Comments on: Cold front could rock SW Virginia with gusts similar to those of Superstorm Sandy

By: wdbrand-rke. co. 1827'

wdbrand-rke. co. 1827' — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:17:48 +0000

High was midnight at 43*. Sho ain’t been no heat wave since then.

By: joe

joe — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:02:33 +0000

Sleet is sleet…
I know of no source that that talks about
the percentage of a raindrop that has to have a bit
of ice to be called sleet.
Sleet can be mixed rain and snow. (snowy ice at the drops nucleus)
Theres hard frozen ice bits where the air near the surface is
below freezing.
Then there is graupel.
Kevins sleet could be graupel thats mushy or mostly liquid
on its perimeter.
Sleet imbedded in mostly water that freezes on impact is extremely
hazardous to flying. Much more so than snow.
Much testing has been done by engineers
on deicing aircraft and changes made to the procedures since the infamous
Air Florida crash in DC that went into the Potomac River in 1982.

By: Kevin Myatt

Kevin Myatt — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:33:40 +0000

NWS-Blacksburg’s forecast discussion mentions the potential for blizzard conditions along the higher ridges of WVa — more later on Friday than earlier. (Also notes potential for accumulating ice/snow after Christmas, though forecasts are sticking with warmer temps and mostly rain for now.)

http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=RNK&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1&highlight=off

I’ve driven smack into those blizzard conditions in the higher elevations of West Virginia during upslope events in the past. Somehow I think Blacksburg Mike probably has too.

By: Mike from Marshall

Mike from Marshall — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:29:08 +0000

Hey Brian from Goodview keep us all posted on whats happening up there at Snowshoe and how hard and how much snow is acculating.Thanks Mike!

By: Blacksburg Mike

Blacksburg Mike — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:28:38 +0000

Matt (comment 66)-those blizzard warnings are issued out of the NWS-Sterling, which seems to have a “thing” for blizzard warnings (see Hurricane Sandy). Pocahontas County, WV (Snowshoe) is handled by the NWS-Charleston, WV and tend to be more conservative (like NWS-Blacksburg) when it comes to blizzard warnings. Regardless, blizzard conditions are likely anywhere above 3,000′ along the WV/VA and TN/NC border over the next 36 hours.

By: Mike from Marshall

Mike from Marshall — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:25:11 +0000

Low this morning was 33, high only made it up to 44 here.Was calling for low 50`s but was not even close.Rain now and 41.I`m not gonna even think about this next storm till at least Chrismas day.Models will change 100 different times between now and then.

By: Kevin Myatt

Kevin Myatt — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:09:57 +0000

Here’s the 48-hour precipitation output on the 18Z GFS through the afternoon of 12/27, most of which would be snow. Generally 10+ inches along Va-NC border and south, trending back some as you head north. Would be solid snow areawide. Also total fantasy at this point, but store it away for future reference, not so much for the details of track and amounts but the continued trend eastward.

http://tinyurl.com/d7k94c2

By: Kevin Myatt

Kevin Myatt — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:02:43 +0000

18Z GFS goes out to sea with storm and buries North Carolina more than Virginia — taken very literally. But he probably means that a path like that probably would dump big snow in western Virginia, rather than what the literal model output shows.

That said, snow lovers should be encouraged some when the GFS starts kicking out out-to-sea solutions instead of far inland. It’s a major shift east, and out-to-sea tracks usually pull a bit back to the northwest.

By: Jared French of Greene county

Jared French of Greene county — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:46:45 +0000

What’s the chances of 18Z GFS happening? DT says this run buries western Virginia in snow! Oh please let this be the storm path!!! LOL I think I’m losing it!

By: Kevin Myatt

Kevin Myatt — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:35:20 +0000

Doug: What I saw was obviously sleet, ice particles that bounced a few inches off my car hood and windshield. Weren’t a lot of them, but easily met any reasonable definition of sleet.