Breezy, cold, a few more snow showers
Appomattox and Buckingham counties east of Lynchburg were the snow bullseye on Saturday, with several reports of 5-7 inches in that area from a slow-moving heavy snow band sliding southeastward on the western edge of a much broader area of snow that brought lighter accumulations to much of the Carolinas and southern and eastern Virginia. Overnight, upslope snow bands to the west may add some more white to the ground in locations primarily west of I-77 and near the West Virginia border, with some snow showers farther east in the New River Valley, perhaps even some flakes in the Roanoke Valley. A few heavier bands could bring a white ground farther east. Northwest winds overnight are bringing a punch of Arctic air, with lows in the teens west of Roanoke, and perhaps a few readings even colder than that. Highs will struggle to make freezing in most areas Sunday, but will vault back up into the 40s and even low 50s during the day Monday.
We have two precipitation events to watch in the week as low-pressure systems move east out of the central U.S. and pull moisture northward ahead of them. Each of them — the first arriving late Monday night into Tuesday, the second Thursday night into Friday — may run into some leftover cold air banked against the Appalachians. A brief period of freezing rain, sleet or even snow is possible late Monday or early Tuesday with the first system before most areas change quickly to rain. The late-week system, however, may encounter more blocking features to the north that hold the cold air in more strongly, with a chance for more significant and widespread wintry precipitation. We’ll follow the details as the week develops.
February 16, 2013 - 11:49 PM
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Taking a bit of blog respite on Sunday. Will publish comments from time to time, but probably won’t be on much myself.
Nice-looking band of snow making its way through Craig County, headed for Roanoke. Just one little problem. Catawba Mountain in NW Roanoke County. It seems to be putting up a stop sign. C’mon snow. Give KM a silly little inch.
Snowflakes fluttering in the lights in downtown Roanoke as I’m getting ready to leave.
Wow, interesting drive home. Heavy snow squall when I left downtown, with some white on sidewalk and parking lots and even roads just north of downtown. But I ran out of it on I-581 about Wonju, and there were stars out in south Roanoke County where I live. Looks like snow squalls might be edging our way a bit now.
It’s cold in Glenvar and the wind is up. But no snow.
Light covering here in Salem
Check that last post. The ground was white 20 min later!
Nine yes that’s 9 degrees this morning in Burke’s Garden with wind and snow. We got about another inch overnight.
We are on ECT up here in Dopplerville. It is 11 this morning and we have a dusting of snow – about an inch. Of course, the wind is blowing.
Somewhere between 1/2 inch and an inch of snow here.
A dusting of snow fell at my folks house in SW Roanoke County. Enough to make the ground white.
Minor dusting in my yard in south Roanoke County. Not quite enough to be truly white but a little on grass and exposed objects. Saw it snowing vogorously a couple of times in the wee hours of the AM.
Now that I’ve been out to measure……..we have 0.80 snow.
About 3/4 inch in Pulaski this morning. 14 degrees at 7:30
I got about half a dozen flakes on the ground here. =P Seriously, it looks like a moderate spotty frost. NWS says “snow likely” for today. Not sure I believe it.
About an inch of snow in Myrtle Beach says a friend whose son lives there. 15 at dawn here in Hokieburg and only snow in cracks and crevices that has managed not to blow away. Very blustery and cold. Reading 16 now and that is on cold side of house.
We have nearly an inch of snow this morning. Roads are covered and winds are howling. Sunday School is canceled but we will have worship at 11am. Going to be a cold blustery day today. Sitting on 19 right now.
Blacksburg NWS has 1-3 inches of daytime accumulation expected today? is this a fluke?
Came back from walking the dogs and the temp is now 12 degrees- wow what a heat wave. Still having some flurries and some strong winds in Burke’s Garden. Husband was called out to work roads so I am snow widow today.
Well, that’s a first. Roads look like they had been salted in CS and not a flake here.
KM turning into the “star” of the Roanoke Times. Full page stand alone ad for the weather journal in today’s paper. Nice job Kevin.
We got about 1″ last night starting a little after midnight when it came down fast and stuck. The plows have been by so the main road is clear now. It’s 20 and blowy.
I had a strange appearance on my property when I awoke late at 8:20, temp was 21. Frosting of snow on the mulch and driveway, but the grass was snowfree. Huh? Maybe because just about all the grass was in the sun? But even the driveway in the sun still had itsy amount of snow on it. Weird.
