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100 more tornadoes April 19-24, 2011

April 25th, 2011 Posted in Spring | Comments Off
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As spring continues to rear its ugly head we are seeing more and more severe weather.  Last week I looked at the severe weather outbreak from the week of April 10-16, 2011.  Today I am looking at the severe weather that occurred most of last week.  I am happy to report that there was less severe weather during April 19-24, 2011, but not too much less.  There were still over 1000 reports of hail and over 850 reports of high winds!  121 tornadoes were reported, with most of them occurring in Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana.  No huge whoppers like North Carolina last week but still pretty impressive. There was one tornado of note in St. Louis, MO on April 22 causing significant damage to the airport.  The windows were blown out at the main terminal.

It looks like more severe weather is on tap for the Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi area the next couple days.

Here is a map of the tornado counts from the past several days:

200+ tornadoes reported April 14-16, 2011

April 18th, 2011 Posted in Spring | 2 Comments »
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A massive severe weather outbreak impacted much of the U.S. late last week bringing high winds, hail, and tornadoes to 20 states across the U.S. from Oklahoma and Texas east towards the Carolinas and Maryland.  There were over 359 reports of hail and over 436 reports of high winds.  The whopper of them all is there were 267 tornadoes reported.  Thankfully when the final analyses will be made that number of tornadoes will likely be reduced, due to some tornadoes being reported two or more times.  I mapped out the number of tornadoes that were reported and notice how Tennessee is the “hole” in the map.

Outline map of U.S. courtesy of mapoutlinepic.co.cc

2011 Warm Air Surge

April 12th, 2011 Posted in Spring | Comments Off
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As the warm front moved in and the cloud cover moved out over the Northeastern U.S. yesterday many locations saw temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above normal for this time of year.  For much of the region temperatures average around 50′s to 60′s for mid-April.  At least 9 cities in the Northeast broke or tied their temperature records yesterday.  It almost felt like it was summer and time to break out the air conditioners.  It was short lived though as a cold front passed through helping to cool things down.

City, State High Temperature (F) Notes
Albany, NY 82 tied record
Allentown, PA 84 1 degree above record
Boston, MA 72
Burlington, VT 73
Central Park, NY 81
Concord, NH 76
Georgetown, DE 79 1 degree above record
Glens Falls, NY 79
Gray, ME 64
Harrisburg, PA 84 2 degrees above record
LaGuardia Airport 75
Newark, NJ 87 3 degrees above record
Philadelphia, PA 83 1 degree from record
Portland, ME 65
Poughkeepsie,NY 83
Reading, PA 85 2 degrees above record
Scranton, PA 80
Syracuse, NY 85 2 degrees above record
Trenton, NJ 86 4 degrees above record
Watertown, NY 77 4 degrees above record
Worcester, MA 74

 

March 2011 Snowfall Totals

April 5th, 2011 Posted in Spring | Comments Off
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As we move into spring it is interesting to look back and see just how much snow some locations saw this past March.  As usual most of the locations with higher totals are up in the mountains either out west or up in the New England states.  The big cities across the U.S. on the whole didn’t seem to get a huge amount of snow this March, but I think for many people that is welcome.  I mean it is the start of spring, who wants lots of snow in the start of spring?

Location State inches
CRATER LAKE NPS HQ OR 148.8
LODGEPOLE CA 127.4
RAINIER PARADISE RS WA 119
HOLDEN VILLAGE WA 85.4
ALTA UT 84
MAMMOTH LAKES RS CA 78.5
ODELL LAKE-EAST OR 77.9
CLIMAX CO 74.4
MINERAL CA 62.5
MT WASHINGTON NH 58.5
JAY PEAK VT 54.3
BARROW WSO AP AK 3.4
JUNEAU AP AK 4.6
DENVER INTL AP CO 2.5
HARTFORD CT 1
DES MOINES AP IA 5.5
BOISE NWS WFO ID 1.1
CHICAGO MIDWAY AP 3SW IL 1.3
CHICAGO OHARE AP IL 1
INDIANAPOLIS INTL AP IN 1.5
TOPEKA BILLARD MUNI AP KS 2.6
BOSTON MA 0.7
CARIBOU WFO ME 24.9
DETROIT METRO AP MI 8.6
MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL AP MN 8.2
JEFFERSON CITY WTP MO 8
GREAT FALLS AP MT 4.1
MT MITCHELL NC 13.8
BISMARCK MUNI AP ND 13.4
OMAHA EPPLEY AIRFIELD NE 5.3
NEWARK INTL AP NJ 2.2
SANTA FE SETON NM 1.4
ALBANY INTL AP NY 8.2
NY CITY CNTRL PARK NY 1
COLUMBUS WSO AP OH 3.3
PITTSBURGH ASOS PA 5.5
PROVIDENCE RI 3.7
PIERRE RGNL AP SD 8
SALT LAKE CITY INTL AP UT 9.1
WASHGTN DULLES INTL AP VA 0.1
WASHINGTON REAGAN AP VA 0.2
MONTPELIER 2 VT 20
MILWAUKEE MITCHELL AP WI 3.8

