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

[cheeky_monkey]

Temperature at Philip airport S. Dakota 82.4F at 1900,

i saw this on the weather report yesterday and were predicting winterpeg would reach 28c today...i thought it must have been an error.

[knocker]

Some remarkable temps in N. dakota, S. Dakota and Nebraska at 2100z. Chamberlain Municipal airport S. Dakota was 88F.

Edited March 18, 2012 by weather ship

[WhiteFox]

Masses of daily records have tumbled over the past week in the US. Chicago has broken daily records on 8 of the last 9 days. Over 80F for quite a few days. Temperatures being recorded are the average for mid June. International Falls hit 77F; the previous record was 61F. Bear in mind the average there for mid-March is 37F. On a line from the Rockies East, the temperature for the first half of March is 8-10F above average, so barring an extreme cooldown for the second half, the warmest March on record looks like being set for the Eastern two thirds. An almost unprecedented spell, not just in warmth, but also longevity. Of course, it has also provided plenty of energy for some very severe weather outbreaks already. Could be an extremely active tornado season.

[Coast]

Winter storm, strong winds strike Ariz., NM

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (WTW) — A winter storm and high winds struck parts of Arizona and New Mexico on Sunday, causing hazardous driving conditions, power outages and school cancellations.

The fast moving storm forced the National Weather Service to place parts of northern New Mexico under a winter storm warning until midnight Monday as heavy snow and wind from Arizona was expected to quickly blanket the area.

The company PNM reported that around 33,000 customers were out of power at one point Sunday afternoon in the Albuquerque area due to high winds. A spokesman for PNM said emergency crews were working to restore power, and by 9 p.m. the number without electricity was down to 4,500. Heavy winds and blowing dust forced the closure of parts Interstate 10 in southern New Mexico due to low visibility, but the road was back open later in the day. A flight carrying the University of New Mexico men's basketball team home after its loss in the NCAA tournament was delayed due to high winds.

Arizona Department of Transportation crews were fully deployed Sunday after heavy snow in Arizona fell from Flagstaff to the White Mountains. The winter storm forced officials to temporary close Interstate 40 in both directions and parts of Interstate 17. Both highways later reopened Sunday afternoon. Arizona Snowbowl reported 19 inches of snowfall, and the Flagstaff Nordic Center has measured 12 to 18 inches of fresh snow overnight. Low temperatures also caused a hard freeze on roads, making them extremely slippery. A number of truck drivers were forced off the roads and waited out the storm at travel centers, according to a number of television reports.

The National Weather Service said Flagstaff and surrounding area remain under a winter storm warning until midnight Monday. More snow expected overnight into Monday. Storm totals range from between 12 to 22 inches above 7,000 feet.

In addition, Northern Arizona University, Coconino Community College and the Flagstaff Unified School District canceled classes Monday to allow students an extra day of safer travel to return from spring break. Coconino County offices delayed Monday's opening until 10 a.m. Meanwhile, much of New Mexico remained under a high wind advisory with damaging winds expected to reach up to 60 mph.

The New Mexico Environmental Health Department's Air Quality Division issued a fugitive dust/high wind notice until Monday that warned residents who are sensitive to blowing dust, such as those with asthma, chronic bronchitis and other respiratory and heart diseases, to limit outdoor activity. Children and older adults also could be affected by particulate pollution, the agency said.Dan Ware, state forestry spokesman, said high winds were the blame for a fire west of Silver City in the Wind Canyon area. He said crews contained a fire Sunday afternoon. He said burned less than 7 acres, and was not a threat to any structures

http://www.sheboyganpress.com/usatoday/article/38832307

[glosteroldboy]

Winter hanging on at times here, not really had anymore snow few flurries but looks spring like out, fair bit of freezing rain on Friday made the trees look very pretty glazed in ice though a few branches buckled under the extra weight.

