Palm Sunday storm — wet or white?
The gusty wind is bringing in extremely dry air, with dew points in the single digits, even below zero. It’s a good thing we’ve had 2 months of occasional rain and snow to soak into the ground, or we could be having a fire danger situation. The really cold air begins arriving Wednesday night with a cold front and upper-air disturbance that could trigger some rain and snow showers across Southwest Virginia, with some light accumulations possible in the typical upslope areas (near the Virginia-West Virginia border, west of I-77) and perhaps a few streaks farther east. Highs on Thursday and Friday are going to struggle mightily to even get to the low 40s — so enjoy tomorrow’s breezy mid 40s to low 50s as the “mild” day for a while.
A storm system is looking more likely this Palm Sunday weekend. With dense and unseasonable cold air blocked southward through much of the East, there’s a good chance at least some of it, and perhaps a substantial amount of it, will be frozen in our region. Forecast models today have seemed to be trending toward what we call a “Miller B” setup, with an inland low moving into the Tennessee or Ohio Valley, transferring energy to a coastal low along the Carolinas. The Monday morning weather map from the Weather Prediction Center (what used to be the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center) captures this baton-transfer pretty well. Normally, I would presume this would be a mostly rain situation for us because (1) it’s a Miller B, not an overrunning (moisture tossed over cold air from low that stays to the south) or Miller A (coastal low that originates from the Gulf of Mexico) setup, and (2) it’s late March. But the level of high pressure blocking in the northern latitudes is extreme, and this is going to force more far more cold air southward than we typically see this time of year. Despite the lateness on the calendar, the atmosphere actually looks to be colder overall than it was for the March 5-6 event that clocked the I-64 corridor and left lighter amounts in most of Southwest Virginia. So there is a good chance that any precipitation will at least start out as snow and/or sleet, especially if it arrives at night — and may end up that way, too, if the coastal low is strong enough to draw cold air southward in time. If the blocking is extreme enough to keep the original low more in Tennessee or farther south and then transfer to a new low off South Carolina, the chances that we have a primarily frozen precipitation event — perhaps even a mostly or all snow situation — would be better than if the inland low drifts as far north as what is shown in this weather map. These are among many details the forecast models are struggling to grasp at this early stage.
If you have weekend travel plans in or near our region, stay abreast of the forecasts for the potential of wintry precipitation in and near our region.
March 19, 2013 - 10:58 PM
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I don’t think I’m staying up for model runs tonight. Feel free to carry on the historic weather conversation too if you like. Will see you in the morning.
Matt Ferguson pushed Dave Tolleris or DT waaaaaayyyy to far
He said DT called for one to two feet for the whole state and he went on and on and on oh and then DT checked in on Facebook
Matt you you you you well you #$%&? Yeah matt you matt Ferguson
Just kiddin’ he didn’t say that it was short and sweet (not really sweet)
Wonder what ole matt is Doin’ right now laughin’ I guess oh well
I bet DT’s neck artery was pulsing when he read that
Now he says he is going to sue matt and matt will apologize
Spring is here today
Winter will not leave us yet
Cold and snow to dread
Sigh……..
Tina B – I am thinking it will be an ice, sleet, cold rain event so I am not getting on the band wagon with this one. So glad the wind stopped during the night.
If this is a Miller B setup, color me highly skeptical of our chances for significant frozen precipitation in our area. It seems as though, much more often than not…and especially when the cold air setups or seasonality factors make it more marginal for significant snowfalls, that we wind up with more rain than anything, and very little in the way of accumulating snow. Perhaps this time will be different…there have been, after all, some Miller B storms that can fling some moisture into cold enough air at first to bring some snow before a changeover occurs, or this storm system could be a little further south than systems past. Could be, but I’m not sold yet.
Don’t have much faith in a Miller B working out for us.
Kev..
Re the tornado in Worcester in ’53
Im good friends with a guy who lived through
that..and remembers it very well..
And yes..Jun Jul Aug…
its our Jan Feb Mar equivilent of yours.
Its our Summer cabin fever season…I do not ever look forward to it.
“I’m dreaming of a white Palm Sunday,,, just like the ones I’ve never known…”
Question: Kevin: I’ve lived in Roanoke since 1970. Have we ever had a white Palm Sunday or Easter since then? I can’t remember… (Of course I remember the big snowstorm of ’93!)
