Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Winter Storm (Dec. 18) Update #1

Winter Storm Watches still are to remain in effect until later tonight where they will likely be changed over to some type of winter storm warning, whether it be for snow, or sleet/freezing rain. This mornings computer models came into a little better agreement on the placement of significant freezing rain and sleet. However, the overall location of the heaviest precipitation was still somewhat varied in mainly the east/west location. For a quick overview, models are still expecting a low pressure system to develop off of the lee of the Rockies on Thursday and quickly move into the central plains by Thursday night. The low track is expected to be through northern Missouri and into central Illinois, thus putting Iowa into the favorable area for continued precipitation. Rapid moisture return ahead of the system (up to 3 times the climatological average), along with warmer temperatures will allow for significant QPF amounts. This system is fast-moving, thus precipitation may begin Thursday afternoon over the state and may exit the state completely by Noon on Friday. For a graphical depiction of what is expected, please view the graphic below:



Yes, the image is hard to read... It has to be to put in all of the different precipitation types and amounts that are expected with this storm. Essentially the blue circle represents areas where more than 4 inches of snow is possible; the yellow represents up to an inch or more of sleet; and the red indicates areas where more than a tenth of an inch of freezing rain is possible. Enjoy this weather!

Related Posts:

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  • Potential Winter Storm(s)I decided on one more update before I head back to Iowa for the remainder of the week, seeing as with such nice weather today there was only the upcoming two storm systems to look forward too. Models are beginning to show som… Read More
  • Winter Storm: Feb. 7/8 RecapSnowfall was heaviest over parts of eastern Minnesota and central/eastern Iowa where as much as 12" fell over the span of 48 hours. You can push back the span even further and see values increase to nearly 18" as the snow beg… Read More
  • Weekend SnowfallThe weekend rounds of winter weather continue to be fairly well handled by forecast models. No significant changes have occurred since my update yesterday, with two rounds of winter precipitation likely across the Central Pla… Read More
  • Winter Storm: Feb. 14 RecapSnowfall over the weekend held a few surprises, the biggest coming with a 'snow squall' in the Kansas City area that led to multiple pileups on interstates within the metro. These snow squalls were caused by strong lapse rate… Read More

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Light Frz. Drizzle already falling in Chariton, Iowa....9:22am