Updraft: February 8, 2010 Archive

Storm Update: Snow continues, slick PM rush ahead

Posted at 10:12 AM on February 8, 2010 by Paul Huttner (1 Comments)

5" on the back deck at the Huttner Weather Lab in Deephaven as of 9:30am.

The snow is piling up with some impressive totals today. As of mid morning here are some of the heftier snow totals.

-Willmar 7.5"
-Deephaven 5"
-Morris 4.7"
-New Market 4.5"
-Albert Lea 4.5"
-Hutchinson 4.4"

You can check the latest updated snowfall totals here as they come in today.
-Twin Cities radar loop
-Winter storm warnings
-Twin Cities winter storm page
-MNDOT traffic cams and info

Expect snowfall of varying intensity to continue through PM rush and through the overnight hours. Most areas will see an additional 3" to 6" if accumulation by midday Tuesday. That should put storm total snowfall in the 5" to 10" range for the metro, with some heavier 10"+ totals possible from Willmar through Litchfield and Mankato to Albert Lea.

It looks like snow to water ratios are around 15:1 so far for this storm.

Here are a few more pics form the weather lab this morning.

Bird bath at the Weather Lab shows the cumulative effect of a snowy week.

Fence sporting fresh snowfall

Giant icicles portray February's icy grip

Snowy landscape

Stay safe and enjoy the snow if you can!

PH

(Original post 8:25am)

Today is what we call a "window" forecast. Look out the window, and what you see is what you get.

A huge area of snow stretches all the way from Grand Forks to the North Shore and all the way south through Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas today. This large, slow moving storm system is producing a consistent area of snowfall. Because of the slow speed of the storm, this long duration snow event will continue into Tuesday.

Here are the highlights from the storm so far, and what you can expect today and tonight.

-Twin Cities, St. Cloud and central Minnesota snowfall totals so far include 2" to 4" in the as of 8am this morning. I measured a fresh 4" at the Huttner Weather Lab in Deephaven this morning in the west metro.

-Northwest Minnesota and the Red River Valley is reporting 6" in Pelican Rapids, 5" in Fargo Moorhead and about 3.3" in Grand Forks.

-Northeast Minnesota is reporting anywhere from 1.7" in Duluth, to as much as a foot of snow in Finland.

-Southeast Minnesota reports 2.1" at Winona as snow beging to accumulate after later start times.

-Southwest Minnesota and eastern South Dakota reports 3" to 5" so far in some areas. Sioux Falls set a daily snowfall record Sunday.

-The core of the storm will produce snowfall through today and tonight. I expect another 4" to 6" through tonight in most areas of central and southern Minnesota. That should put snow totals at between 5" and 10" by Tuesday morning in most areas.

-It appears the "sweet spot" for heavy snow is setting up as expected from St. Cloud through Litchfield, the west metro down to Mankato and Albert Lea. I expect we will see some totals in excess of 10" in these areas by Tuesday afternoon.

The bottom line is the snow will continue to fall at the rate of about 1" every 2 to 3 hours today. Expect snow covered roadways and slick travel well into Tuesday.

PH

(1 Comments)

Storm Continues: Nightmare PM rush in progress

Posted at 3:36 PM on February 8, 2010 by Paul Huttner (2 Comments)

A car spins put on Highway 494 at Stone Road in Minnetonka this afternoon.(MNDOT traffic cam)

Here we go again.

Another nightmare rush hour is in progress in the Twin Cities. Travel anywhere in Minnesota is difficult today. On a scale of 1 to 10 the hassle factor on this storm is about a 9.

The slow moving low pressure system causing the hassle is spinning near Sioux Falls this evening as it churns slowly south into Iowa tonight. Snowfall will continue through this evening and into Tuesday in most of southern Minnesota before tapering off by around lunchtime as the storm begins to pull away. That means another slick rush hour on tap for Tuesday morning, and a rough night of travel around the state.

Widely variable snow totals:

Snowfall reports with the storm so far have been pretty close to expected with some interesting exceptions. As expected, the heaviest snow has fallen in central Minnesota and the south and west metro, with lesser amounts in St. Paul and the east metro. Here are some updated totals:

-Chanhassen 5.9"
-Deephaven 5.9"

0235 PM SNOW NEW MARKET 44.57N 93.35W
02/08/2010 M3.5 INCH SCOTT MN TRAINED SPOTTER

STORM TOTAL 8.0

0137 PM SNOW LAKEVILLE 44.68N 93.24W
02/08/2010 M5.5 INCH DAKOTA MN TRAINED SPOTTER

0137 PM SNOW PRIOR LAKE 44.73N 93.43W
02/08/2010 M6.0 INCH SCOTT MN NWS EMPLOYEE

In a quirk of this storm, there appears to be a snow deficit near the Twin Cities Airport. So far the NWS is reporting only 2.4" at MSP through noon. This is likey due to the linear nature of the intense snow bands which have so far avoided the area neat Bloomington and Twin Cities Airport.

-Twin Cities International Airport 2.4"

1241 PM SNOW BLOOMINGTON 44.83N 93.32W
02/08/2010 M2.6 INCH HENNEPIN MN TRAINED SPOTTER

IN LAST 6.5 HOURS

0834 AM SNOW 5 SW ST PAUL 44.90N 93.17W
02/08/2010 M3.5 INCH RAMSEY MN TRAINED SPOTTER

Since snowfall reports always come in dribs and drabs to the NSW from observers during storms, you can get the latest NWS snowfall summaries below.

Stay safe and allow plenty of extra travel time today!

-Twin Cities radar loop
-Latest snowfall summary
-MNDOT traffic cams and info

PH

(2 Comments)

Snow continues overnight; slick AM rush ahead

Posted at 6:30 PM on February 8, 2010 by Paul Huttner

Make it stop!

Snowfall will decrease in coverage overnight in southern Minnesota, but a persistent band looks like it may linger over the Twin Cities metro into Tuesday morning.

Winds will increase a bit overnight into to 10-20 mph range, and some blowing snow is likely in open areas. Cold arctic air behind the storm is wrapping into southwest and south central Minnesota. Temperatures will remain near and below zero overnight.

This marathon snow event has produced snow for 30 hours in many Minnesota locations. As of 6pm, anywhere form 5" to 9" has fallen in the metro. For some reason NWS "official" snowfall reports for Twin Cities Airport are slow in coming today in the local storm reports.

I expect an additional 2" to possible 4" overnight in the Twin Cities, with lesser amounts elsewhere.

A band of lake effect snow will continue to produce snowfall near Duluth.

Here are some ways to keep track of the storm as we head into Tuesday morning.

-Twin Cities radar loop
-Latest NWS snowfall summary
-MNDOT traffic cams & info
-Latest surface map
-Latest hourly observations

PH