Just curious.
Thanks!
Other John and Brandon: I am skeptical of a big winter storm for us this weekend. I think we will probably see some snow on the front and/or back end. Some kind of mix/changeover event would fit the mode of this winter pretty well..
Stephanie: Would have to look into that one a little deeper, especially with how Easter jumps around the calendar in March and April. Right off the bat, I know Easter 2007, which was in early April, had minor snow amounts at Blacksburg and some snow showers at Roanoke.
Joe: I like to get outside in our winter. Can’t say the same for your summer! Endured about a 75 percent version of it living in Arkansas. Highest temperatures were similarly hot, we just tended to get a few more breaks than Dallas does.
Agree completely with the Miller B (energy tranfer) concerns. The bottom line is we should only get excited if this thing forms near the Florida panhandle. If it does form in that vicinity, we are in line for a doozy, but if it forms further north and it involves an energy transfer from a modified GLC, then game over snow lovers. Would love to here from Zach – are you out there? If so, please give us your take, as you nailed the March 6-7 storm perfectly. The good news at least is that the ground will be very cold and dry, so any snow that may fall should accumulate rapidly, especially considering it will be late March.
Camden: I saw Matt’s comment on Dave Tolleris’ Facebook page (Matt Ferguson is a Channel 13 meteorologist). I haven’t seen DT’s response. And I may elect not to.
I don’t really keep score on who was right and wrong with given forecasts once they’re over. So taunting or pointed criticism of a meteorologist for a forecast is not somewhere I would ever go on this blog or outside of it. My house has too much glass in it to throw stones like that.
Don’t think a lawsuit would have much ground, though. You go on the Internet with your opinion, especially being bombastic about it, and you open yourself up to criticism of that nature. DT would definitely be considered a public figure when it comes to weather, and that means higher hurdles to clear to win a defamation or libel judgment. Those of us in journalism 25+ years like I’ve been have had repeated sessions on libel law, so I may know more about that than I do about weather!
Welcome to the first day of Spring!
I guess we can now say it is official…Winter is over!
I’m gravitating towards wet for the “Palm Sunday Soaker” but would not be surprised to see some good snows for elevations above 2000′ in the Mid-Atlantic. Again, another north of I-64 event if anything at all.
Let’s see what the 12z runs say.
I like reading the breakdowns of the weather patterns and general synopsis of storm formation that DT can do…he’s great at that and his knowledge and experience really shines through. But the dude has all the tact and mannerisms of a starving honey badger, so I avoid his FB page almost all of the time now…and opt to get information from here, the NWS/NOAA sources, and directly out of sites that post the weather model data. I don’t rightly care for asking an honest question or offering up an observation and getting called a bleeping idiot for the effort.
Euro was farther north with the initial low. That would argue for less big snow risk this weekend. Do think there may be overrunning moisture into cold air wedged in, though, on the front side. It seems like I’ve typed that phrase about 20 times this winter. We can’t seem to get off that theme this season.
I think there might be some more systems moving through next week with things sorta cold.
Seems like winter is just kinda dragging its feet rather than really wanting to dance in its extra time on stage.
Tolleris is pretty good at throwing rocks himself. I’ve read his posts where he called people liars, stupid, etc. Not just lay people. He’s blistered many professional mets on his FB page as well.
Most of the time, when someone irks him enough, he just bans them from posting. I will say, though, he can give some convincing and educational explanations of the weather.
If he sued, whoever the opposing attorney was would have a field day digging up what he’s called other people over the years. Does he really want to go there?
Nah, Tolleris ain’t going to sue. I think he knows exactly what he’s doing when he rants.
What does interest me though, is why someone who sells weather advice to clients is basically giving it away on social media? Or is he going into way more detail for the people who are paying him for advice? I
I think a lot of his clients are elsewhere, even in other countries, while most of what he discusses in detail on Facebook is Virginia/East Coast weather.
Probably looking at 2-3 inches in the Roanoke Valley. The air will be cold enough.
Why does DT continue to think this is going to be a Miller A storm? He says Miller B is possible, but he just don’t see it. He says the storm must come far south because of the intensity of the historical blocking. What’s your thoughts Kevin?