Apparently a few icebergs have been spotted around the coast of the North East Avalon, earlier in the year than they would normally expect to see them and around this part of Newfoundland they haven't really seen any icebergs this far South since 2009. Wonder what's the reasons behind this, the daily iceberg chart does indeed show a fair number currently in the vicinity:

http://ice-glaces.ec..._0006350072.gif

Edited March 19, 2012 by glosteroldboy

[Reefseeker]

Accuweather on Twitter have been giving accounts all morning of the situation developing there for both tornadoes and heavy snow. Here's a few of their tweets:

Arizona snow. RT Driveway WAS clear. Whiteout outside right now in Flagstaff. http://pic.twitter.com/UiH3qEkL

Arizona snow. RT Fire busy with all the traffic accidents. http://pic.twitter.com/nP45lVgo

Arizona snow. RT Talk about contrast! Suntanning two days ago and shoveling a foot+ of snow today. http://pic.twitter.com/rBX0tsvW

Arizona snow. RT Snow in Downtown #Flagstaff http://pic.twitter.com/SBra2ZOv

[Dan the Man]

I'm heading to the "Valley of the Sun" at the weekend and supposed to head up to Flagstaff on the Sunday.

Temperatures could hit 90F on Saturday.

Tornado watches in force across the Deep South. Moderate TOR:CON ratings.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Dan the Man

[Coast]

Summer-like weather smashing winter records

There were jet skis on Lake Ontario and ice cream trucks on Ottawa streets as the March heat wave continued to melt records around the country. For many, the last day of winter felt like midsummer as sun lovers donned flip flops in Winnipeg and rollerbladers invaded Toronto's waterfront. The country's hotspots were Ottawa, Toronto and Winnipeg. Temperatures in the Prairie city shot to a sunny 22 C -- about 20 degrees higher than the seasonal norm -- smashing a 74-year-old record.

In Toronto, the mild spell drew droves of sun lovers to beaches and parks. Britt Connell told CTV Toronto that he moved to Canada last December from Australia, bracing for a brutally cold winter. "I got all the horror stories early on, saying ‘You're going to freeze to death. All this bad stuff is going to happen come winter.' And so far I haven't seen it. "It's looking good."

Weather records were also broken throughout southern Ontario, including in the Greater Toronto area, where it's been the warmest March on record so far. Environment Canada climatologist Dave Phillips said records are not just being broken, they're shattering. "It's the duration of it, it's the intensity of it and the fact that it is covering so much of the country makes it really a March heat wave that is unprecedented. It's just breaking and smashing records all over the place."

This winter has been the third-warmest since Environment Canada started keeping track 65 years ago and the second driest, Phillips said. "From the first day of spring the kind of temperatures we're seeing are more normal for the first day of summer. That's three months from now," Phillips said. "I can't impress upon you how spectacular this kind of mild spell has been.

"This one has been like winter missing in action. This heat is like putting Canada, from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia, under the sky dome. It's like a big dome that's right over top of us. It's like a greenhouse and it kept the cold air away. It's just getting warmer and warmer and warmer." In Ottawa, temperatures shot to 24 C before noon, breaking the previous high by eight degrees. For many Canadians, the warm spring weather has capped a mild winter, causing some to wonder if the weird weather is a one-off or a symptom of climate change.

"We are seeing these signs that are real and clear," the Sierra Club's John Bennett told CTV Ottawa. "The climate is changing. Global warming is a real thing." The summer-like weather will continue in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for most of the week. In fact, Toronto is expected to break another record Wednesday with a forecast of 26 C. Unfortunately the warm weather has excluded Alberta and British Columbia.

Edmonton reached a high of -1 C and Calgary was close to seasonal at 2 C. In Vancouver, where residents often boast of crocus sightings in February, snowplows were called in to deal with a rare snowstorm. Along the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, forecasters expected some areas to get as much as 50 centimetres of snow. Conditions were so severe in eastern Alberta that police closed the Trans-Canada Highway in both directions from Saskatchewan to Brooks, Alta.

http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120319/recording-breaking-heat-in-canada-120319/20120319/?hub=MontrealHome

[Coast]

Strange goings-on in North American regarding the weather?

