Final Update Saturday 2/28: Observed Snowfall Totals The following map was prepared by the National Weather Service in Fort Worth and is a graphical representation of over 200 reports gathered via social media, storm spotters, and official observers. I will gather additional information that will hopefully provide additional details/specifics. All updates starting with my initial … Read more
When it comes to winter weather, there is no shortage of advisory types. This page is devoted to the four main winter weather products: Winter Storm Watch, Winter Storm Warning, Winter Weather Advisory, and Ice Storm Warning. More specifically, I want to discuss the criteria used by the National Weather Service Office in Fort Worth, … Read more
Overview: A winter storm is developing for North Texas. I have been monitoring the data very closely for the past few days, and my concern is growing that a problematic sleet & freezing rain event may impact the area beginning Sunday night and continuing through Monday. On Sunday, temperatures should stay in the 40s as overcast … Read more
Special Update (Sunday 2/15 8:00 pm) ***Freezing Rain Possible Over Western Parts of North Texas*** ***West of a line from Gainesville to Denton to Fort Worth*** The strong cold front will move through North Texas tonight as predicted in my previous forecasts. Behind the front, temperatures will fall rapidly into the 30s. As of 8 … Read more
Update #7 Sunday, February 15, 3:30 pm: Warmer air will surge in earlier than expected, meaning that only rain will fall in the Atlanta metro on Monday. Late in the day and overnight, the rain may change to freezing rain and/or sleet, especially east of a Cedartown to Douglasville to Conyers to Athens line (the … Read more
In atmospheric dynamics, a negatively tilted upper-level trough tends to be stronger and much more dynamic, particularly if there is a closed upper low Both rising air and heavy precipitation (especially snow) work to cool the atmosphere from the top down. This is called dynamic cooling and it is extremely efficient at turning an otherwise … Read more
Before I begin this piece, I want to present a challenge. The following chart shows the actual high and low temperatures for a full month in Atlanta, Georgia. *A condensed version of this writeup was also featured in the Douglas County Sentinel. Challenge: Can you spot the day with a historic snowstorm? During this particular … Read more
Special Update (Tuesday, January 27 at 12:11 am EST): At midnight, snowfall rates in excess of 2 inches per hour were moving west toward New York City. This band has been showing a decrease in intensity over the past couple of hours as the storm intensifies offshore and both the atmospheric energy and mesoscale forcing contract … Read more
The National Weather Service has sole responsibility for issuing weather watches and warnings. When it comes to winter weather, there are numerous advisory types ranging from Wind Chill Advisories to Ice Storm and Blizzard Warnings. This page is devoted to the four main winter weather products: Winter Storm Watches, Winter Storm Warnings, Winter Weather Advisories, … Read more
(Forecast Posted Tuesday 1/20/15) …Widespread heavy rain & possible winter weather event for North Texas… In my forecast yesterday (Monday), I noted that Thursday’s high temperature would occur at midnight (40s) then fall into the mid 30s for the daytime. This continues to be a very difficult forecast, because there isn’t a preexisting cold airmass … Read more
The Weather Bureau, now known as the National Weather Service, was established on February 9, 1870 by the 41st United States Congress and signed by President Ulysses S. Grant. On March 29, 1870, the new weather forecasting service was officially assigned to the U.S. Army Signal Service within the Department of War and given the … Read more
I’ve been posting updates about this airmass on my Facebook and Twitter pages, but I thought I’d go ahead and write a short discussion about this airmass. It has the potential to be the coldest air we’ve seen in a year or so, at least when measured by the low temperatures Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Precipitation … Read more
Special Update (Wednesday, January 7 at 8 pm EST) Temperatures are already falling into the teens in the western and northern suburbs. Current temperatures are a couple of degrees colder at this hour than model guidance had indicated. Dew points (a measure of atmospheric moisture) continue to drop, and temperatures tonight should certainly be on … Read more
Track the storm with the Weather-Net tools: Advisories/Warnings | Live & Predictive Radar Special Update (Wednesday 12/31 11:30 pm CST) Precipitation is entering North Texas (use the radar links above to track the precipitation). Temperatures will fall below freezing after the precipitation begins. As I posted earlier today, the critical line is the 29º wet-bulb … Read more
As a NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador, iWeatherNet strives to create educational content to help you be prepared for any type of severe weather; this includes winter weather. I wanted to take the opportunity to briefly review the various winter weather products issued by the Atlanta National Weather Service in Peachtree City. Other States Central Alabama: … Read more
