Winter Blizzard Driving Home Today

[55 Fargo]

Worked last night, doing many foot patrols throughout the night, wind snow and cold. 4-6 inches of snow, wind gusts from the northeast to 45 mph, and dropping temps, zero visibility, extreme snow drifting.

Took me 1.5 hours to drive home, the normal is 25 minutes. instead of driving 65 mph driving 30 mph or so. 2 thing worked in my favor, wind blew a lot of snow off the highway, very little traffic, and daybreak gave me better vision. My 3 miles on gravel road was not bad, mega drifts, but not too deep, snow is very dry and powdery as it is at colder temps. Driveway blown in bad but made it into the garage. Another Dodge completes a difficult mission, my 2005 Caravan with snow tires all the way around.

Wish I had my camera...

[JerseyHarold]

Winter sucks, doesn't it?

[1940plymouth]

Sunny day here with temp in the lower 40's, snow is melting at a fast rate, possible inch or so of rain tomorrow changing to ice then snow by Monday morning.

Edited December 28, 2013 by 1940plymouth

[Grdpa's 50 Dodge]

50 plus here today,,,beautiful,,,,tomorrow minus 2 low to 6 above high minus 20 to 30 wind chill.

 

Texas relatives say they were headed straight south this afternoon and in the morning trying to find some warm. 

 

Not a whiff of snow to be found today.

 

Can all you Canucks PLEASE keep the freezer door slammed shut tight??

[Dan Hiebert]

Sunny day here with temp in the lower 40's, snow is melting at a fast rate, possible inch or so of rain tomorrow changing to ice then snow by Monday morning.

Alas, its heading your way (again), Bob. Woke up to 19 degrees - for the "high" today. Light flurries off and on. Thankfully on this end of the State it didn't rain the last two days, where it was in the 40s, too, so we won't have so much ice. Supposed to gradually drop to a high in the single digits by Friday. I bet our Canadian and upper Great Plains friends are wishing for such balmy weather.

[TodFitch]

And some of us in California are really starting to worry about the lack of rain (coast and valleys) and snow (mountains). Apparently the driest calendar year on record for nearly all the state. Lots of stuff is done by irrigation but the water for that has to come from somewhere and those somewhere places are pretty dry.

[ggdad1951]

And some of us in California are really starting to worry about the lack of rain (coast and valleys) and snow (mountains). Apparently the driest calendar year on record for nearly all the state. Lots of stuff is done by irrigation but the water for that has to come from somewhere and those somewhere places are pretty dry.

 

it should, a large percentage of fruits for the US are grown in CA and most of that through irrigation.  I know there have been attempts to tap the Great Lakes and our watershed for growing crops in what in all reality is desert in CA.  Luckily so far they have been all shot down.  I know the Colorado River is drying up due to heavy use of it's resources....water will be a commodity in dire need in years to come.

[55 Fargo]

Manitoba has 100000 lakes so no water shortage here, plus the Hudsons Bay. It is wicked cold here since that snow storm on Saturday morning. It has been 20 below at night, get this -32f for tonight with a chance of a -48 to -50 windchill in the early am, this has me stressed out. This is wicked cold for even us.

Today drove into Winnipeg city, so wicked cold lots of traffic, some stalled cars and even big trucks. Modern vehicles really do stand up well in this cold, years back cars did not handle this as well...

[48Dodger]

Nor Cal has most of the water the Bay Area and So Cal use, but there isn't much being made right now. The Big Valley is big...and water will be an issue soon if we don't get a little wet out here. late rains ruin the crops so that won't help either...need it now. Not to mention the grass for the beef cattle...small stuff compared to the farmers, but its what my family does. The wine growers don't care as much with their drip systems, but a good rain never hurts. We have very little humdity out here (sacramento), which means we dry out quicker than most.......send some snow guys.

 

48D   

[Dan Hiebert]

"Lake Effect" snow warnings for areas east of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Somehow that always seems to include Greg G's haunts, and he can probably attest that Syracuse gets more snow annually than Buffalo. (We get a bad rap, all from one little storm in '77)

Edited December 31, 2013 by Dan Hiebert

[Don Coatney]

Lake effect snow does not have the same effect in all areas. A few years ago I lived near Buffalo on route 20A about 30 miles directly east of Lake Erie. I would frequently get hit hard with lake effect snow and Buffalo would get little to no snow. Pictured below is an example of my driveway.

 

Last Thursday I was driving on the 90 from Buffalo towards Cleveland. About 20 miles north of Cleveland I found myself in a whiteout due to the heavy lake effect snow. Traffic was crawling at about 10 miles per hour. Ten miles and one hour later the roads were clear and the sun was shining.

 

[55 Fargo]

50 plus here today,,,beautiful,,,,tomorrow minus 2 low to 6 above high minus 20 to 30 wind chill.

 

Texas relatives say they were headed straight south this afternoon and in the morning trying to find some warm. 

 

Not a whiff of snow to be found today.

 

Can all you Canucks PLEASE keep the freezer door slammed shut tight??

I suggest you mention this to Alaska, with all it's arctic air pushing down toward us and you.............................LOL

[TodFitch]

Lake effect snow does not have the same effect in all areas. A few years ago I lived near Buffalo on route 20A about 30 miles directly east of Lake Erie. I would frequently het hit hard with lake effect snow and Buffalo would get little to no snow.

Regarding lake effect snow, back when I was going to school in Rochester, NY and visiting my sister who was going to school in Ithaca, NY I noticed there was a narrow band of area on the north side of the Finger Lakes that got way more snow than either Rochester or Ithaca. Ran east/west parallel to Lake Ontario.