Weather out of whack as winter nears end

On the last weekend of winter, people were taking out their skis in Arizona and putting them away in Minnesota. They were putting on sweaters in Phoenix and stripping down to their shorts to ice fish near Fargo, North Dakota. They were calling out snowplows in the California desert and counting the millions left in their snow removal budget in Ohio.

There were real extremes in a record-breaking streak of weather across the country. Here's how the topsy-turvy climate confounded convention: Officials closed 180 miles of Interstate 40 across northern Arizona on Sunday as a winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on the region. In Flagstaff, schools were closed Monday as the snow made travel hazardous.

But some snow-hungry visitors went to Flagstaff specifically for the snow, CNN affiliate KPHO-TV in Phoenix reported. "We knew what the weather would be like up here so we made sure to keep all of our snow gear so we could come up here and play in the snow and have lots of fun," Jennifer Gregory told the station. The Arizona Snowbowl ski resort in Flagstaff reported 36 inches of snow.

While residents got their snow gear out in Arizona, they were stowing it for the season in Biwabik, Minnesota, 1,800 miles northeast of Flagstaff. The Giants Ridge Ski Area in Biwabik closed for the season Sunday afternoon, three weeks ahead of schedule. Resort officials blamed the warm weather, saying it has deteriorated trail conditions, CNN affiliate KDLH reported. While the warmth may have meant business lost in Minnesota, it brought unexpected business to Alger Hardware and Rental in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "Last week, I looked at the weather and thought, 'Maybe I ought to get a little bit of (spring supplies) in.' I didn't think it would be this nice," owner Bill Dejong told CNN affiliate WOOD-TV. The store ran out of charcoal and propane for cookouts and fertilizer for, well, late winter gardening.

Allergy sufferers were also shopping in Grand Rapids. "We're going to sell a lot of antihistamines this year," Walker Street Pharmacy owner Ed Rutowski told WOOD, as pollen counts spiked with the warmth. In Atlanta, pollen counts that usually peak in early April were popping off the charts over the weekend, CNN affiliate WXIA-TV reported. Warm weather also has cherry trees in the nation's capital blooming earlier than usual this year, CNN affiliate WTTG-TV in Washington reports. Peak bloom dates are expected to be Tuesday through Friday, well ahead of the average peak bloom date of April 4, according to the National Cherry Blossom Festival website. The event begins Tuesday.

Across the northern part of the country, from the upper Plains through New England, residents were enjoying days of record-high temperatures. Since March 12, there have been 1,192 high-temperature records set or broken across the United States, and the forecast for the next several days doesn’t show any reprieve from these record-setting highs as parts of the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest see highs 30 degrees to 40 degrees above normal. Chicago recently had high temperatures at or above 80 degrees for five consecutive days, setting a record for the most 80-degree plus days during any March. The city on Saturday also saw the warmest St. Patrick’s Day since records began in 1872.

Burlington, Vermont, was enjoying a "hard to believe" week of warmth, CNN affiliate WCAX-TV reported. On Sunday, the high was 76 degrees in Burlington, 14 degrees above the previous high for the March 18, set in 1945. The city's average high for the day is 41 degrees, according to the report. It was warm enough over the weekend to ice fish in shorts and a T-shirt on Jewett Lake in Elizabeth, Minnesota, about an hour's drive from Fargo. "It's 70 degrees up here and down here you're sitting on an ice cube," fisherman Neal Funkhouser told CNN affiliate KXJB-TV in Fargo. The forecast high for Fargo on Monday was 75 degrees and the low was 53, well above the averages of 37 and 21 for the day, according to KXJB.

Contrast those North Dakota temperatures with the Phoenix forecast for Monday, 58 for a high and 44 for a low, according to KPHO. "This is the kind of weather I like. It is sweater weather. I wish it was like this all the time," resident Matthew Conn told the station. In the southern California desert, snow made a mess of I-10 between Riverside and Palm Springs over the weekend, leading to a 10-car pileup that closed the freeway for 90 minutes late Saturday, CNN affiliate KESQ-TV in Palm Springs reported.

