Pages

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

What a difference a day (or two) makes

Yesterday morning's snowfall reminds us just how hard it can be to forecast winter precipitation in this part of the country. While flurries were in the forecast, many areas of the metro region saw much more than flurries, with parts of eastern Shelby County getting up to 1/4-1/2" of the white stuff in moderate to heavy downbursts of snow showers. In Bartlett, I estimate we received about 0.2" of snow, which was pretty to see as it stuck to the roads, roofs, and exposed surfaces. Fortunately we got above freezing and it stopped early enough in the day that it didn't cause too many problems. I did see on my way home yesterday that some county thoroughfares were treated, but it wasn't quick enough for some locations that saw accidents from people not driving as carefully as they should have.

Now that that is behind us, a pretty strong high pressure system is shifting off to our east and southerly wind is beginning to blow over the area, bringing the promise of warmer days and plenty of sunshine to end the work week. In fact, the MWN forecast reflects that with mid 40s today and upper 50s to lower 60s the next 2 days! A steady south wind will continue until the next front moves in Friday night. A chance of rain exists with that front, though it shouldn't be a total washout. Cooler air looks to drop back in for the weekend while the extended forecast is still very much in doubt as computer models haven't settled on anything yet. The good news (or bad news I suppose) is that there is no more winter weather in the forecast for the next week - at least not yet.

No comments:

Post a Comment