I heard on the radio this morning they were talking about possible snow and or ice this evening. Just wondering if this is something that is showing up on the radar at all and what you think about this possibility Kevin. Thanks…enjoy your blog and all you do.
Greg: What they’re talking about is what I mention in the first paragraph above. Some chance of rain and snow overnight with a disturbance and cold front moving through. There is some concern, especially just to our west, that early snow/rain will put liquid on roads and then freeze quickly with onset of cold air.
Jared: He thinks the blocking will be strong enough to force the whole thing to near the Gulf of Mexico before it forms a strong surface low. It is a possibility, just not depicted in the models right now. We’ll see where it goes.
Kevin..
You said it..
You dont know how many times..
and for that matter how many people in summer
will watch their tv weather and watch the
advance of a cold front from out of the
central plains ..look at how much it was bowed..
watch it sag…and just know it would stall along the Red
River. We are often teased by a front moving into Arkansas
and no doubt many of the folks here in the summer will drive up
into Oklahoma and Arkansas just to get on the backside of the front.
You can visibly see the change in peoples faces when summer starts to
relax its grip on us.
Ive said to a lot of folks here in the dead of summer that when the first
settlers came here their wagon must have lost a wheel or something
.,,especially if it was in summer..because I could not understand
why anyone would decide to settle here knowing what summers were like.
When Dan Rather once said in an interview when asked what has affected the landscape of politics and voting blocs of this country the most,
I think he was exactly right when he said “air conditioning”
No doubt without it many many people could not bear to live here.
Bishop Betty: New GFS shows exactly what you said — 2-3 inches in Roanoke/New River valleys area.
https://twitter.com/BigJoeBastardi/status/314414168772063233/photo/1
Joe: I used to see a lot of those Dallas folks in Arkansas state parks, enjoying our low 90s when it was 105 back home.
Doppler Carol….ditto. I am just not feeling it.
“Hi, my name is Laura and I’m a weather addict.”
I enjoy following DT on FaceBook, Kevin here on roanoke.com, and glance at weather.com. Last night, I became an official NWS SKYWARN Spotter. I am actually looking forward to any non-rain event we have Sunday into Monday so I can make my first report from 2,750′ in Floyd. I am also a mental health counselor and agree that DT is likely taking years off his life with his anger. While I learn so much from his (and Kevin’s) detailed explanations of the weather, I do tire of his *curt* responses to some of his followers.
I think this weekend storm is going to be basically a non event. MAYBE some light snows… think an inch or two…. and that’s a very fine maybe. What I can see is some snow to sleet to rain and not that much accumulation of anything. Also can see us getting kinda sorta skipped with not much precip falling period. My gut tells me the flow is too fast/strong to really allow the low to redevelop further south.
Like Kevin says, we need to monitor for redevelopment potentially further South, as the blocking could – - force a redevelopment further south which would lead to more winter precip.
To be clear, do not see this as a big event in anyway at this point in time.
Joe: I lived in Dallas (Irving) once for a little less than a year. I arrived on a blistering hot July 4th and moved to Colorado the following April. There was absolutely no way I was going to live through another Dallas summer. You can keep ‘em!
Guys, can we please stop talking about you know who from the other weather forum please? Go to his page if you want to engage in the latest gossip; we’d rather maintain some degree of decorum here without all the antics and such. We also don’t really care who is saying what about who over there; if we did we’d be over there already and well aware of what’s going on with all that daily nonsense.
This place is 1000 times better than that ringleader and his immature followers, and why anyone over the age of 18 would even bother with place is utterly beyond me. Such updates from that place reminds me of a flight I was recently on, in which I was quietly going about my business reading The Economist and Wired magazine. Well, the lady next to me was doing the same…though instead she was reading US Weekly and People (basically on the other end of the spectrum). Sure enough, before I knew it she was yapping on and on to me about who’s cheating on who, which celeb is typing the knot, and such. I finally had to (as politely as I possibly could) tell her that I don’t particularly care about the lives of celebs, and in fact rarely watch TV or movies for that manner anyway.
Based on her reaction, you would have thought that I just called her every name in the book…but the rest of my flight was much more enjoyable, which made up for it.