DC, in one of the last comments on the previous thread, I gave the wind-chill level using the former chart for temp of +15 and wind of 45. -30F.
Kelly, you definitely live in one of SW Virginia’s icebox locations. You get the benefit of that in mid-summer, just like Doppler Carol does to a somewhat lesser degree (no pun intended).
Hey, Kelly Hoge, was/is the wind howling in the Garden?
Wow, now Myrtle Beach is getting accumulating snow and I haven’t seen a flake all weekend! Wow, just Wow!
Some nice maps with climatological information about January 2013, from Accuweather.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/january-2013-warmer-and-wetter/6174868
The late week event for the 22nd-23rd is looking more and more like and ice to rain event per the Sunday 12Z operational model runs. After next weekend, it’s up in the air again.
I look at wunderground every day, either at the radar or weather stations, mainly at the regional maps. I don’t pay any attention to their forecasts however. I don’t know where they jerk them out from, but are seriously a joke, There is a scientific forecast discussion from the NWS listed, but wunderground evidently never reads it.
I was up all night at work and watching the snow squalls cover the ground, and the wind move it around. Such a fine powder. The snow before last when we also saw powder, the snow dogs used leaf blowers to clear the walks. That was a new one on me.
Nice call Doug.
Per the NWS, there is absolutely NO chance of snow through Sunday 2/24, and the chances of ice/sleet this week are no more than a few hours, possibly, early Tuesday morning or early Friday morning. It is what it is, folks.
TYVM, Jared, and LOL. I just knew you would come through.
It is a bit after 4:00, and the RRA temp is only 31* (29* here). Is RRA about to have only its 2nd day this winter in which the high temp did not get above freezing? High on 1-22-13 was 30.
It is pretty “clear” (pun intended that time) that Blacksburg did not reach even 30* today. It’s lowest high was 23* this winter also on 1-22. Also had a cold one (high of 31*) on Punx Phil Groundhog Day, and high of 32* yesterday. Sounds like Kelly H and the folks in Burkes Garden may not have even reached 20* today.
Polar view, captain’s log, 021713. The bright blue finger has reached further into the USA, all the way to western Maryland, with the next color band coming all the way to the Virginia-NC border. And the green air has extended north of Scotland, a posible good sign for a Greenland block? But the “bad” news is that the low that was a small 50-50 low has migrated further east, SE of Greenland. Maybe another one will form to replace it.
Benchmark day today for Roanoke. Normal high inches up to 50*, won’t be less than that for about 10 months, and the normal low is 30*, just about the same as today’s actual high temp. The number of hours of daylight is almost at 11 hours, also.
Saw 31* here this afternoon and dropping again. Also, 33 mph wind gusts. About as bitter and raw day as I’ve seen this winter. Enough is enough. Where you is fat lady? Clear your throat and get on stage. Anybody want to bet whether my fire went out today?
30 degrees, winds howling, backyard full of Robins. Go figure!!
Today was the second coldest day, as measured by average temperature, of the entire winter (1/22 was the coldest) here in the NRV. I think that sums up the winter of our discontent.
Yes very windy this morning, but seems to have quieted now. Seems to have warmed up too- it’s 20! Going to very cold tonight because of no clouds. Glad it is not time for calves to come yet.
Low this morning was 16 only made it up to 29.Was very windy and the wind chill was brutal today.Now back down to 23.Did not expect to see this type of cold any more this winter,but as Kevin has been saying all along winter is not over yet!
Yep B Mike. A lot of good cold air gone to waste at the wrong time.
Right now, as I see it, I would agree with Quagmire and Bburg Mike above, likely an ice to rain situation late in the week. Doug notes the “50/50″ low near Newfoundland drifting east of its textbook position on the models. A couple of screws coming loose like that could prevent the cold air damming from being what it needs to be for a more widespread and/or longer lasting wintry precipitation event, especially one that would allow for anything more than maybe a brief period of snow at the outset.
The deal with this winter being frustrating for snow lovers is that we’ve never quite got the longwave pattern set up right for systems to dip south of us as the cold air is in place. The high pressure blocking near Greenland has been there partially at times but not placed where it needs to be and strong enough to really hold the cold air and storm track in place farther south.
It’s a very active pattern ahead with ups and downs that aren’t going to please anyone wanting more prolonged periods of springlike or winterlike weather. This pattern is not likely to produce an Arctic outbreak a week or more long, but it always has a chance of blowing up a storm system in the right place and right time for significant snow. Just gotta watch it unfold one storm at a time.