2011 Highest Snowfall Totals by State

March 24th, 2011 Posted in Winter | Comments Off
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As we continue into spring I thought it would be nice to show the highest snowfall totals by state for those states that measured snowfall this winter.  I looked at how much snow fell between October 1, 2010 and earlier this week.  As expected a lot of the higher totals were out west.

Background map image courtesy of Google Maps.

Location State Snowfall Totals since October 1 (feet)
HAINES 40 NW AK 11.2
VALLEY HEAD AL 1.4
DEER AR 2.5
BRIGHT ANGEL RS AZ 7.4
LODGEPOLE CA 30.5
CLIMAX CO 21.4
STAFFORDVILLE CT 8.4
BEAR 2 SW DE 2.3
WILMINGTON NEW CASTLE DE 2.3
SILOAM 3N GA 1.2
WAUKON IA 5.3
DIXIE NORTH ID 15.0
PAW PAW 2 NW IL 4.9
SPRING GROVE IL 4.9
LAPORTE IN 8.9
LECOMPTON KS 3.6
HEIDELBERG 2N KY 3.6
SHREVEPORT WFO LA 0.5
WEST OTIS MA 10.1
OAKLAND 1 SE MD 11.2
RANGELEY ME 13.0
TWIN LAKES MI 16.4
MORGAN MN 7.9
NEW FRANKLIN 1W MO 4.3
ASHLAND MS 1.3
WEST YELLOWSTONE GATEWAY MT 15.2
MT MITCHELL NC 10.9
WILLISTON SLOULIN FLD ND 7.2
BLOOMFIELD NE 3.6
DIAMOND POND NH 14.5
HARRISON NJ 5.5
CHAMA NM 6.1
DAGGET PASS NV 16.8
HOOKER 12 NNW NY 16.1
CHARDON OH 11.9
SPAVINAW OK 2.8
CRATER LAKE NPS HQ OR 36.1
CHANDLERS VALLEY 1SE PA 12.6
WOONSOCKET RI 4.4
HARTSVILLE SC 1.0
LEAD SD 13.0
ALLARDT TN 3.0
VEGA 2NW TX 1.8
ALTA UT 31.6
NORA 4 SSE VA 6.3
MT MANSFIELD VT 19.1
RAINIER PARADISE RS WA 47.1
UPSON WI 11.9
TERRA ALTA #1 WV 16.1
MOOSE WY 14.3

Radiation Measurements in Tokyo

March 18th, 2011 Posted in weather data | Comments Off
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Here are some real-time radiation measurements from a geiger counter about 15 miles due west of Tokyo, Japan.

http://park30.wakwak.com/~weather/geiger_index.html

The levels appear to be slightly elevated from normal values for the area. This measurement sensor is about 150 miles south-southwest of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Current weather conditions for Tokyo are found here: http://park18.wakwak.com/~weather/WDlive/wdlive_index.html

It looks like winds are right now from the south and around 15-20 mph. What isn’t wanted is winds from the north and thankfully the forecast for the next couple days appears to keep it that way.

2011 Snow Statistics

March 14th, 2011 Posted in weather data, Winter | 2 Comments »
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Well we are getting closer and closer to the start of spring and oh is that a welcome sight for many.  This will hopefully mean an end to the snowy cold days.  This winter has been pretty good for some people with some locations in the Northeastern U.S. seeing above normal totals and in some cases record totals.

Back in the beginning of February (http://weatherarc.com/blog/2011/02/10/2011-snowfall-totals-for-u-s-any-records-broken/) I calculated how much snow a bunch of locations had received for the winter and compared it to their record seasonal snowfall totals.  Here are the updates on this.  I note Newark, NJ can now be added to the list of locations that set a new snowfall record this year. *Note all totals are in inches*

