Updraft Category Archive: NWS

What, no wind chill? NWS dumps wind chill for "Extreme Cold"

Posted at 5:45 PM on November 9, 2011 by Paul Huttner (3 Comments)
Filed under: Astronomy, NWS

You won't hear any wind chill babble from your local NWS this winter.

NWS will exclusively use the new NWS "Extreme Cold Watches & Warnings."

The Twin Cities NWS will be one of 7 regional NWS offices that will dump wind chill for the new "Extreme Cold" wording this wnter.

I asked Todd Krause of the Twin Cities NWS about this today.

"Hi Paul...

We are doing the same as Bismarck.

There are seven offices in the experiment: Bismarck, Grand Forks, Rapid City, Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, Duluth, and us. More offices in the eastern region and a few in the south are trying it as well.

We'll be highlighting in a web headline after we're done with winter awareness week. It is just an experiment, meaning that wind chill products may return next year, depending on the results. Of course, our statements and warnings will still refer to wind chill values this winter.

Todd"

Bismarck NWS explains winter weather terms.

The story from the Bismarck Trubune.

"The National Weather Service in Bismarck says it won't be issuing wind chill values this winter.

Instead, the weather service will issue "extreme cold" statements when the actual temperature and wind combine to make it feel like 30-35 below zero across a wide area for several hours.

Harlyn Wetzel, meteorologist for the weather service in Bismarck, said the change in delivering the winter weather information is an experiment of sorts and people can participate in an online survey to tell the service if they like the changes - or if they don't like them.

The survey can be found on the National Weather Service website or you can email comments to john.paul.martin@noaa.gov.

Wetzel said one reason for the change is that many times in North Dakota, winter weather can be dangerously cold with little or no wind.

"In North Dakota, we have a lot of situations when the weather is extreme by any other standards than those of North Dakota," Wetzel said.

An "extreme cold watch" will be issued a day or two before the extreme cold conditions are possible and an "extreme cold warning" will be issued up to a day before."

The change may be somewhat semantics. One reason it evolved is that near the center of big sprawling arctic high pressure cells there is often little or no wind, but it's still dangerously cold. In fact the coldest air temperatures are often reached near the windless center of arctic high pressure systems.

The threshold for NWS "Extreme Cold" watches and warnings is any combination of temperature and wind that produces an "apparent temperature" (ie WIND CHILL!) of -30 or colder.

What do you think?

Heavy Wisconson Snowfall!

Yep. They got blitzed with the season's firt snow today in Wisconsin. The far southeast tip of Minnesota also got snow, where Caledonia in Houston County recorded 3".

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
428 PM CST WED NOV 09 2011

...RECENT REPORTED SNOWFALL TOTALS...

LOCATION SNOWFALL TIME LAT/LON

WISCONSIN

...ADAMS COUNTY...
ARKDALE 3.9 0414 PM

...JUNEAU COUNTY...
MAUSTON 1S 8.0 0421 PM 4
NEW LISBON 2N 4.0 0404 PM

...LA CROSSE COUNTY...
LA CROSSE NWS 4.0 0403 PM

...MONROE COUNTY...
WARRENS 5WSW 3.8 0412 PM
TOMAH 1.3 0333 PM

...RICHLAND COUNTY...
RICHLAND CENTER 4W 3.6 0423 PM

...TAYLOR COUNTY...
MEDFORD 4E 4.1 0332 PM

...VERNON COUNTY...
WESTBY 3ENE 3.7 0335 PM

OBSERVATIONS ARE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES WITH VARYING
EQUIPMENT AND EXPOSURE. NOT ALL DATA LISTED IS CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.

The heavy snow is a little earlier than average in most areas of western Wisconsin according to the La Crosse NWS.

Average First Date of Measurable Snowfall

Below are the average first dates of measurable snowfall for various locations in southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and western Wisconsin.

As we transition into the Winter season, many factors can influence the average first date of snowfall. Storm tracks across the Upper Midwest can lead to large gradients between snow and rain. Also, ground temperatures in the late Fall are still relatively warm, and if the observation is not taken immediately after the snow ends, some of the snow may melt. This is especially true during overnight snow events, where some of the snow can melt before the morning observation.

Sky show tonight!

If you can stand the chill in the air, remember to get out with clear skies tonight and check out the moon and Jupiter in close proximity tonight!

Uber Storm bashes Alaska:

There are reports of some damage in Alaska from the record "Epic" "Arctic Hurricane."

Winds have been clocked at 89 mph, well above hurricane force.

More from AP:

"Water already has reached homes in at least four Native villages, including Tununak and Kipnuk, state emergency managers said.

Zidek noted there have been no reports of injuries, and damage so far has been largely limited to blown-out windows and battered roofs. Hooper Bay and Tununak reported scattered power outages.

