Storm threat looms for the evening hours over the mid-atlantic:

Storm threat looms for the evening hours over the mid-atlantic:
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1004
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1203 PM CDT FRI JUN 01 2012
AREAS AFFECTED…NC…VA…WV…MD…DC…PA
CONCERNING…SEVERE POTENTIAL…TORNADO WATCH LIKELY
VALID 011703Z – 011830Z
PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE…80 PERCENT
SUMMARY…THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON IN A
VERY MOIST AND INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS FROM NC NWD ACROSS
VA…SRN PA…WV PNHDL…AND MD/DC AREA. RECENT TRENDS SUGGEST THAT
ISOLATED STORMS WILL FIRST POSE A THREAT FOR ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER
IN THE FORM OF HAIL/WIND OVER PARTS OF NERN NC AND SERN VA WHERE
INSTABILITY IS GREATEST BUT SHEAR AND FORCING WILL REMAIN LIMITED
FOR A TIME. ADDITIONAL SEVERE STORMS ARE LIKELY AS A FORCED SQUALL
LINE DEVELOPS EAST OF THE APPALACHIANS LATER THIS AFTERNOON. DEEP
SHEAR AND TORNADO POTENTIAL MAY INCREASE ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION
FROM LATE AFTERNOON INTO EVENING AND ONE OR MORE TORNADO WATCHES
WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED OVER THE NEXT 1-2 HOURS.
DISCUSSION…STRONG FORCED ASCENT WITH A LARGE SCALE TROUGH WAS
LIKELY RESULTING IN AN INCREASE IN LOW-TOPPED CONVECTION ALONG A
COLD FRONT NOW SITUATED FROM ERN OH SWD ACROSS WV…EXTREME SWRN VA
AND ERN TN. EXPECT THAT THIS CONVECTION WILL CROSS THE SPINE OF THE
APPALACHIANS OVER THE NEXT 2 HOURS. AS THIS FORCING BEGINS TO
INTERACT WITH GREATER INSTABILITY EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS…MORE
VIGOROUS STORM DEVELOPMENT IN THE FORM OF BOWING/LEWPING SEGMENTS
CAN BE EXPECTED. A WEAK FRONTAL WAVE MAY ALSO TAKE FORM WITH TIME
COINCIDENT WITH AN INCREASE IN STORMS ALONG A WARM FRONT EXTENDING
ACROSS SRN PA AND INTO THE DELMARVA REGION. IN ADDITION TO WIND
DAMAGE THREAT WITH STORMS ALONG THE ADVANCING FRONT…AN ENHANCED
BUT FOCUSED TORNADO THREAT MAY EVOLVE NEAR THE FRONTAL WAVE AND WARM
FRONT. ONE TORNADO WATCH WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED FROM SRN PA ACROSS
WRN VA WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR OR SO.
ANOTHER WATCH WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED FROM THE ONGOING STORMS OVER NRN
NC NWD ACROSS THE VA TIDEWATER AREA. STORMS IN THIS AREA ARE
DEVELOPING WITH HEATING OF THE DAY AND PERHAPS THE LARGER SCALE
ASCENT DEVELOPING EAST WITH THE TROUGH. WHILE INSTABILITY IS GREATER
IN THIS CORRIDOR…DEEP SHEAR AND FORCING ARE LIKELY MORE MARGINAL
TO SUPPORT A MORE WIDESPREAD IMMEDIATE THREAT OF SEVERE TSTMS
WIND/TORNADOES. NONETHELESS…SHEAR WILL LIKELY INCREASE
SUFFICIENTLY WITH TIME ACROSS THIS AREA TO WARRANT A TORNADO WATCH
AND THIS WATCH WILL LIKELY BE COORDINATED SHORTLY.
Looking south from the Chesterfield Courthouse.
A period of light to moderate snow rolled through Central Virginia this morning giving most of the area a light dusting of snow. Areas located north of Midlothian typically saw 1/2″ to as much as 2″ of snow. Areas further north and east of town (Caroline & King William Counties) had reports of 4-6″ of snow. The main batch of snow tapered off around 8:30 AM and mixed with rain and snow showers for the rest of the day. After the initial burst of snow this morning, most of the accumulating snow melted by noon. Not an unusual event given that it is now March.
