

ON THE GROUND THE ENTIRE TIME.

THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT

WEATHER.GOV/BUF.

FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO

THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH.

EF1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH.

EF2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH.

EF3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH.

EF4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH.

EF5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH.

&&

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR WESTFIELD IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY NEW YORK...

LOCATION...WESTFIELD IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY NEW YORK

DATE...NOV 14 2011

ESTIMATED TIME...505-515 PM EST

MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF2

ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...105-115 MPH

MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...120 YDS

PATH LENGTH...3.0 MILES BEGINNING

LAT/LON... 42.3024N/79.5929W

ENDING LAT/LON... 42.3095N/79.5366W

* FATALITIES...NONE

* INJURIES...NONE

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO

CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS

STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BUFFALO NY HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO

NEAR WESTFIELD IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY NEW YORK ON NOV 14 2011.

A TORNADO INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN ON MUNSON STREET IN WESTFIELD

WHERE A ONE-FOOT DIAMETER TREE WAS TOPPED ABOUT EIGHT FEET OFF THE

GROUND. THE TORNADO MOVED WEST ACROSS COUNTY TOURING ROUTE 21. ON

THE WEST SIDE OF THE STREET HALF OF A POLE BARN WAS DESTROYED. A

MAN INSIDE THE BARN AT THE TIME WAS NOT INJURED. ACROSS THE STREET

A THREE STORY BARN WAS DESTROYED. SEVERAL VEHICLES AND BOATS

STORED IN THE BARN WERE DAMAGED. THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED SOUTH

GALE STREET. THREE OUTBUILDINGS WERE DESTROYED. TWO PEOPLE RODE

OUT THE STORM IN A NEARBY VAN AND WERE NOT INJURED. FURTHER ALONG

A BARN WAS DESTROYED ON MARTIN WRIGHT ROAD. SEVERAL LARGE

HARDWOODS WERE SNAPPED AND TWISTED. ALSO ON MARTIN WRIGHT ROAD A

HOME WAS DESTROYED. THE ATTACHED GARAGE AND BACK WALL WERE RIPPED

OFF. AFTER THE FRONT WINDOW WAS BROKEN ON THE HOME THE OPPOSITE

WALL WAS BLOWN OUT. TWO PEOPLE WERE IN THE HOME AT THE TIME

HOWEVER THEY WERE NOT INJURED. THE HOME HAS BEEN DEEMED UNINHABITABLE.

A FEW MORE TREES WERE TOPPED JUST WEST OF THE HOME BEFORE THE

TORNADO LIFTED.

ALTHOUGH THE PATH LENGTH WAS THREE MILES, THE TORNADO WAS NOT ON

THE GROUND THE ENTIRE TIME.

[cheeky_monkey]

we had our first snows over the weekend and again on monday..temps well below freezing..more snow forecast for thursday maybe 10cm+ then bitter cold for the weekend highs -15c lows -25c..before we struggle back to average -3c by tueday next week..winter has arrived!

[Roger J Smith]

A strong Pacific low is heading inland tonight over southern BC ... rain falling at low elevations here with a cold east wind, about 4 C outside, but snow is falling a bit higher up, and will spread across all mountain ranges overnight to reach Alberta on Thursday. Expect 10-20 cms and strong east winds, some freezing drizzle may mix in especially around Calgary and Lethbridge. The snowstorm will head east to cover SK and MB on Friday as well as some parts of MT and ND.

A second disturbance is forming in the wake and could bring snow even near sea level by Friday to southwestern BC, which will be quite an early date for snowfall in the city here. We often get through November without a snowfall.

Guys, I suspect we are in for a very cold winter with the most obvious home base for arctic high pressure being Alaska-Yukon.

Phil may have gone off with the dogs to hunt for firewood.

[Isolated Frost]

A strong Pacific low is heading inland tonight over southern BC ... rain falling at low elevations here with a cold east wind, about 4 C outside, but snow is falling a bit higher up, and will spread across all mountain ranges overnight to reach Alberta on Thursday. Expect 10-20 cms and strong east winds, some freezing drizzle may mix in especially around Calgary and Lethbridge. The snowstorm will head east to cover SK and MB on Friday as well as some parts of MT and ND.