[55 Fargo]

Lake effect snow does not have the same effect in all areas. A few years ago I lived near Buffalo on route 20A about 30 miles directly east of Lake Erie. I would frequently get hit hard with lake effect snow and Buffalo would get little to no snow. Pictured below is an example of my driveway.

 

Last Thursday I was driving on the 90 from Buffalo towards Cleveland. About 20 miles north of Cleveland I found myself in a whiteout due to the heavy lake effect snow. Traffic was crawling at about 10 miles per hour. Ten miles and one hour later the roads were clear and the sun was shining.

 

In my area, both Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba , create the lake effect every year at the beginning of winter, until they freeze over, they are frozen over now...Looks like you used to shovel a lot of snow Don....... 

[1940plymouth]

No lake effect snow here, but we did get called out this afternoon to touch up and sand.  By the looks of the weather report, a foot or more of snow Thursday

[pflaming]

67 yesterday, same the rest of the week. Cold in the morning with slight frost on the grass. BUT WE NEED SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. That usually comes late January - March so . . . 

 

Happy New year. 

[TodFitch]

67 yesterday, same the rest of the week. Cold in the morning with slight frost on the grass. BUT WE NEED SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. That usually comes late January - March so . . . 

 

Happy New year. 

Complaining about sunny weather in the 60s and 70s seems like it might be bragging but it is a problem. . .

 

Seems like it usually starts in November or December with a pause and then resumes in late January. But we sure didn't get the November or December storms. That blocking high in the Pacific sent them around north and then on to the mid-west and east coast. Doesn't look good for the next week to ten days either. From the government forecaster for our area this morning:

 

THE STRONG HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL MAINTAIN DRY AND MILD CONDITIONS

WELL INTO THE NEW YEAR. HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO REMAIN

ABOVE NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR WITH 60S TO MID 70S EXPECTED

THROUGH THE PERIOD. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL CONTINUE TO BE CHILLY WITH

A CONTINUED DRY AIRMASS IN PLACE.

LATE IN THE FORECAST PERIOD...LATE NEXT TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY...MEDIUM

RANGE MODELS BRING AN UPPER LOW OVER THE RIDGE AND MOVE IT INTO

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. MODEL DIFFERENCES PERSIST WITH THE LATEST

OPERATIONAL RUNS OF THE ECMWF AND GFS BRINGING POSSIBLE SHOWERS TO

THE AREA DURING THIS TIME FRAME. THE LATEST RUN OF THE CANADIAN IS

MUCH DRIER. CONFIDENCE IS TOO LOW TO KEEP THE FORECAST ANYTHING

BUT DRY THROUGH THE SEVEN DAYS.

[55 Fargo]

Quit whining Flaming, or come join me in -30 weather Paul, if you have winter weather where it's dry temps above 50f, your laughing. Hey I get some of my best work done on old cars when temps are in 50s

[pflaming]

On the NEWS tonight, this year is the driest year on RECORD. Here in Fresno, CA we got a total of 3.2 inches of rain in 2013 and none in the forecast! 

[55 Fargo]

On the NEWS tonight, this year is the driest year on RECORD. Here in Fresno, CA we got a total of 3.2 inches of rain in 2013 and none in the forecast! 

Drought can be terrible too, had some dry years but nothing like that....mind you 30 below sucks big time

[54Illinois]

You guys think its bad...our chickens are moulting and we are getting zero temps!

 

[Dan Hiebert]

Lake effect snow does not have the same effect in all areas. A few years ago I lived near Buffalo on route 20A about 30 miles directly east of Lake Erie. I would frequently get hit hard with lake effect snow and Buffalo would get little to no snow. Pictured below is an example of my driveway.

 

Last Thursday I was driving on the 90 from Buffalo towards Cleveland. About 20 miles north of Cleveland I found myself in a whiteout due to the heavy lake effect snow. Traffic was crawling at about 10 miles per hour. Ten miles and one hour later the roads were clear and the sun was shining.

 

 

 

Regarding lake effect snow, back when I was going to school in Rochester, NY and visiting my sister who was going to school in Ithaca, NY I noticed there was a narrow band of area on the north side of the Finger Lakes that got way more snow than either Rochester or Ithaca. Ran east/west parallel to Lake Ontario.

It all depends on wind direction and speed, the higher the wind speed, the narrower and farther the snow band is, lower wind speeds "spread the wealth" over a wider area closer to the whichever Lake is generating the snow. The lake effect band off of Lake Erie can reach all the way to the Finger Lakes and beyond, without effecting Rochester or the southern end of the Finger Lakes very much. An interesting tidbit about that '77 storm that seems to define Buffalo - there wasn't more than 1/4 to 1/2 inch of new snow during the storm. Lake Erie had frozen over, the storm picked the snow up off the Lake ice and dumped it on Buffalo and points south (not "lake effect"). That "crushed" the snow (folks familiar with snow know what happens once you move it once) causing it to pack down tight. THAT was the problem (well, that and there was 10 feet of it in places), regular plows couldn't move it, they had to use earth moving equipment. Lake Erie, being the shallowest Great Lake, is the only one that freezes over on a regular basis, once it does, the lake effect doesn't happen. Lake Ontario doesn't freeze over, so south and east of the Lake will get pounded all winter, instead of just the beginning of it. Sorry this got a bit long winded, but I find these "subtle nuances" of living around the Great Lakes pretty interesting, especially having been raised in the southwest where we thought it was a hard winter when the puddles got a little ice on them, and I was convinced for the longest time that water froze at 70 degrees.

[JerseyHarold]

I lived in Bufalo for a while and the Southtowns (southern suburbs) usually got a lot more snow than Buffalo itself due to the wind patterns.  My daughter and I both atttended SUNY Geneseo (about 60 miles east of Buffalo and thirty miles south of Rochester) and that town gets a lot less snow than surrounding communities, possibly due to being near a large valley.