My Report (Church Hill):
* Place – Time: Church Hill, 10:44 AM (3/5/2012) *After the Event Update*
* Temperature: 33-34, During Storm Event
* Dewpoint: 30-32, During Storm Event
* Relative Humidity: 95%
* Pressure: N/A
* Trends: N/A
*Winter Weather Watch/Warning/Advisory: Advisory
* Road Conditions: Roads were all passable, no accumulation on primary or secondary roads.
* Precipitation Description: Light, moderate snow fell throughout the event. As snow tapered off, snow changed to drizzle and temperature rose considerably.
* Total Precip: 1.0″ of snow on elevated/grassy surfaces. Liquid Equivalent of 0.1″ fell during the event in Church Hill.
* Comments: Event was spurred by a Canadian clipper that dove down the Illinois and Kentucky and moved through Central Virginia. Precipitation started at 6:30 AM as light snow. The precipitation fell as light to occasionally moderate snow until about 8:30 AM. Snow covered all elevated surfaces. Dry slot as well as warmer air moved in by 9:00 AM. School systems closed in Chesterfield, Henrico & Richmond. No trace of snow at Chesterfield Courthouse by 11 AM. Rain and snow showers continued in the area until 6 PM.
Link to Gallery Images: http://www.612.richmondcitywatch.com/modules/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2826
It looks like a potent clipper system diving through the upper midwest will be arriving in Central Virginia by 5 AM.The forecast is for around 1-3″ of snow. It’ll be interesting to see how much accumulation we get on Monday morning!
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA 1029 PM EST SUN MAR 4 2012 NCZ012-VAZ060-061-065>071-079>081-087-088-092-051130- /O.CON.KAKQ.WW.Y.0004.120305T0900Z-120305T1700Z/ NORTHAMPTON NC-PRINCE EDWARD-CUMBERLAND-MECKLENBURG-LUNENBURG- NOTTOWAY-AMELIA-POWHATAN-CHESTERFIELD-HENRICO-BRUNSWICK-DINWIDDIE- PRINCE GEORGE-GREENSVILLE-SUSSEX-SOUTHAMPTON- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MARGARETTSVILLE...FARMVILLE... SOUTH HILL...CREWE...COLONIAL HEIGHTS...RICHMOND... LAWRENCEVILLE...PETERSBURG...HOPEWELL...EMPORIA...WAKEFIELD... FRANKLIN 1029 PM EST SUN MAR 4 2012 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO NOON EST MONDAY... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO NOON EST MONDAY. * AREAS AFFECTED: THE EAST CENTRAL VIRGINIA PIEDMONT THROUGH SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND NORTHAMPTON COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA. * HAZARDS: SNOW * ACCUMULATIONS: PRIMARILY 1 TO 2 INCHES...WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS UP TO 3 INCHES IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA PIEDMONT. * TIMING: EARLY MONDAY MORNING...INCLUDING RUSH HOUR AND THROUGH MIDDAY. * IMPACTS: SNOW SHOULD MAINLY ACCUMULATE ON NON-PAVED AND ELEVATED SURFACES SUCH AS BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITY...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.
The first real substantial storm of the winter season struck on Sunday, prior to President’s Day. The precipitation started around 9:00 AM and remained light and intermittent until 5:00 PM.Moderate to heavy snow was reported at the airport from 6 PM to 12 PM that evening. A total of 3.9″ was reported at the airport. To date, this was the largest snow event of the season and largest event since the Christmas Day storm of 2010.
The forecast for this storm remained tricky up to the day of the event. Models shifted course the night before the event, drastically reduced snowfall forecasts from 3-6″ to 2-4″ for Richmond and the surrounding counties. A winter storm watch had been issued on Saturday for the a large portion of central Virginia. My Sunday morning, the watch was converted to an advisory with the likelihood that snow totals would not exceed 2″ of snow. Storm totals for Metro Richmond ranged from 1.5″ to 5″ of snow. A snow burst moved through Metro Richmond between 5:30 and 7:30 PM, which gave some areas up to 2″ of snow in two hours!
