Updraft: October 13, 2009 Archive

Forecast: Sunshine returns

Posted at 8:24 AM on October 13, 2009 by Paul Huttner

If there's one thing you can say about Minnesota weather; there's never a dull moment.

Monday's record October snow event was the latest in a series of big weather events. So far this year we've seen spring and summer drought, August tornadoes, record September warmth, and now record October snow. I can't wait to see what November has in store.

Today's sunshine will be welcome to snow weary Minnesotans. Look for highs to climb into the lower 40s, and most if not all of Monday's snow should be history by sunset tonight.

Another push of moisture will bring a mix of rain and snow to the metro starting Wednesday.

Temperatures should be just warm enough to prevent any big accumulations of snow at night, and most of what falls during the day should fall as rain in the metro. It may stay cold enough to keep precipitation mostly snow northeast of the metro in places like Rice Lake and Spooner.

A building ridge in the jet stream should push in this weekend. Look for sunny skies, and temperatures pushing 60 degrees Sunday and Monday. The longer term pattern looks snow free for now.

It's hard to believe that it was nearly 80 degrees just over two weeks ago. It seems like we transitioned directly from summer to winter this month. There is good news for fall lovers. It appears we will get our season back by the weekend.

Enjoy the sun and melting snow today!

PH

Report: 2009 Arctic sea ice cover 3rd lowest on record

Posted at 3:37 PM on October 13, 2009 by Paul Huttner

National Snow and Ice Data Center graph shows the downward trend in Arctic sea ice cover since 1979.

A new report from The National Snow and Ice Data Center indicates Arctic sea ice cover was the third lowest on record in September since satellite measurements have been taken starting in 1979. September is an important month for measuring ice in the Arctic Ocean because it reaches minimum coverage after the summer melt.

There are several notable data points in this month's data.

-The average Arctic ice cover in September was 2.07 million square miles, the 3rd lowest on record.

-Ice cover increased this year compared to the two lowest years in 2007 and 2008, but was still 649,000 square miles below the 1979-2009 September average.

-Only 19 percent of the ice cover was over 2 years old, the least in the satellite record and far below the 1981-2000 average of 52 percent.

The graphic below compares the last 3 years to the 1979-2009 average. Focus on the green areas and how much ice is over 2 years old. This is important because older ice is harder to melt than ice less than 2 years old.

The extent of ice coverage in the Arctic was at the lowest point in 2007. There has been some recovery since then, but ice cover is still well below the long term average.

2010 will be a critical year for assessing changes in Arctic sea ice. Will ice coverage increase next September or will it shrink and continue to stay well below the long term average?

Stay tuned.

PH