Updraft: December 29, 2008 Archive

Speed bumps in the jetstream

Posted at 7:00 AM on December 29, 2008 by Craig Edwards

The weather maps are showing a meridonal or zonal flow over the continental US for much of the week. This rather strong west to east movement of air occasionally spins up what we call a short wave or a kink in the flow pattern. This typically induces some circulation sufficient to stir up some snow flakes.

One such system produced three inches of snow in north central and northeast Minnesota overnight. Another such system will likely deposit two to four inches of snow through parts of central Minnesota later tonight and Tuesday morning.

Snowfall potential

A week ago, we awoke to sub zero temperatures, with a low of 13 below in the Twin Cities; twenty-one degrees below the 30 year normal low. This morning, the low was 27 degrees in Minneapolis/St. Paul; twenty-one degrees above normal. Toss these numbers together and over time you establish the regional climate.

Hold on to your hat today. Wind gusts of over 40 mph have already been reported in western Minnesota. It will be a blustery day.

CE
naturesmessenger.com

Record territory

Posted at 4:14 PM on December 29, 2008 by Paul Huttner

Deep snow covers parts of the Upper Midwest this December

The guy who plows my driveway is making up for lost time this winter.

Another in our December series of snow systems is making a beeline for Minnesota tonight. This Alberta Clipper-Montana Mauler hybrid looks like it will lay down another swath of 3" to 6" along and north of the I-94 corridor.

Look for snow to begin in the metro after midnight, reach peak intensity just in time for morning rush hour, and taper off after lunch Tuesday. Most of the metro should see between 2 and 4 inches with his system. The best chance for a 6" total appears to be in the north metro and points north. If the storm takes a more southerly track, those totals could slip down into the metro.

Twin Cities NWS storm information

All this snow is setting some December records here in the region. La Crosse has scraped 31.5" of snow off the sidewalk so far this month. That's the snowiest December on record, and nearly a winter's worth of snow in one month!

La Crosse NWS December snow data

Duluth has bagged 36.9" so far. St. Cloud, Rochester, and Eau Claire are all in the top 10 for December snowfall. In the metro, another 3.2 inches will vault the metro into the top 10 snowiest Decembers on record.

Twin Cities December snow stats

We'll have a shot with Tuesday's snow, but it's a record you may not want to set.

For snow lovers this is our year!

I just hope I'm this enthusiastic about snow in February.

PH