City Seasonal snowfall to date (March 13) Record Annual Snowfall Inches from Record Percent of record
New York City (Central Park) 60.9 75.6 14.7 80.56%
Chicago 57 95.3 38.3 59.81%
Philadelphia 44 65.5 21.5 67.18%
Dallas 4.3 17.6 13.3 24.43%
San Antonio 0.4 18.4 18 2.17%
Detroit 67.5 93.6 26.1 72.12%
Indianapolis 35.9 58.2 22.3 61.68%
Caribou 91.1 197.8 106.7 46.06%
Tulsa 26.1 25.6 -0.5 101.95%
Nashville 12.5 38.5 26 32.47%
Boston 79 107.6 28.6 73.42%
Baltimore 14.4 77 62.6 18.70%
Denver 18.5 118.7 100.2 15.59%
Milwaukee 60.1 109.8 49.7 54.74%
Reagan National Airport 9.9 56.1 46.2 17.65%
Atlanta 7.1 10.9 3.8 65.14%
Cleveland 65.7 117.9 52.2 55.73%
Albany,NY 84.1 112.5 28.4 74.76%
Providence 49.5 105.2 55.7 47.05%
Newark 66 65.8 -0.2 100.30%

Over 10 feet of snow in one winter!

March 4th, 2011 Posted in Winter | Comments Off
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Imagine seeing over 10 feet of snow in one winter, imagine seeing over 30 feet of snow in one winter.  I went through my records of locations with snowfall totals for this winter and found over 70 locations across the U.S. that measured over 10 feet of snow this winter.  There were likely many more locations that received that much snow but sadly there wasn’t someone there measuring the snow to let us know that.  The winner, based on my records, is Rainier Paradise Reserve in Washington.   They have measured over 480 inches of snow (over 40 feet) since October 1.

Where is Rainier Paradise Reserve site where this was measured: go to Google Maps and use the coordinates: 46.7858N  121.743W

In descending order here are the locations that measured 10 feet or more of snow this winter:

Location State Snowfall (inches) Snowfall (feet)
RAINIER PARADISE RS WA 481 40.1
CRATER LAKE NPS HQ OR 344.6 28.7
ALTA UT 327 27.3
LODGEPOLE CA 302.7 25.2
CLIMAX CO 229.8 19.2
HOLDEN VILLAGE WA 221.7 18.5
MT MANSFIELD VT 199.8 16.7
TWIN LAKES MI 187 15.6
CRESTED BUTTE CO 182.6 15.2
GRANT GROVE CA 182.3 15.2
ONTONAGON 8WSW MI 180 15.0
TERRA ALTA #1 WV 178.7 14.9
HOOKER 12 NNW NY 177.3 14.8
DAVIS 3 SE WV 173 14.4
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO 168.3 14.0
LEMOLO LAKE 3 NNW OR 167.5 14.0
MEACHAM #2 OR 166.4 13.9
DAGGET PASS NV 166 13.8
WEST YELLOWSTONE GATEWAY MT 163.9 13.7
BOCA CA 162.6 13.6
DIXIE NORTH ID 161.7 13.5
SYRACUSE HANCOCK AP NY 155.5 13.0
JAY PEAK VT 153.6 12.8
PIERCE ID 150.7 12.6
COOKE CITY 2 W MT 150.6 12.6
JEFFERSONVILLE VT 149.2 12.4
MOOSE WY 148.4 12.4
CHANDLERS VALLEY 1SE PA 147 12.3
GRAND LAKE 1 NW CO 145.6 12.1
LEAD SD 145.5 12.1
CHEMULT OR 144.1 12.0
DIAMOND POND NH 143.1 11.9
PICKENS 2 N WV 143 11.9
HANKSVILLE VT 142.9 11.9
PERRYSBURG NY 142 11.8
IRONWOOD MI 140.1 11.7
MAPLE CITY 1E MI 140.1 11.7
EDEN 2 S VT 136.4 11.4
OAK CREEK 7WSW CO 136.3 11.4
LAURIUM MI 136.3 11.4
MT WASHINGTON NH 135.9 11.3
MORRISVILLE 6 SW NY 135.3 11.3
BAYARD WV 135.3 11.3
RANGELEY ME 134.7 11.2
BIG SKY 2WNW MT 134.7 11.2
UPSON WI 133.7 11.1
MEACHAM WSO AP OR 133.3 11.1
HAINES 40 NW AK 133.2 11.1
GOULD 4SE SFSP CO 132.7 11.1
MINERAL CA 132 11.0
VALDEZ WSO AK 130.8 10.9
LONGMIRE RAINIER NPS WA 130.8 10.9
WEST WARDSBORO VT 130.2 10.9
MYSTIC LAKE MT 129 10.8
OAKLAND 1 SE MD 128 10.7
CHARDON OH 127.8 10.7
LAUREL SUMMIT PA 127.7 10.6
EASTON WA 127 10.6
HOWARD PRAIRIE DAM OR 125 10.4
AUBURN NY 124.8 10.4
CANAAN VALLEY 2 WV 124.4 10.4
BIG MOOSE 3 SE NY 124 10.3
BURGESS JUNCTION WY 123.8 10.3
SUNY ESF SYRACUSE NY 123.2 10.3
TOPSFIELD 2 ME 122 10.2
GREENLAND 6N MI 121.7 10.1
MARQUETTE WSO AP MI 121.5 10.1
WEST OTIS MA 121.4 10.1
SUNDERLAND 2 VT 121.4 10.1
POWNAL 1 NE VT 120.9 10.1
ODELL LAKE-EAST OR 120.7 10.1

