- I95 Special Sunday Night Into Monday: Accumulating Snow
- Followed by Brutal Arctic Outbreak this Week
- Southern Gulf State Rare Ice/Snow Event, Rides up Coast?
- Active Pattern w Multiple Storm Threats
Good morning atmospheric audience and Happy New Year to you your families. I wish you all a healthy prosperous year ahead filled with behemoth blizzards, flower filled springs, bonker boomers and bolts, and awesome anthocyanin filled autumns. Yes, it seems like eons since my last post (actually 3 months). Thank you for your patience! This certainly has been a colder than normal winter yet below normal snowfall for the I95 corridor (ex. DC, ski county and lake effect spots in NY).
It’s been the year of the haves and have nots, so far. Interesting that the mid Atlantic states have seen above normal totals vs the proverbial snow dome over the the tri-state area on up to southern New England. See below my Almanac of your closest city for normal and record high/low temps on this date and season to date snow totals vs normal. Also, at the end of my post, I listed your local city 7 day high/low forecast temps, brrr! As I always say, it’s first flake to last flake for the season and given it’s only the middle of January there’s plenty of time left. Lots to digest here so grab a blanket, popcorn and your favorite libation and let’s take a deep dive (like the mercury will) into all of the meteorological meat and potatoes.
I95 Moderate Snowstorm
Certainly not a major storm but given the lack of snow around the tri-state and north, we’ll take what we can get. All the ingredients are lining up. You have an Arctic intrusion, a deep trough combined with a low forming off the coast, mixing with “warm” ocean temps that create a boundary where snowfall commences. In terms of Timing, Track and Totals, the exact details aren’t etched on “snow” just yet. Social media jumping on the Canadian model which I believe is too robust on totals and further west. Even with 48 or hours out, exact track of low isn’t locked. This will be fast moving storm, but can still over perform in spots. That said, my initial forecast is as follows:
DC
Adding to its season total of 8″, DC looks like 2-4″ beginning late morning Sunday, ending later in the evening. Travel and cleanup will be a mess for the inauguration Monday, which DC usually has problems with an inch. Given the snow, temps in the upper teens and near zero wind-chills, the ceremony has been moved indoors.
Philly
I don’t generally cover Philly, but for the Eagles vs Rams game at 3pm, should be fun one to watch. It’ll be snowing by kickoff with temps in the low 30s, but dropping into the mid 20s in the 2H with wind chills in the teens. The elements clearly favor the birds.
Tri-State Area (NJ/LI/Hudson Valley/CT)
For now, given it’s a bit early to narrow totals, look for a general 3-5″ for the tri-state, lower amounts along Long Island and SENJ (can’t rule out the high end of the range in NJ burbs, and NW and C CT). if low tracks further east then NYC AND LI see higher totals. Snow begins early Sunday afternoon, tapering off before midnight. Monday is dry for those traveling back home.
Southern New England (Boston area up to the Seacoast and Maine)
Similar to the tri-state, snow totals remain consistent along the I95 of 3-5″ (lesser amounts on the Cape). However, I can’t rule out higher amounts of 6-10″ possibly around north central Mass up to the Salem/Nashua to Seacoast. Snow begins after sundown, ending around daybreak Monday. Higher ratios in the Greens and Whites could see 4-8″ fluffy white gold!
Siberian Shivers!!
Next up let’s brrrrriefly cover the brutal pipe bursting frigid airmass dropping into the U.S. This is a 4 to 5 day intrusion beginning Monday morning. The high temps will be below freezing, with single digit lows along with below 0°F windchills! Snow cover will exacerbate these numbers. At the end of my post take a look and find the closest city near you for the 7 day forecasted high and low temps. The freezing line drops down to the Florida panhandle and gulf coast states Monday morning! Western PA (Pittsburgh and Rural Valley) looks like the bullseye for the lowest wind chills down to minus 30°F on Wed (an Extreme Cold Watch was issued from Monday to Thursday). Check out the wind chill forecasts for the week ahead below!!
Houston, We Have a Problem! Southern Gulf States with Rare Ice/Snowstorm; Rides up Coast, and If So, How Far North??
Not my coverage area but a potential historic event is setting up along I10 from Houston, to New Orleans, over to Tallahassee onto Jacksonville. Accumulating snow, sleet and freezing rain for Tuesday into Wednesday creating a possible travel nightmare. Depending on track, storm could be pulled north along coastal sections of GA, SC/NC to Virginia. Will be follow up with details for my Carolina subscribers shortly.
That’s it for now. Be sure to prep for the upcoming pipe bursting temps. Check if you have any exposed copper water pipes in the garage. If so, cover with foam tubing. Open cabinets beneath your sinks to allow warm air on pipes. Also, for sinks next to an exterior wall, allow a slow drip of cold water to prevent pipes from freezing. For what’s next, we have multiple storm threats coming. I’m sniffing out one next weekend along with a couple the last week of the month. While not as brutally cold, week 2 (last week of Jan) still looks below normal. Glad to be back! Bundle up, Go Irish and remember, weather never sleeps!