"It started with a single vehicle spinout because of the snow and the sleet that was on the roadway. It ended up escalating to a 10-car pile up, closed the freeway" for up to an hour and a half, Darren Meyer of California Highway Patrol told the station. On Sunday, the California Department of Transportation pulled plow trucks down from the nearby mountains to clear I-10 and Highway 60 through the San Gorgonio Pass, KESQ reported. In Ohio, government officials are counting their savings as snowplows have had less work this winter.

"This year we've spent $43 million on ice and snow removal across the state. Compare that to last year, we spent $81 million by this time. That's $40 million in savings," Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Faulkner told CNN affiliate WEWS-TV in Cleveland. Officials were looking at using the savings toward road repairs, according to the report.

Warm temperatures don't necessarily mean good things though. Reports from CNN affiliate KHGI-TV in Nebraska said at least two tornadoes touched down Sunday night, injuring three people and tossing 31 rail cars from tracks in Lincoln County. And the National Weather Service was warning that more severe weather was possible, with severe thunderstorms in the forecast from northeastern Texas through Oklahoma into Arkansas.

The rain came early to Oklahoma City as during the morning the city got 1.83 inches of rain, breaking the previous record for the day, 1.73 inches set in 1903. Flash flood warnings were issued for the area.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/19/weather-out-of-whack-as-winter-nears-end/

[knocker]

Some nasty storms in Texas at the moment.

[glosteroldboy]

Wow some crazy heat in parts of Canada, and I thought they was getting it mild in the UK. Bit silly to pin it all on global warming, wasnt it generally a cold winter in most parts of Europe?

[knocker]

Infrared NASA satellite data indicates severe weather for south central US this week

Infrared and microwave satellite imagery from NASA have been providing forecasters at the National Weather Service valuable data on weather system that has potential to bring severe weather to the south central U.S. over the next several days.

A large upper-level storm system is approaching central Oklahoma and moving east, into eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, bringing the threat of heavy rain, gusty winds, and tornadoes.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were posted early on March 19 in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Oklahoma also has a flash flood warning centered on Oklahoma City. Texas had a tornado warning near Midland earlier in the day.

The National Weather Service issued warnings today, March 19, 2012 for eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas which stated

"Dangerous/potentially life-threatening flooding is expected." Forecasters at the National Weather Service expect 4 to 8 inch rainfall totals through Wednesday, March 21, and possibly moderate and major river flooding. For more information on the warnings, visit: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tsa/dsp/dsp.php. For the audio version of the National Weather Service forecast for eastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas, visit: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/rtimages/tsa/crs/mp3/OKCHAZARD.mp3.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-03/nsfc-ins031912.php

[Dan the Man]

The Green Bay/Chicago area this week will be 43F ABOVE AVERAGE - that is simply incredible, even for America's crazy weather. Chicago 86F this week; 7th consecutive day of record heat - the all time record (was) in the mid-70s. Records smashed to pieces!

[glosteroldboy]

The Green Bay/Chicago area this week will be 43F ABOVE AVERAGE - that is simply incredible, even for America's crazy weather. Chicago 86F this week; 7th consecutive day of record heat - the all time record (was) in the mid-70s. Records smashed to pieces!

Barmy weather! I remember when we got mid 70's in the UK last April, that seemed pretty crazy back then though not record breaking, but to get it in March in places when you generally expect snow to still be about...crazy!

No sign of any warmth here, bit of a mini snow storm blowing through right now, was expecting a couple of cm's but not so stormy pretty dark colours on the radar, though will pass through quickly.