Rain, Snow, and Warmth for Omaha

February 28th, 2011 Posted in weather data | Comments Off
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Omaha saw some excessively rainy months, somewhat dry months, some very snowy months, some very cold months, and some nice warm months these past 11 months.  They are heading towards below normal temperatures for this February and around 8.1 inches of snow for the month.

January 2010 started off cold with 6 days in that month having temperatures 20 degrees or more below normal, yes below normal!  It also snowed 10.4 inches that month.  Moving into February it was much colder than usual with the average monthly temperature being 7.3 degrees below normal.  For only the second time on record did they not see any days with a high temperature of 40 degrees or more.  Interestingly though, it was only the 26th coldest February on record.  By March Omaha received 47.6 inches of snow making it the 12th snowiest winter on record.  I didn’t realize that their annual average snow total is only around 30 inches.  I thought it was higher, by at least foot or two.  March ended on a nice warm note reaching 80°F.  The warmth continued into April with 15 days seeing temperatures 5 or more degrees above normal.  May was fairly typical temperature wise but it was a bit on the dry side.  June more than made up for that lack of rainfall with Omaha seeing a whopping 9.25 inches of rain for the month, over 5.3 inches above normal.  Though that amount of rain only made it the 7th wettest June’s on record.  The above normal rainfall continued into July but thankfully it only saw 6.32 inches of rain (2.46 inches above normal) and  2.74 inches of it fell on Independence Day.  If you thought the heavy rain was over it continued into August with August seeing 4.83 inches of rain (1.62 inches above normal).  August was also very warm with only five days in the entire month seeing temperatures below normal; every other day saw temperatures above normal.  June-August ended up being the 5th wettest June-August period on record.  September was fairly normal but it warmed up again for October with only 6 days that month seeing temperatures below normal.  November and December weren’t too far from normal with 8.2 inches of snow falling during those two months.  January 2011 saw 13.9 inches of snow over double the normal snowfall for the month.

Location 2010 Monthly Average Temperature (F) 30 Year Monthly Average Temperature (F) Difference
Omaha January January
16.7 21.7 -5 Colder
February February
20.7 28 -7.3 Colder
March March
40.8 39.3 1.5 Warmer
April April
57.3 51.4 5.9 Warmer
May May
61.9 62.2 -0.3 Colder
June June
74.3 72.2 2.1 Warmer
July July
78.1 76.7 1.4 Warmer
August August
79 74.5 4.5 Warmer
September September
66.9 65.4 1.5 Warmer
October October
57.3 53.2 4.1 Warmer
November November
39.9 38 1.9 Warmer
December December
24.6 25.6 -1 Colder
2011 Monthly Average Temperature (F) 30 Year Monthly Average Temperature (F)
January January
18.3 21.7 -3.4 Colder

Above normal temperatures in the U.S. last week

February 22nd, 2011 Posted in Winter | Comments Off
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Last week it was unusually warm across much of the U.S.  Some locations issued state of emergencies for their areas due to the likely flooding that would occur with all the melting snow.  The warmth definitely helped to reduce the snowpack some in many locations.  It was also a nice reprieve from the colder weather earlier this winter.  Almost made you wonder was Phil really correct in saying early spring.  Who knows.  It did however cool back down to normal this past weekend.  Oh well spring will be here soon enough.

Here are the temperatures for January 17-18, courtesy of the National Weather Service:

Location Thursday High (°F) Thursday Normal High (°F) Friday High (°F) Friday Normal High (°F)
Albany 50 35 60 35
Boston 60 39 60 39 Thursday one degree from tieing record.
Chicago 56 35 50 36
Columbus 65 41 63 41 both days within 2 degrees of tieing record
Des Moines 68 36 51 36 Thursday tied record
Detroit 54 35 54 35
Indianapolis 63 40 60 41
Lansing 55 33 56 33 Thursday one degree from tieing record and Friday broke record.
Minneapolis 46 29 30 30
New York City 63 41 67 42 Friday one degree from tieing record.
Omaha 68 39 54 39 Thursday one degree from tieing record.
Philadelphia 66 43 69 43 Friday tied record
Providence 52 40 60 40
Richmond 71 50 77 50 Friday tied record
Sioux Falls 50 32 35 33
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