My Report (Church Hill):
* Place – Time: Church Hill, 11:35 PM (2/19/2012) *After the Event Update*
* Temperature: 33-42, During Storm Event
* Dewpoint: 25-33, During Storm Event
* Relative Humidity: 95%
* Pressure: N/A
* Trends: N/A
*Winter Weather Watch/Warning/Advisory: Watch & Advisory
* Road Conditions: All roads had snow cover during the event. The morning after the event on President’s Day, secondary roads slushy. Major roads passable.
* Precipitation Description: Light, moderate and sometimes heavy snow fell throughout the event. Rain, sleet and gropple fell during the event, especially towards the beginning.
* Total Precip: 4.0″ of snow. Liquid Equivalent of 0.83″ fell during the event at the airport.
* Comments: Precipitation started at 10:00 AM as a light mix of flurries and drizzle. The precipitation fell as light to occasionally moderate snow throughout the morning and early afternoon hours. Little to no accumulation through 5 PM. The precipitation quickly changed to moderate and heavy snow by 6 PM where local roads began to get covered. About 1 and ½ hours of heavy snow was reported in and around RIC airport around 6-7 PM. The snow began to taper off by 12 AM on Monday morning. Snow was very wet, with ratios close to 6:1. Precipitation was spurred by an upper level low that tracked up from the gulf coast to off the Hatteras coast. No winter storm warning was issued, only a winter weather advisory was issued for Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. On Saturday, the day before the event, highs were in the mid-60’s in Central Virginia. The airport reported 3.9” of snow.
Photo Gallery Link: http://www.612.richmondcitywatch.com/modules/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2788
Could Metro Richmond be in store for a President’s Day storm in 2012? The likelihood of a possible winter weather event for Central Virginia is gaining traction today. A lot of caution needs to be placed on the table as the models for this event have been all over the board this week. On Sunday and Monday, the lower Middle Atlantic seemed to be in the cross-hairs of a potential major storm for this weekend. By mid-week, the threat shifted north and east of Central Virginia to include DC through NYC. The models (for the time being) have reined in the idea of a coastal storm exiting Carolina coast and cruising up the eastern seaboard. Now, the storm stays suppressed and hammers the majority of the wintery precipitation through WVA, VA and parts of MD and DE. Still a lot of time for the models and overall model consensus on this storm to shift. In the meantime, Richmond has a slight chance of having our first major winter storm of the season.
Below are some current predictions based on the models this afternoon:
Updates for 2/17/2012:
The chances for accumulating snow Sunday afternoon, evening and early Monday are increasing. The NAM this morning buried Richmond with 8-11″ of snow. I’m still unsure if this will pan out, but it looks like we have something fun to watch! Also, the 12Z GFS today still shows 3-4″ of snow for Richmond. The trend looks to be our friend if you are a snow lover!
* Place – Time: Church Hill, 3:35 PM (1/28/2011) *After the Event Update*
* Temperature: 35-44, During Storm Event
* Dewpoint: 32-34, During Storm Event
* Relative Humidity: N/A
* Pressure: N/A
* Trends: N/A
* Road Conditions: Primary roads passable. Secondary roads passable as well.
* Precipitation Description: Light, moderate and sometimes heavy snow fell throughout the event.
* Total Precip: 0.2″ of snow on mulch, grass and elevated surfaces. Liquid Equivalent of 0.06″ fell during the event.
* Comments: Precipitation started at 3:35 PM as a very brief mix of gropple and snow. The precipitation quickly changed to moderate and heavy snow with winds sustained between 10-20 MPH. Precipitation was spurred by an arctic frontal boundary that created a squall line through central Virginia. Thunder preceding the event could be heard to the south and was reported to the NWS during the event as it rolled through Metro Richmond. Snow lasted for about 30 minutes.
The next weather headline coming our way this weekend involves a frontal boundary that will usher in a brief bout of arctic air for Sunday into Monday for Metro Richmond. As the frontal passage comes through, there is a small chance of the rain changing to snow in Central Virginia. It looks unlikely that any accumulating snow will fall from this event. The NWS has us recieving some rain showers and nothing else from the frontal passage. Nonetheless, it is a possible snow event to watch evolve over the next two days. In any case, a windy and winter like day is in store for Sunday (2/12/12).