Edited March 20, 2012 by glosteroldboy

[Roger J Smith]

I think this unprecedented March warm spell is probably related to the February cold wave in Europe. When that happened, unusually strong north to northeast winds developed over northwest Africa. This in turn strengthened the trade wind systems over the subtropical Atlantic and with a favourable upper pattern for blocking, all that warmth was directed into the Gulf of Mexico and north into the central U.S. ... so perhaps this is another consequence of that record-breaking massive high pressure that formed over Russia in late January. You could add to the above that without much if any snow all winter, the ground in the central and northern plains states was warmer and even in southern Manitoba there was no surface resistance to the warm flow when it developed. Hence temperatures have fully responded to the solar angle which is unusual for this early in the season when they are often held down by melting snow. News reports this week have shown bare ground in Winnipeg where people are enjoying temperatures near 23 C (normal is something like -5). Hard for the warministas not to jump up and down with excitement, but one has to point out that rather similar anomalies were achieved in March of 1945 and 1946 especially towards the east coast where those records have yet to be overcome (so far). For example, there were highs between 85 and 90 F in those two years in the large east coast cities which have so far been held to about 80 F.

We are well outside the domain of this warm air mass here on the west coast, in fact we've seen snow each of the past three days at some time or another, and it has stuck around on hill tops while melting off down here closer to sea level. The spring vegetation cycle is said to be 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule in the east but seems a week or more behind schedule around here, very little sign of spring blooming yet and in past years we've seen the cherry blossoms fully out by this date, just a faint suggestion of buds so far in 2012. The normal isotherm runs from western Saskatchewan south through Montana, Idaho, Nevada to central California, but recently colder air got into northern Arizona as well and they saw some heavy snowfalls at higher elevations around Flagstaff.

Very heavy rains yesterday and again today in parts of Texas and Oklahoma spreading east slowly. This would be welcome, I think, after last year's mega-drought.

[knocker]

Thanks for that concise explanation.

[glosteroldboy]

Yes great post Roger, also seem to be well away from any mild here still with snow in the forecast most days, all be it only minor accumulations that soon melt away (I'm still holding out for one final big snow storm...I believe they call it Sheilas Brush in these parts). Apart from the odd milder day temperatures are below or around average and look like remaining so for the forseeable, though I have seen reports of an above average spring being forecast it's certainly not the case yet.

Wonder if anyone can have a stab at the reasons we are now seeing sea ice and icebergs on the coast around here now, first time since 2009 it's made it this far and earlier than you see it in years gone by.

[Coast]

Oregon gets a good dumping!

Spring storm dumps snow on Ore. valley, mountains

An early spring storm dropped more than half a foot of snow on Oregon's southern Willamette Valley on Wednesday while slides and snow in the southern Cascades halted an Amtrak train and briefly trapped several vehicles.

PORTLAND, Oregon. —

An early spring storm dropped more than half a foot of snow on Oregon's southern Willamette Valley on Wednesday while slides and snow in the southern Cascades halted an Amtrak train and briefly trapped several vehicles. Amtrak's Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle, carrying 246 passengers, hit a tree lying across the tracks in the Cascade Mountains, and a mudslide then derailed the baggage car, Amtrak spokeswoman Christina Leeds said. No injuries were reported.

A freight train engine brought the passenger rail cars back south to the station in Chemult, about 165 miles southeast of Portland. There, passengers were given sub sandwiches, beverages and chips as they boarded buses Wednesday evening for the trip to Portland. Union Pacific spokesman Aaron Hunt said Wednesday night that crews were working to clear the rail line. Regina Fraser and Pat Johnson, co-hosts of the PBS travel show "Grannies on Safari," were among the passengers.

In a phone interview, Fraser described her day in the Cascades Mountains as "quite interesting." With snow outside the train window hitting the 7-foot mark, no phone service and rain falling "harder and harder," passengers were glad to leave the trouble spot. "We were stuck in the wilderness," she said, but called the passengers' mood "very positive." Fraser praised Amtrak staff for staying visible and willing to talk, and for making box lunches for passengers. "They made everyone feel calm," she said.

The train hit the tree at about 11:30 a.m., and the rail cars arrived back in Chemult at 6:30 p.m., Leeds said. The cars were without power and heat for about three hours as they were hauled back from the slide site, she said. Elsewhere in the southern Cascades, two vehicles were briefly trapped between landslides that, along with deep snow, temporarily shut down traffic on U.S. 20 through Santiam Pass. Crews rescued the travelers after about two hours. "Everybody's fine," said spokesman Lou Torres of the state Department of Transportation.