Dan, don’t see where you are located or elevation in your profile. It’s not required but is helpful to the posters to know where your report and area is coming from and lets folks keep track of the position of a storm, winter or summer.
Wow, 12Z Euro has foot of snow over Charlottesville area! Is this storm going to be similar to the one a few weeks ago? Looks like the Bullseye is aiming at Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley again! Hope we dont get caught in that small warm area again like the last snow.
12Z Euro!!! Hours 96 to 120!! Go boom! Looks nice Kevin!? Plus this makes the slight shift to the south of the GFS 12z look even bigger! 0z GFS had low in around mizz…12Z GFS shifted south and WAY east with it and has the low in central kentucky! could this be the beginning of and overall change in the models to a further south solution? are they now beginning to pick up the full intensity and strength of the block?
96 hrs 12z Euro: http://raleighwx.americanwx.com/models/euro/12zeuro850mbTSLPUS120.gif
120 hrs: http://raleighwx.americanwx.com/models/euro/12zeuro850mbTSLPUS120.gif
IT LOOKS POSSIBLE THAT IF THE COLD AIR STAYS IN IT COULD SNOW FOR 3 OR 4 DAYS. IS THAT CRAZY TO THINK? COULD IT BE ONE TO TWO FEET ?
oops…gave 120 versions of 120 hours of 12Z Euro
Here is 96 hrs when the storm first takes shape!
12Z Euro at 96 hrs: http://raleighwx.americanwx.com/models/euro/12zeuro850mbTSLPUS096.gif
Kevin
I love you man but I am not going to follow this one like I have in the past. I hope you have fun!
Hey Jared, could you post the 12Z snow fall map if you have it? Could you link it in here?
Measuring snow in feet for this area; I’ll believe it when I see it. It would be nice though.
Dan Nelson…
Just remember during the March 6 snow event that the Euro kept pointing to something huge happening. In the end run with that event, the Euro was more correct with the track of the storm but the bulk of the precip shield went east and north of Southwest VA as per the GFS. We are at the point now at 4-5 days where the Euro will hold its course and the GFS will continue to be a joke until 84 hours out and anything can change. The 12Z Euro does not go BOOM for this event just yet. I would caution you to don’t get your hopes up or hug the models as one cartoon character here seems to do sometimes.
If the Euro holds on and the GFS/UKMET/CMC starting aligning to it, by Friday’s 0Z run, then this could be a snowmaker. But we have several caveats here. It’s a Spring snow event, temps are warmer near the surface and the sun is higher in the sky. The good news is that the bulk of the precip is timed to fall at night where it will be much cooler and dendric formation will be better for snow.
Friday is the decision day for me.
The 12Z Euro would be a lot like March 5-6 could have been for Southwest Virginia if the cold air had been there waiting on the moisture. Remember, if you will, back to the afternoon of March 5 when the rain started moving in about 3-5 p.m. It started off as sleet and some slushy snowflakes but couldn’t hold onto it because the column just wasn’t cooled enough from cloud to ground. The snow didn’t start (Roanoke/New River valleys I’m talking about — was colder farther north) til 8 p.m. or later in most spots.
Lots of people focus on coastal lows, but I think it’s almost an afterthought for SW Virginia in this case. Any bigger snow that comes will be the initial overrunning moisture into whatever cold air is banked up over us. The coastal low may provide an assist if it forms early enough in drawing cold air back southward (and lowering the freezing level in the atmosphere through dynamic cooling).
Though it is later on the calendar with all the caveats Quagmire mentions, the pattern overall does look COLDER than March 5-6. But that low can’t track too far north too fast or it sweeps in milder air aloft and it’s rain/sleet mix.
I don’ t think it’ll snow for days or there will be widespread foot-plus.
I’m thinking, if anything widespread occurs locally, it will be an inch or 2 of slushy muck, at best…probably in the higher elevations and more north…with a good bit of rain mixing, and I’ll call it early for a dry slot or other such disruption in the precipitation as well, since those seem a regular factor in these types of events…like March 5-6.