A second disturbance is forming in the wake and could bring snow even near sea level by Friday to southwestern BC, which will be quite an early date for snowfall in the city here. We often get through November without a snowfall.

Guys, I suspect we are in for a very cold winter with the most obvious home base for arctic high pressure being Alaska-Yukon.

Phil may have gone off with the dogs to hunt for firewood.

So with high pressure in Alaska-Yukon, would there not be a prevalence of easterly winds in your region and a very dry winter?

[knocker]

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT

241 PM MST WED NOV 16 2011

MTZ001-171200-

/O.CON.KMSO.WS.W.0018.111117T0400Z-111118T0000Z/

KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-

241 PM MST WED NOV 16 2011

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING

TO 5 PM MST THURSDAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING

TO 5 PM MST THURSDAY.

* IMPACTS/TIMING: HEAVY SNOW DEVELOPING THIS EVENING...POSSIBLY

MIXED WITH RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN AT LOWER ELEVATIONS LATE

TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY MORNING.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 3 TO 6 INCHES BY THURSDAY EVENING. LOCALLY

UP TO 10 INCHES OVER THE MOUNTAINS.

* WINDS: GUSTY WEST WINDS HIGHER ELEVATIONS WITH SIGNIFICANT

BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW POSSIBLE.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...HIGHWAY 2 KALISPELL TO LIBBY...

HIGHWAY 37 EUREKA TO LIBBY...HIGHWAY 56 BULL LAKE ROAD...

HIGHWAY 93 EUREKA TO WHITEFISH

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW...

BLOWING SNOW...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED. STRONG WINDS

ARE ALSO EXPECTED. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS.

&&

[Coast]

ROCK HILL, S.C. — At least six people have been killed and dozens more injured as a storm system that spawned several possible tornadoes moved across the Southeast. Suspected tornadoes were reported Wednesday in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina. Dozens of homes and buildings were damaged and thousands of people were without power as trees and power lines were downed. In South Carolina, three people were killed and five injured when a likely tornado swept through a rural community near Rock Hill, about 20 miles south of Charlotte, N.C. In north Georgia, a man was killed when a tree fell on his sport utility vehicle. Authorities also said an adult and child were killed in central North Carolina.

In eastern Alabama, a suspected twister splintered trees and demolished mobile homes at a pair of housing parks near the Auburn University campus. Less than seven months ago, a massive tornado roared past the campus of archrival University of Alabama in the western part of the state. It was the worst bout of weather for the state since about 250 people were killed during the tornado outbreak in April. Both campuses were spared major damage this time. In Rock Hill, Simone Moore told The Herald newspaper she was sitting on her back porch when she saw the tornado touch down and then quickly move back up. She said after the storm passed, she noticed a nearby trailer had vanished. "Everything's gone," Moore said. "Even the cows in the pasture." As weather service experts fanned out to assess damage, Auburn graduate student Staci DeGeer didn't have any doubts about what sent a pair of trees crashing through her mobile home at Ridgewood Village. "It's tornado damage. I'm from Kansas; I know tornado damage," said DeGeer, who wasn't home at the time. "It's kind of hit or miss. There will be two or three (trailers) that are bad and then a few that are OK."

Trees fell on homes in southeastern Mississippi, where Jones County emergency director Don McKinnon said some people were briefly trapped. Mobile homes were tossed off their foundations. In all, 15 people were hurt in the area. As the weather moved east, tornado warnings and watches were issued in Georgia and South Carolina. At least 10 people were injured when a possible tornado ripped through an area south of Lexington in North Carolina, destroying one building, damaging several others and leaving thousands without electricity. Forecasters said a cold front stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northeast was to blame. Temperatures dropped in some areas from the low 70s to the 50s as the front passed, and winds gusted to near 30 mph.

Damage was reported in several parts of Alabama. In Sumter County, in the west-central part of the state, an elderly woman was in her home as a tree crashed into it. She had to be taken to the hospital. In Tuscaloosa, home of the University of Alabama, the day was a harsh reminder of the threat of violent weather for communities still recovering from the killer tornadoes. "It makes you sit up on the edge of the chair a little more," said Tom Perryman, who works for the school system in Tuscaloosa County, which was hard hit in April. Nearby, DeGeer's dog Jack rode out the storm in her mobile home without injury, but the trailer itself didn't fare as well. "It looks like I redecorated with a wilderness theme. There are trees through my house," she said.