This page was updated on Tuesday 12/23 at 1:17 pm EST: A Flood Watch has been issued Useful Tools on iWeatherNet: Advisories | Interactive Radar Christmas Week Forecast/Event Timing: Monday/Monday Night: Rain likely. Temperatures steady in the mid 40s. Tuesday: Dense fog much of the day. Rain and thunderstorms developing late. Rain increasing in intensity … Read more
A disturbance will bring a cold rain to the Southeast Friday night and Saturday morning (12/19 and 12/20). Simultaneously, some weak cold-air damming will be enhanced by evaporative cooling yielding a very cold/raw day for holiday shoppers, particularly during the morning. Here are some forecast highlights for those who plan to be out and about: … Read more
Fast moving thunderstorms will develop Sunday afternoon and should bring some much-needed rainfall to North Texas. Below is a brief discussion of our expectations. If you prefer, you can skip to the forecast summary. Synopsis The vigorous upper-level system that brought heavy rain and snow to portions of the Western U.S. will bring a chance … Read more
If you watched the GA Tech/FSU ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, North Carolina tonight (12/6/14), you may have seen the smoke-filled stadium following the pre-game fireworks show. A heavy fog was already in place, which virtually guaranteed poor visibility of the fireworks; but to make matters worse, the smoke from the fireworks had no where … Read more
In an earlier article, we discussed the dynamics and thermodynamics of lake effect snow. In this post, we discuss the meteorological differences between single-band and multiple-band lake-effect snow events. Keep in mind that all lake-effect snow events are fueled by moisture and latent heat flux from the relatively warm lake water; these fluxes are already … Read more
The potential for freezing rain has increased for tonight through Tuesday across portions of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. A cold front moving through the region will allow temperatures to drop below freezing later today and into tonight. The 12Z Wilmington, Ohio sounding revealed a deep warm layer aloft; however, as the rain begins to … Read more
An unseasonably warm weekend is about to commence over North Texas, with temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. That will come to an abrupt end first thing Monday morning, with the passage of a very shallow, quick-hitting Arctic front. Temperatures Monday will be about 40 degrees colder than those of Sunday. So, get out … Read more
Important Tools: Interactive & Predictive Radar | Weather Advisories Heavy snow is continuing across the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast as an area of low pressure moves northward along the eastern seaboard. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for a large portion of the inland mid-Atlantic and New England. Be sure to check road conditions along … Read more
If you’re traveling over Thanksgiving, it will be an active holiday week across the nation. In this blog, we’ll go over some of the potential trouble spots across the country. Below are some forecast highlights. Important Tools: Interactive & Predictive Radar | Weather Advisories Wednesday Pacific Northwest/Rockies: Rain and higher elevation snow will be likely … Read more
For the past week, the global numerical prediction models, including the GFS and ECMWF, have hinted at the potential of a negatively tilted trough digging into the Southeast. They have consistently indicated a strong area of low pressure across the Arklatex propagating off to the northeast into Missouri and Kentucky. Ahead of the low, an … Read more
A vigorous upper-level disturbance is moving into West Texas this morning. The trough axis (and associated forcing) will not move east of the area until tonight. As the system approaches North Texas, a copious amount of Gulf moisture continues to advect into North Texas. As of 11 am, much of the area has already seen … Read more
One of the most awe-inspiring forces of nature is lake-effect snow. The amount of latent energy required to produce the lake-effect convection is astounding, and in some situations, snowfall rates can reach as high as 5 to 6 inches per hour. In this article, we discuss the atmospheric physics, dynamics, and thermodynamics responsible for the … Read more
The Arctic front is on schedule, and the colder air is filtering into North Texas as of 11 am (Sunday, 11/16). This map shows temperatures at 11 am. Upper-Air Data (Morning Sounding and Forecast Soundings) Throughout the morning, drizzle and light rain have been falling across North Texas with temperatures in the mid to upper … Read more
Published Friday, November 14 at 3:50 pm: Earlier this week, I posted about the potential for light snow on Sunday evening. The forecast has not changed. However, because of the timing of the precipitation Sunday evening (after temperatures drop to freezing), I am adding some light accumulations. The greatest chance for accumulating snow is north … Read more
This will be a very brief update to mention the possibility of very light sleet in North Texas tonight. An upper-level disturbance is moving into Texas, and will provide sufficient (albeit weak) forcing for precipitation. Temperatures will fall to near freezing in the metroplex and below freezing for areas north of Denton by 10 pm. … Read more