Winter Weather Thread: 2013-2014

[Invader3K]

I almost got t-boned by an inattentive driver on his cell phone, about three blocks from my house, this morning. Other than that, roads were not nearly as bad as I'd been lead to believe.

[jjkoestler]

How's it looking OWBC?

[owbc]

Generally the same forecast as before, 6-8" or so. The totals on the edges are more in question. See map from the NWS below.

 

Start time is 10 PM-midnight, the bulk of the snowfall will come overnight and early tomorrow morning. Have fun!

 

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/mkx/snowaccum/SnowMap_WI.png

[Patrick425]

Generally the same forecast as before, 6-8" or so.

 

 

Actually the totals on that map were about 33% greater last night. When I looked at that same map last night it stated that Waukesha would get 9.1 inches. Also, stated that it would start at 6 or 7pm. Now it's saying 10 or 11pm. Not that I'm a "weather expert" but when I look at the current radar it looks like it's going to briefly clip us tonight and then stop and then maybe we will get another round in the morning.

[owbc]

All the snow is coming from that area of precipitation in Iowa/Missouri/Kansas which is headed straight for Wisconsin. The other area is associated with the warm front and is mostly mixed precipitation. Timing does look delayed, the main event won't make it to Milwaukee until well after midnight, maybe close to sunrise (edit: I fail at nowcasting, it's snowing everywhere now). That's kind of surprising and could result in even lower totals than the current 5-8" forecast.

 

The models did want to make the storm stronger yesterday but overall it never looked all that impressive (see my post on Dec. 19). It's kind of a shame because it had an extremely strong jet stream to work with but the timing didn't work out for it to phase nicely. All those thunderstorms are also stealing its moisture.

[logan82]

South Central Wisconsin we have our 4" it can stop now.

[Baldkin]

[jjkoestler]

Thanks, OWBC.

 

I heard rumblings and thought "Thundersnow!" Unfortunately it was just a plow.

[adamb100]

Snow is pretty much done. Got around 5 inches.

[BradWI]

Another decent storm New Year's eve/day?

[owbc]

The next cold wave looks like the coldest one in at least a few years. Madison might be able to get a low below -20 F sometime around the 5th-7th. Highs stay below 0 for a couple days.

[adamb100]

But we're already in a cold wave.

[owbc]

Very cold temperatures on Monday. Milwaukee: low -15, high -7; Madison: low -25, high -15, northern WI should be well below -30 F on Sunday night. Cold air arrives during the Packer game on Sunday--it will probably be the second coldest game ever (behind the Ice Bowl)--temperature starting around -5 dropping to below -10 by the end of the game, wind chill -25 to -40.

 

This one is probably the coldest since Feb 3, 1996 when Madison had a low of -29. There was also a prolonged period of cold in Jan 1994.

[hawing]

That January 1994 super cold snap was something else. Madison had three consecutive -27 degree lows, which I think are still records.

 

An HVAC failure in my library's building led to a gush of water in part of our stacks one day that month, which in a historical research library is not good news. Although the cold probably contributed to the HVAC problem, it also allowed us to freeze-dry damaged collections by just storing them in a rented truck, instead of renting a refrigerated truck.

[owbc]

I was in first grade in 1994, I still remember the principal coming on the loudspeaker to cancel school the next day. I think we got at least 2 days off for that one. Schools will definitely be closed on Monday.

[whizkid]

I remember the -26 in Milwaukee in Jan '82. The dashboard on my car cracked with about a 1/4" gap. That was part of "cold sunday".

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Sunday

[hawing]

Huh. I remember the winter of 1981-1982 being intense in terms of snowfall, but I'd have to look at my teenage diaries (gulp) to see what I thought about Cold Sunday.

 

In south central Wisconsin (Monroe for sure), Christmas 1983 was especially nasty cold. I remember this because it was the only time I have ever attended a midnight Mass (my brother was serving at it), and the wind chill was reportedly in the 70s below zero.

 

About an hour ago, the NWS issued a Wind Chill Warning (not just Advisory) for most if not all of Wisconsin for varying parts of Sunday through Tuesday, so that should take care of a lot of K-12 school activity at least on Monday.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Yesterday I picked my wife up from work just after 4 pm. She commented that "it doesn't seem too terribly cold out, today, does it?"

 

Drove past the mall. * -2 F *

 

"No, it actually isn't too bad today"

 

I realize us northern folk are hearty stock and all, but you know it's been brutal cold when -2 seems "not that bad"

[Patrick425]

I remember the -26 in Milwaukee in Jan '82. The dashboard on my car cracked with about a 1/4" gap. That was part of "cold sunday".

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Sunday

 

I definitely remember this. It was very windy as well. I have this picture in my mind of my Dad driving me to my bowling league down Hwy 100 (I can't believe he did this...very unlike him) in blowing snow blizzard type conditions.

 

I'm pretty sure each weekend during that January had some sort of weather event. I think there was another weekend during that January that involved a major snow storm.

[adamb100]

MPS is closing Monday because of the cold and Scott Walker is thinking about closing all schools for the day.

[jjkoestler]

Why are they closing schools several days in advance? Childcare issues?

[logan82]

Companies are closing for the day as well.

[whizkid]

Why are they closing schools several days in advance? Childcare issues?

 

Might as well do it early. Cold is a lot easier to forecast than where snow will hit and the amount a particular area will get.

[1992casey]

I don't think of zero as cold, but that comes from living in the northern half of the state. A couple of days ago, the temperature in Milwaukee was about zero, but there was little wind and the sun was out. I thought it it was a gorgeous day. I thought today was nippy but not necessarily uncomfortable. Given the upcoming weather forecasts, I think I'll be feeling cold soon enough, though.

[hawing]

I'm pretty sure each weekend during that January had some sort of weather event. I think there was another weekend during that January that involved a major snow storm.

My memory is much the same. The spring semester of 1982 was when I was student driving. Two other girls and I were assigned Friday afternoons to drive with the driver's ed teacher. Several Fridays were bad weather for winter driving - like early dismissal bad weather - and this teacher would be all, "Welp, ready to get out there?"

 

I also remember the terraces in Monroe being piled so high with snow that when we did go driving, the teacher wouldn't let me go through an intersection until I could see that no traffic was coming - which required edging out into the intersection.

 

Punch line (not related to weather): between my sophomore year and my sister's sophomore year five years later, the driver's ed teacher earned himself an OWI conviction. He was allowed to drive for his job (which of course was TEACHING STUDENTS HOW TO DRIVE).