Updraft: December 10, 2008 Archive

Not recommended

Posted at 8:58 AM on December 10, 2008 by Craig Edwards

Late Monday evening, as the snow was still falling, I was outdoors trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue. Not much luck, so, on a whim, I reached down and grabbed a handful of freshly fallen snow and tasted it. Quite the sensation.

Surfing the web, I learned that eating snow, even freshly fallen snow, is discouraged. You frankly don't know where those snowflakes have been as they fluttered down from two miles overhead.

So, don't eat snow accept for that one time when you could report to your grand kids that when you were young you ate snow. Don't make it a habit. Drink fresh water instead.

They will receive a nice fresh coating of snow in northern MInnesota today. Duluth could get a couple of inches as a push of milder air stirs up some precipitaiton.

CE
naturesmessenger.com

We're due

Posted at 5:54 PM on December 10, 2008 by Paul Huttner

NOAA 5-Day precipitation forecast hinting at big snow for northern Minnesota.

After a series of clippers sweeping through coating lawns and fields in Minnesota with lighter snows, we're due for a big one. It appears our persistent northwest flow in the jet stream will buckle and blow from the southwest this weekend. That's where the big storms come from, as they suck up gulf moisture and ring it out over Minnesota in the form of heavy snow.

The track of this weekend's system is still uncertain. Right now it appears the heaviest snow could fall in the Red River Valley and much of the eastern Dakotas and western and northern Minnesota. Enough warm air may surge ahead of the storm to create a messy mix of rain, freezing rain, snow and sleet in the south. If the track shifts further south and east, so will the heavy snow bands.

Stay tuned to our daily weather chats on MPR as Craig Edwards and I wrestle with the incoming systems track, moisture profile and thermodynamics.

We had a GREAT conversation today on the Jet Streaming podcast with climate change heavyweight and IPCC author Dr. Stephen Schneider form Stanford on the potential Obama administration approach to climate change.

Check it out here: Jet Streaming podcast

Stay tuned!

PH