In that early March event, QPF estimates were near an inch or more…we got half that. Snow forecasts were in line with the predicted QPF…saying 4-8″ of wet snow…we got 0.2″ of mixed snow and sleet, most of which melted because of all the rain beforehand and that kept mixing in.
The Weather Prediction Center (this still has an HPC web address) offers this new map for Sunday, based on its analysis of various weather models. With the high in Pennsylania pushing cold air down along the mountains and the low in Tennessee, this could be a pretty big overrunning snow event if this materialized.
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/medr/nav_conus_pmsl.php?fday=4&fcolor=wbg
I don’t recall 4-8-inch final snowfall forecasts in our area on March 5-6, Other John. Settled back to 1-4 inches in the last 24-36 hours. Roanoke/New River valleys were under a winter weather advisory, not a warning. Granted, it even underperformed those totals in the New River Valley. Generally, the Roanoke Valley hit the 2-4 forecasts.
Looking at the 12Z Euro on the WunderMap it looks like 3-5 inches of snow for Pulaski…….for this run.
Though it’s too early and many things need to be ironed out as far as track, temp, precip type/amounts, I have this gut feeling that this storm for us will end up in either two ways.
A. Initial sleet/rain mix gradually giving way to really cold rain in the valleys with spotty frozen precip in the highest elevation and points north. QPF .5 inch or less.
B. A more southern low track with some overrunning precip that would put us in a better position for more snow as kevin pointed out. Though with it being spring and with no superchilled air to provide higher snow ratios, i think we should expect a high water content snow of ratios of around 1:6 and perhaps .75 QPF, with perhaps a wintry mix to begin, and potential total snowfall totals of around 3-5 inches. I agree with kevin, i don’t think it’ll be a major snowfall, but a moderate snow output is certainly in the cards in my opinion.
I remember seeing a forecast from the NWS for 4-8″, but that was not the day of the storm (but i don;t recall which day it was, but I do remember seeing that amount mentioned as possible)…and they had trimmed that down a bit later in the day. The morning of the storm, the forecast was down to 2-5″, then revised lower to 1-4″ for where I was at.
4″ here Kevin and I recall you said 3.5″ at your location. Like you, 8″ totals were rare around here.
Here is the 12z euro snowfall forecast.
Blues = >1in.
White1-3 in.
Yellow 3-6 in.
Orange 6-9in.
Dark Orange 9-12in.
Most of sw va is in 6-9in. range some of highlands annd greenbrier in9-12 inch range further sw you go less snow some of sw va is in yellow and white and very extreme sw is in blue roa = orange lynchburg is orange nrv= orange
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=501936713186925&set=a.148807335166533.25889.129478830432717&type=1&theater
Reminds of about where we were on March 1 or so with the early month storm. Atmosphere doesn’t seem to have much originality this year, just keeps recycling the same storm setups.
Looks like a lot of virga falling just beneath the clouds looking north toward Roanoke from my vantage point here in central Franklin County.
Very true Quagmire. It is best to see if there if verification and not to hug as we both know as you said, one person tends to do that!
but it was a little encouraging to see the 12Z GFS come a little further south and much farther east than its 0z run! just gotta wait and see i guess! 12Z runs of Euro and GFS were encouraging for snow lovers IMO.
Surface dew point is 5 at Roanoke right now. Probably even lower just above the surface, so that’s why you’re seeing virga, Matt.
My native area of NE Arkansas is under a winter storm watch Thursday. Already had the first-ever blizzard warning at Christmas, now this is the first winter storm watch that I can remember so late on the calendar.
Strange winter.
I’m getting a kick out of the blog on this latest snow adventure. The ole GFS has been scraping along giving us basically no snow. The two runs of the Euro yesterday and last night offered up small amounts.
We get a decent run of the Euro today and cha ching baby that’s it! Done deal! Lock it.
I’m figuring there are some snow lovers who are ready for Spring. It’s had all Winter to snow, time to move on.
Ya’ll keep hoping and I’ll keep reading the comments.
.
Just got home. And my mouth is hanging open, in awe. Robin Reed just forecasted the following highs for Roanoke and B-burg for tomorrow: 37 and 29!!! Are you kidding me?? Roanoke’s normal high bumps up to the big six-oh tomorrow, and Hokieburg’s bumps up to 55. As that deep discount retailer in New York City used to scream (His name was Crazy Eddie) on his TV commercials, “These prices (ER ….. temperatures!) ARE INSANE!!” Highs that would be 23 and 26 degrees below normal?!?!? I don’t know how many times that has happened (especially on the cold side like now) in the past 15 or 16 years, but it has to be extremely rare.