In southern Louisiana, a suspected tornado hit a neighborhood in Houma, splintering a home. Crews helped clean up storm debris near a school and the Red Cross sent workers to help with damage assessments.

http://www.google.co...c235c3849b75206

Video report here:

http://www.foxcharlo...-134014058.html

[Coopsy]

So with high pressure in Alaska-Yukon, would there not be a prevalence of easterly winds in your region and a very dry winter?

This is a good question. I think it would make the chances of snow on the west coast higher as the cold air will be there but whenever a pacific low moves in the precip will be snow, but maybe not get too far inland due to the dominant high, unless the high slips back north and lets it run along the south edge

I am wondering what it would bring for us here in Alberta. I think very cold and fairly dry with easterlies we quite often get upsloping and heavy snows from an easterly so would love to hear Rogers take on it

A strong Pacific low is heading inland tonight over southern BC ... rain falling at low elevations here with a cold east wind, about 4 C outside, but snow is falling a bit higher up, and will spread across all mountain ranges overnight to reach Alberta on Thursday. Expect 10-20 cms and strong east winds, some freezing drizzle may mix in especially around Calgary and Lethbridge. The snowstorm will head east to cover SK and MB on Friday as well as some parts of MT and ND.

A second disturbance is forming in the wake and could bring snow even near sea level by Friday to southwestern BC, which will be quite an early date for snowfall in the city here. We often get through November without a snowfall.

Guys, I suspect we are in for a very cold winter with the most obvious home base for arctic high pressure being Alaska-Yukon.

Phil may have gone off with the dogs to hunt for firewood.

I think this type of set up usually has snow for everyone except us here in the foothills as it seems to lift right off the mountains and over us

[cheeky_monkey]

A strong Pacific low is heading inland tonight over southern BC ... rain falling at low elevations here with a cold east wind, about 4 C outside, but snow is falling a bit higher up, and will spread across all mountain ranges overnight to reach Alberta on Thursday. Expect 10-20 cms and strong east winds, some freezing drizzle may mix in especially around Calgary and Lethbridge. The snowstorm will head east to cover SK and MB on Friday as well as some parts of MT and ND.

heres is a cpl pix of winter storm number one in Edmonton..currently -12c blizzard condtions windchill -25c and falling

[Roger J Smith]

Rich was generally correct about the pattern, winters that feature persistent cold in northwest Canada tend to be dry in most parts of western Canada and the northern plains states, and wet from southern California across Colorado towards the western Great Lakes, but the west coast as far north as about here (Vancouver) will tend to be near normal in overall precip and above normal in snowfall. A storm track often develops running south from the Gulf of Alaska towards central California.

If the anomaly is strong then most of Alberta will be dry, but with a weaker version there will be enough cases of east wind uplift to give above normal snowfall. Alberta tends to be dry in the winter months anyway, and some months can be close to zero total precip in either mild or cold patterns. The precip here is often based on one or two events which may represent departures from an otherwise persistent pattern. If one storm breaks through the blocking high pressure it can give more than a month's worth of precip then back to dry.

This coming winter, I am thinking that we might get into a rather extreme cold situation at least in the first half of the season. It is very rare to see much snow in temperatures below -25 C even if it's trying to snow the daily amounts tend to be trace to 2 cm type with very little moisture content.

[leicesternosnowzone]

First signs of winter in the great lakes region yesterday/today as well. The worst (or best) of the snow in areas to the east of lake huron and lake superior, some places had around 30cm in 3 hours yesterday!

We also had our first flurries here in Hamilton today, so I imagine Toronto got a little bit too. Of course where I am temperatures are a lot warmer than edmonton/calgary (or even vancouver by the sound of it!) its a few degrees above freezing here and going to warm up again over the weekend so nothing sticking yet but there are a few more months of winter to come!

Here's a link to one of the warnings out for tonight http://www.simcoe.com/news/article/1246013--snow-s-comin

[cheeky_monkey]

heres is a cpl pix of winter storm number one in Edmonton..currently -12c blizzard condtions windchill -25c and falling

tis still snowing here this morning..bit of a slog into work but no real problems..temps -19c looks like a bitter weekend ahead..lows of around -30c possible on saturday night.