Santiam Pass reopened later, with transportation officials warning motorists to be prepared for severe winter driving conditions.

The area hit by the storm ranged from Roseburg in southwest Oregon through southwest Washington and eastward into central and northeast Oregon. But the heaviest impact was in Eugene-Springfield. The storm had dumped 7 inches of snow at the Eugene airport before precipitation turned to rain in the evening, National Weather Service meteorologist Miles Higa said.

About 20,000 customers in the Eugene area lost power at the peak of the storm as heavy, wet snow brought down trees and power lines, the Register-Guard reported. "This will probably go down as a pretty notable storm at the turn from winter to spring," weather service hydrologist Andy Bryant said. It will easily be the largest storm around this time of year in Eugene, he said.

Measurements at the airport show March storms dropped snow measuring 7.6 inches in 1951 and 13.7 inches in 1916 - both in the first week of the month. In only a few years have late March snowfalls there totaled more than an inch. Bryant said there was concern about possible flooding later this week in the Roseburg area and along the Coquille River flowing out of the Coast Range and through Coos County. Downed power lines shut down highways linking central valley cities with central Oregon for a time. A stretch of U.S. 20 on the valley floor was reopened near Sweet Home after a closure of several hours. The transportation department said Oregon 35 near Mount Hood was reopened after an avalanche left 4 feet of snow on the highway.

Bryant said the storm could leave 2 feet of new snow in the Cascade Range. At midday, Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood reported 19 inches. The additional snow in the Coast and Cascade ranges could provide a boost for summer water supplies in Oregon. The snowpack was below average in much of the state during the winter, raising concern about water for irrigation, municipal systems and recreation

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017810925_apororegonweather12thldwritethru.html

[Roger J Smith]

The incredible warmth continues in the east, I just updated on the U.S. version of the CET contest and (converted to Celsius) as of today the anomalies sit around +6 for DC and +5 for NYC and BOS. Yesterday's daily anomaly at BOS was +27 (F) which is +15 in Celsius. Today the temperature was well into the 70s (F) again and near 80 F as far north as Portland Maine.

The warmth has been compared to 1945 and 1946 which also produced long stretches of record-breaking temperatures, although somewhat later in the month for the highest values. Those extremes have yet to be broken but the monthly average may be in danger, although there is a brief colder spell on the horizon. Temperatures will fall somewhat over the weekend due to cloud and rain spreading in (highs near 15 C) but after some recovery Monday ahead of a front to about 20 C, the northeast U.S. and Great Lakes region will be seeing a sharp cold front Monday night that could lead to sub-freezing temperatures on Tuesday before a recovery again to 10-15 C later next week.

It remains abnormally cool on the west coast and we've seen small amounts of snow here almost every day for the past week despite average highs of about 8 C. When the shower clouds drift past, temperatures can drop off to about 3-4 C with all sorts of precip types, saw both hail and snow pellets in a shower yesterday.

As to the surplus of ice on the east coast of Canada, that is being caused by the complete lack of blocking further north, usually through the winter season there are frequent wind reversals in the eastern arctic but it has been a rather bland westerly pattern up there this winter which has allowed the Labrador current to load up on pack ice and transport it south without many storms working against the conveyor belt.

Could see a winter storm middle of next week in Newfoundland once the cold high mentioned above crests over New England, but details remain sketchy as to intensity of low pressure that evolves out of the frontal trough ahead of this high. Might be more of a frontal event than a storm.

[Coopsy]

We have had a nice spring snow storm here today. 6 hours of continual snowfall with about 4 inches on the ground. Its now stopped and the sun is trying to come out.

[knocker]

The 1800z US chart.

[glosteroldboy]

The incredible warmth continues in the east, I just updated on the U.S. version of the CET contest and (converted to Celsius) as of today the anomalies sit around +6 for DC and +5 for NYC and BOS. Yesterday's daily anomaly at BOS was +27 (F) which is +15 in Celsius. Today the temperature was well into the 70s (F) again and near 80 F as far north as Portland Maine.

