Pardon the pun in the title of this post... we need some amusement after forecasting snow for almost every day for who knows how long.If you're reading this blog and you're north of I-88, you probably should feel lucky; your neighbors to the south along the tollway have already had a band of snow swing through this afternoon. Based on reports we've received out of eastern Iowa and around the Quad Cities, it would appear that most places are picking up an inch or two with this first round. The rest of us will see the snow activity pick up as we head into the nighttime hours; near the Mississippi, the snow should get underway around 9, and closer to 11 in the Rockford area. We expect the snow to taper off by noon.
3 to 6" is what we'll end up with in most areas, although we won't surprised to see a few totals in the neighborhood of 7". The only good thing about this snow - if one can even call anything about the snow "good" anymore - is that it'll be of the light, fluffy variety. Shoveling will be considerably less taxing on your body compared to last week's storm. Travel, however, will still be problematic through your morning commute on Tuesday. As always, have some extra time to reach your destination and leave plenty of room between yourself and the vehicle ahead of you.
22 comments:
I don't think I can take another snow day --I'm having serious cabin fever as it is. The kids will be going to school way into June at this rate!
Or maybe have a one-week summer vacation. :)
I'm curious to see if some schools will cancel if we see the 6+inch totals even though some schools have already reached there "snow day maximums"..
Great coverage as always guys!
That's fine with me. That means I do not need to find a babysitter for my kids during the summer ;-P.
Welcome Justin, I look forward to your contributions to this crazy blog. :-)
Hang in there Renee, I am sure spring will be here before we know it. I can't wait either.
I was talking on the phone today at work with another employee in the far northern part of my state (WI). She said she was jealous of all our snow; they have only had 2" of new snow since December.
I offered up some of ours free for the taking. Heck, I'd even help load it on the boxcars.
Eric, I think you and your team are doing a fantastic job. The weather has been keeping you very busy this season but we've been able to rely on you for up-to-the-minute coverage all the way through. Keep up the good work and THINK SPRING EVERYBODY!
I am thinking spring and will continue to do so until it gets here...but for now, I am interested in hearing more about what system we might possibly be expecting for Sunday? Does it look like it might be a system like we had last Wed?
Thanks for the nice comments you guys! I am getting weary of this winter weather...and am thinking spring as well!
Carrie: Don't hold me to this, but I am thinking 5 inches for Rockford tonight/tomorrow. 1-3 inches for Thursday night/Friday. Sunday's storm could be big, but a brief Canadian high for Saturday could shunt the system too far to the south to bring us anything! Stay tuned. -ERIC
Thank you Eric..just wanted to get an idea..will wait to see what happens.
I also want to commend you and Adam and Gretchen and Justin and everyone at WREX..you all do a fantastic job! We can depend on you no matter what...it's what makes WREX the best!!
Good call on the storm Eric. I remember last week right after the storm you were talking about tuesday, saying we could see up to 6-7". As far as snow days... one was pretty much wasted today because busses wouldn't start. Im sure they could have came up with a system to get everybody to school... The call was made at 4:30, there had to have been something they could have done.
I know this is off topic, but Eric... why the straight face during the WREX introductions? lol You are the only one not smiling! I just had to get that out of my system (I just saw it again). aha
Carrie: No, YOU are the best! :)
Justin: It's easy to see the storms coming down the pike on the models. It's hard to forecast their strength and impact though.
Jim: I have no idea. I can tell you I was in a good mood when the picture was taken though. ;)
All: Be careful on the roads tonight/tomorrow! Gonna get slick again.
Bring on SPRING! -ES
WHERE IS ALL THIS SNOW LOOKS TO ME IT DID NOT HAPPEN 4-8INCHES HOW COME SO FAR OFF WITH FORECAST NOT JUST YOU GUYS EVERYBODY INCLUDING THE NWS.
As of 4am, all Snow Advisories have been canceled. This doesn't mean we are in the clear just yet. Another batch of snow rotating in eastern Iowa should be swinging our way around lunchtime. Look for an additional inch of snow or two as this storm swings into the Great Lakes region.
Chad, patience my man. The storm system hasn't even passed yet. If need be, I can post full analysis when it is through the area.
I know, it looks like most of the snow is in wisconsin. But I read the overnight forecast discussion from the NWS, and it did say we may not get much because of the snow and ice storm that happened in southern illinois and it robbed our moisture. Adam, if this was not the right thing to post, go ahead and delete it.
Hey Chad, I don't know if you realize this, but in email/chat room comments, using all caps is considered shouting.
I don't think you meant to shout your whole message, but that's how it comes across. Don't yell at the forecasters --they're doing the best they can :-)
tony,
I am at work in Madison, WI and I can confirm that it is definitely snowing here.
Well based on adams noon weathercast, sounds like the 3-6 inches of snow happened, but went into wisconsin instead of us. Adam, can you give us an analysis as to why we didn't get it, or is that pretty much what happened.
I'M NOT SHOUTING RENEE!
It appears to me that three things led to our diminished snowfall.
First, and most importantly, the snow band set up farther north than we planned. As you can well imagine, that throws a wrench into the forecast right away. :)
Second, this storm system wasn't as vigorous as the last one, as far as how "deep" the low was. The air wasn't ascending to the point that saturation was reached in a very widespread area. With our last storm, there was a lot of lift... this one, not so much.
Third, some dry air got into the upper level portion of the system that was affecting us. Avid weather watchers realize that dry air - whether at the surface or aloft - is the bane of our snowfall forecasting existence.
It's pretty easy to look at things after the fact and figure out why something did or didn't happen. I think this is one of the rare times, though, that people are all right with the forecast being off. ;)
(For what it's worth, the southern third of Wisconsin is generally seeing snowfall totals of 2-4" right now.)
I guess that moderate band of snow I saw on the weather channel must be coming thru, it is really coming down hard here right now in loves park. Very big flakes.
Post a Comment