But if the weekend or Monday snowfall happens, I suppose the high temps could be even lower and the normals would be at least 1 or probably even 2 degrees higher.
I figure this would be like a bonus snow for snow lovers. If it happens, enjoy it. If it doesn’t, it’s late March, it usually doesn’t, nothing lost.
Try over a foot of snow at Reeds Orchard on Bent Mt. with all the apple trees in bloom. Been awhile back.
Leo Lady..I think I remember you mentioning that
some time in the recent past.
The old Cowboys stadium is gone now..
and at least for the next few weeks im working
south of where the stadium used to be…about 15 miles
in Duncanville.
We are in our back up facility…(though this is our tornado backup
we didnt have to use it for that this time)…but we-ve been stuck here for 3 months..
We want to go home.
31 is the record for lowest high temperature on March 21 at Blacksburg. If Robin Reed’s projection holds that Doug mentions in #56, it would beat that record — and be only the second sub-30 high in astronomical spring on record for Blacksburg, the other being 29 on March 31, 1964.
Roanoke’s March 21 record for coldest high temperature is 35 from 1914. There was a 29 on March 24, 1940.
I’m ready for spring…this return to cold and windy has been a drag after having a few nice days and the time change.
joe, I have just started to look through today’s comments. But I am with you and Kevin about Texas in summer. It seems that during the past 12+ years I have seen incredibly brutal heat (wasn’t there one summer when Fort Worth was at least 100 degrees for something totally mind-boggling (almost typed “mind-blogging”) like 2+ months??); inconceivable drought (of course like 2011); and a couple of times when there was lots of floods in the Houston area, and not just during a single trop system, either.
I realize that Phoenix and Las Vegas and other places like that get hotter, but they are in deserts. And I think that they often have 40 and 50-degree temp swings in the same day because of their incredibly dry air. Anyway, I have been very impressed by the extreme conditions that can arise in the eastern half of Texas over the past summers. It seemed like there was a string of summers when at least one of the three extremes that I mentioned was happening there. And of course 2011 had both the incredible drought and heat.
Just caught the forecasts of WSLS-10 and WSET-13. Their forecasted highs for tomorrow are not quite as extreme as “7″‘s. Both had a Roanoke high of 39. “10″ had Blacksburg at 36, WSET had Blacksburg at 34.
Hey, do any of you Blacksburg folks (HokieTrax, Blacksburg Mike, Nick of Ellett Valley, etc.) want to put forth your own forecasted highs? Hey, this is supposed to be fun …. If all three of you choose a number that is different than each of the TV stations predictions and happen to be different than the other two, one of you has a good chance of nailing it on the head.
High temperature for Thursday may be clouded a bit because it could well occur at midnight and then fall sharply in the morning and never recover to that original number.
NWS also now going with 29 for Blacksburg on Thursday.
Laura in Floyd County – 2750 ft. What section of the county? Near me and the Doppler?
Other John – I second your comment #61. Bring on Spring!
Other John, my two-time and hopefully future golfing partner, your comment 14 today had a phrase that will join one from a few years ago in the Other John “Comment Hall of Fame.” You once referred to some organization’s extreme weather outlook (might have been an Accuweather one ….. but it is not important) and told us to “Take it with a grain of salt the size of a Buick.” I LOVED that one. And in today’s morning comment, you referred to a certain Richmond area meteorologist as having “all the tact and mannerisms of a starving honey badger.” LOVED THAT ONE, TOO!! You can be very witty, friend. Keep the comments coming.
NOTE: if DT or anyone gets really angry, you can say that he (she??) was as irate as a wolverine or especially a wounded water buffalo. In some documentary I saw light years ago (in a galaxy far, far away …), some veteran safari white guy claimed that was the most violent animal in Africa.