The highest wind gusts recorded -- 89 mph -- were at Wales at the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, said Bob Fischer, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.

In Nome -- the biggest of the coastal communities with about 3,600 residents -- wind gusted to 61 mph, Fischer said.

The storm knocked out power in the town for several hours before sunrise. Winds were expected to remain strong throughout Wednesday.

"Water was at the bases at a number of buildings but not in the homes yet," Fischer said. Tides could reach 7 feet above normal, he said.

The height of snow and hurricane-force winds hit Nome at about 2 a.m., police spokesman Zane Brown said. Some roof damage to homes was reported, he said."

PH

Comment on this post

Special Comment: NWS shines in tornado outbreak

Posted at 3:28 PM on June 18, 2010 by Paul Huttner (5 Comments)
Filed under: NWS, Severe weather

NWS survey teams were in the field Friday to assess the number and severity of tornadoes from Thursday's tornado outbreak. But the work they did before and during Thursday's outbreak likely saved many lives.

I do not hesitate to point out when I think NWS can do better. Issuing tornado warnings early this week for small "rotating" thundershowers that produced no severe weather was a bit aggressive I thought. But in the events leading up to and during Thursday, regional NWS forecast offices shined.

It started with a good lead time for the possibility of severe weather for Thursday. Both SPC and local NWS offices gave the public plenty of advance notice that severe weather was likely Thursday with outlooks and graphics. Even though from a synoptic meteorological perspective this was a pretty clear cut severe weather situation, NWS did an excellent job of previewing the event to the public.

As events unfolded Thursday SPC and local NWS offices were on the money with timely tornado watches and warnings. At one point yesterday, I counted at least 12 tornado warnings in effect at the same time for Minnesota, with a total of at least 20 of Minnesota's 87 counties under tornado warnings at the same time. I can't recall an event even approaching that intensity and coverage, and that doesn't even take into account severe thunderstorm warnings that were in effect at the same time.

I was too busy to count the actual number of Minnesota counties under severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings at the peak of Thursday's event, but I think an educated guess would have put that number at around 40 of Minnesota's 87 counties. Incredible.

MPR's All Things Considered host Tom Crann and I were talking about how we've never seen the MPR weather alert service that keeps track of severe weather so choked with warnings Thursday. It was hard to even get through the tornado warnings in one broadcast, let alone the severe thunderstorm warnings.

The bottom line is, regional NWS offices deserve our thanks for the excellent work they did Thursday. Grand Forks (GFK) Twin Cities (MPX) Duluth (DLH) La Crosse (ARX) Sioux Falls (FSD) and even Des Moines (DSM) all dispatched warnings and other critical weather information at lightning speed for parts of the huge MPR regional listening area.

Trained and dedicated volunteer SKYWARN severe weather spotters also provided critical "ground truth" as events unfolded.

As a broadcast meteorologist, it is good to know that we are supported by such a dedicated team of weather professionals in the Upper Midwest.

PH

Comment on this post

NWS looking for cooperative observers

Posted at 5:02 PM on April 6, 2010 by Paul Huttner
Filed under: NWS

Are you interested in measuring the rain outside your window today?

If so, you may want to look into becoming a cooperative weather observer for the Twin Cities NWS. The catch is, at least for now; you have to be near one of the following locations.

Farmington, Minnesota (Dakota County)
Clara City, Minnesota (Chippewa County)
Henderson, Minnesota (Sibley County)
Willmar, Minnesota (Kandiyohi County)
Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin (Rusk County)

So what does being a cooperative weather observer mean? Here's how the Twin Cities NWS describes the job.

"Being a NWS Co-Operative observer can be a demanding job. To provide accurate and complete weather data, observations are required seven days a week, 365 days a year. This does not mean that someone has to be monitoring the "weather" all the time; instruments are provided to monitor temperature and precipitation. However, someone should be available to record the daily maximum and minimum temperature, the precipitation, and snowfall. This generally is done around 7am, but observation times can be shifted to fit the observer's schedule.

This information is recorded on a form which is mailed monthly to the local NWS office for quality assurance before forwarding to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, North Carolina."

If you live in one of the areas above and are interested in being an observer, there is contact information here to get in touch with the Twin Cities NWS office.

If you've ever wondered how the data is collected and what kinds of instrumens are used, check this page out from the Twin Cities NWS.

Rain adding up in southern Minnesota:

Tuesday's rainfall is adding up along the Minnesota River where more persistent bands of rain have been moving through. So far the Twin Cities is reporting amounts on the order of .10" to .20" with NEXRAD storm total rainfall painting an expanding area of 1" plus amonts just north of the Minnesota River near New Ulm.

Storm total rainfall shows heavier one inch plus totals near New Ulm.

Expect a few more waves of rain through the overnight hours before the system begins to wind down early Wednesday.

PH