The warmth has been compared to 1945 and 1946 which also produced long stretches of record-breaking temperatures, although somewhat later in the month for the highest values. Those extremes have yet to be broken but the monthly average may be in danger, although there is a brief colder spell on the horizon. Temperatures will fall somewhat over the weekend due to cloud and rain spreading in (highs near 15 C) but after some recovery Monday ahead of a front to about 20 C, the northeast U.S. and Great Lakes region will be seeing a sharp cold front Monday night that could lead to sub-freezing temperatures on Tuesday before a recovery again to 10-15 C later next week.

It remains abnormally cool on the west coast and we've seen small amounts of snow here almost every day for the past week despite average highs of about 8 C. When the shower clouds drift past, temperatures can drop off to about 3-4 C with all sorts of precip types, saw both hail and snow pellets in a shower yesterday.

As to the surplus of ice on the east coast of Canada, that is being caused by the complete lack of blocking further north, usually through the winter season there are frequent wind reversals in the eastern arctic but it has been a rather bland westerly pattern up there this winter which has allowed the Labrador current to load up on pack ice and transport it south without many storms working against the conveyor belt.

Could see a winter storm middle of next week in Newfoundland once the cold high mentioned above crests over New England, but details remain sketchy as to intensity of low pressure that evolves out of the frontal trough ahead of this high. Might be more of a frontal event than a storm.

Great post, was wondering about the sea ice/bergs, todays count in the square around my region is up to 28 icebergs today (was 9 three days ago):

http://ice-glaces.ec..._0006355215.gif

Hikers have spotted a few off the coasts around here but think the winds are keeping them well out at sea so only really visible with binoculars and not as dramatic as them being blown/washed nearer to shore. Will get out on the weekend and try and spot a few, get some pictures if possible.

Did see a few forecasts showing us getting some bigger snowfall next week but too early to know what it will be yet.

Amazing the warmth some parts are getting even relatively close like Halifax whilst were still in the freezer. Earlier in the week today and tomorrow was forecast to be a bit milder around 5 degrees but that has all been toned right down and peaked around 1 degrees today which looks about the max over the next 7 days.

Edited March 22, 2012 by glosteroldboy

[cheeky_monkey]

Well i have officially moved to Calgary as of last monday...i will still be fliting back to Edmonton for the next month to complete my house move.

Anyway was a kind of strange week i left Edmonton with nice sunshine all the snow had gone and was a relatively quiet week in Calgary apart from some snow on Thursday morning which had gone by end of work. So i drove back to Edmonton on Friday to be greeted by sub zero temperatures and a foot of snow and alot of drive shoveling...now warmed up again and have driven back to Calgary where it looks to be a decent week ahead apart from tomorrow.

So i bid a fond farewell to Edmonton....hope for a sunny warm Calgary spring and summer?

[Coopsy]

Well i have officially moved to Calgary as of last monday...i will still be fliting back to Edmonton for the next month to complete my house move.

Anyway was a kind of strange week i left Edmonton with nice sunshine all the snow had gone and was a relatively quiet week in Calgary apart from some snow on Thursday morning which had gone by end of work. So i drove back to Edmonton on Friday to be greeted by sub zero temperatures and a foot of snow and alot of drive shoveling...now warmed up again and have driven back to Calgary where it looks to be a decent week ahead apart from tomorrow.

So i bid a fond farewell to Edmonton....hope for a sunny warm Calgary spring and summer?

You could be in for a suprise today/tonight as a weather warning has just been posted for 4-8 inches of snow. The joys of spring

Congrats on the move - hope you enjoy calgary

[glosteroldboy]

Some weather on the way here, low pressure moving in now expected to stay pretty stationary over the island all week, central and western areas in line for a fair bit of snow (25cm) by tomorrow night, looks like going to be more of wintry mix/rain in these parts.

Seeing lots of icebergs, most quite a distance out but one drifted right past the harbour entrance yesterday, some good pics here:

http://newfoundsander.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/an-iceberg-outside-the-st-johns-narrows/