Prediction. And I bet this one ultimately comes true, but it may be years (even more than a decade) before it does. At some point in the future the chickens will come home to roost for Mr. Tolleris. I have nothing specific in mind. But if a person is just plain nasty to innocent folks for as long as he has been, and continues doing it, he will get his “come-uppance” at some time in the future. I think that this has happened to many famous people in my lifetime who acted like O.S.B.s. Overgrown Spoiled Brats. Sometimes they acted like jerks outside of the public eye, but it eventually “jumped up” and bit them.
Laura, comment 28. I had not read your comment when I typed mine at 6:21. I would love to read your reaction to what I stated. Unless of course you tell me that I am a blithering idiot.
Quite a few people already know that I fit that description …..
Zach, and inch or two would be big here at my location compared to many of the events we’ve had! (a skittering of snow, a smattering of sleet, a smidgeon of a wintry mix!)
Dan, comment 31. LOL LOL I don’t exactly take the same point of view, because I like to converse with folks on an airplane, but only if they are also interested. If they want to read or doze, that is fine, and I try to respect their wishes. And with all the zillion hassles of flying now compared to when I was young and it was nearly always fun, both my wife and I fly as LAP (Little As Possible). I got a big kick out of your comments about the folks who love gossip. I make a comment about DT now and then because I am really confused how someone that smart about long-term weather patterns can be that “clueless” about how to treat people who are reading his Facebook page. By simply coming to his facebook page folks are in effect paying him a compliment. And then he turns around and verbally abuses them??!?!?
And in one respect I am glad that there are magazines like People, Us, Globe, etc. A few people actually have subscriptions, and thus provide us with a tiny amount of revenue.
The sooner everybody tunes out the models, the better off they’ll be. Garbage this far out.
Doug, loved your reference to Crazy Eddie. I remember visiting NYC in High School and seeing that guy on TV and thinking he was , well, INSANE! LOL.
Interesting reading the comments regarding DT today. Personally I’ve never been to his site mainly because after reading the comments here over the last couple of winters I’ve pretty much determined he over hypes EVERY SINGLE STORM. Besides I get everything I need here. Why go anywhere else?
I think what is amazing about this late season cold is not so much that we have below normal temps (that happens occasionally) but it appears that its going to be a long sustained period of cold. I can’t remember anytime this winter (and maybe the last few) where the temps are going to be so far below normal for up to a week. Amazing.
Doug—I wasn’t impugning People and such…just saying that they are on the opposite ends of the spectrum from what I was reading, hence she probably should have been able to ascertain that I wouldn’t be interested in, say, Jennifer Anniston’s love life. Anyway, agree on that DT guy, and he clearly has some issues.
Great…now I’m doing exactly what I requested we all stop doing…
I enjoy reading and watching DT’s and Accuweather’s meteorologic explanations, but here’s my take on both of their situations. Their incomes are based on followers (who sometimes become subscribers) of their sites. I don’t know about DT, but Accuweather has popups, namely Netflix, to supplement income. If they never “stirred the pot” whether in language, insults, hype, or delusions of grandeur, they wouldn’t have followers and thus make money. In short, I’m glad we all take it for what it is at both sites with a grain of salt, appreciating the scientific explanation they both offer. I personally enjoy this forum the MOST with Frank Strait and Joe Lundberg at Accuweather coming in second. Unbiased meteorology!
I’ve let the Dave Tolleris talk go on today since I kinda helped spark it with some interest in this argument that erupted between him and Matt Ferguson, Channel 13 meteorologist. But I’m going to ask that the stuff about his actions, reactions and general tone of his website remain confined to this thread when I start a new one.
His forecasts and meteorological insights are always welcome to be discussed, as are anyone else’s on here, whether you agree with them or not.
Just after 8 pm and the temperature is down to 34 up here on Doppler Ridge.
Tina B – loved your description of the past “winter” events. I think tonight we will have the “skittering of snow” and then on Sunday we will have the “smattering of sleet” with a “smidgeon of wintry mix”. They sound so much better when described that way.
Doppler Carol – You live right by the white ball? We can see it from the top of our property! We’re across 221 from you! Howdy neighbor.
@ Doug G #67 & 68: Yes, karma can be… well you know. Honestly though, I really admired DT when he recently posted about how totally wrong one of his forecasts was and why. He admitted it IN ALL CAPS too!