Unfortunately, I have decided to discontinue snow measurements. Last winter finally persuaded me of the limits of collecting and tabulating daily snowfall — even on a double city lot. The wind eddies around nearby structures result in huge drifts when winds gust upwards of 40 mph. As Marquetters know, this is an all too common event in the winter, particularly when storms come off Lake Superior. It then becomes very difficult or even impossible to separate drifted from newly fallen snow. Sometimes the snow boards are simply blown clean. Taking measurements from multiple locations won’t improve matters when everywhere around is subject to the same forces.
Category: Weather
Blizzard Updates
In reverse chronological order (newest first):
- Measurement site is now open (as of 3 pm Monday) & ready for the next precip event!
- The snow measurement site is currently blocked by 4+ ft drifts. Will dig out this afternoon. But I was able to see from a distance that only a trace of snow has fallen since the last report at 10:40 pm Sunday (at which time I body surfed through the snow to reach the gauge).
- Winds should really start to fall off after noon today (Monday).
- Our storm total from Saturday morning thru Sunday night is 12.3″ of snow. Likely we got a few additional inches but they found a home in nearby drifts.
- Just recorded another low-ish snowfall measurement of 0.9″ at 10:40 pm. Can’t keep snow on the board.
- As of 11 pm it appears that winds may have peaked in the 8 pm hour. Each successive hour has had a lower average wind speed.
- NEW Station Record of 51 mph set at 9:03 pm Sunday
- Winds should peak between about 7 pm – 9 pm Sunday
- Last snow measurement of 1.2″ (representing snowfall between 7:30 am – 2:05 pm) is low. Unfortunately, snow is being blown off the collection surface. I left some snow on there so hopefully the incoming snow will stick to it. But with almost horizontal snowfall, it’s tough to measure! It all wants to collect in a drifted pile somewhere.
- It’s possible we could break our station wind record (49 mph) in the next 24 hours.
- We received some freezing rain overnight. About 0.2″. From what I could see, though, power lines and tree limbs were unaffected — no ice accumulation. Probably too much wind and too warm to stick. The really cold temps don’t hit until later tonight.
- Almost an entire February’s worth of precipitation fell in the 24 hours ending 7:30 am Sunday: 1.22″. Normally we receive about 1.3″ of melted precipitation for the month. We’re now at 4.99″ for February 2019!
Snow Measurements On Hold
Due to a combination of intense recent snowfall, high winds, and limited space, we have nowhere to place a snow board where it is not subject to significant drifting. The city has become a labyrinth of snow piles that powerful lake winds are merging and leveling.
Therefore, effective 11 AM Friday 2/15, we are suspending snow measurements indefinitely.
Once the winds subside and/or the peaks reduce/even out we will resume snow measurement. Given the forecast of sunny to partly sunny days this weekend and limited snowfall in the next several days, hopefully that will happen by next week.
Note: a liquid equivalent reading taken from our gauge will continue to appear in the precipitation tables on our History page.
[UPDATE Saturday 2/16/19]: I have relocated a snow board to be further from any potentially drifting high spots to the north and northwest (two of the most common direction for snow in the winter here). After knocking on wood, I am now reinstating measurements. I have added 2″ to yesterday’s snow total as a minimum estimate of what fell after 8AM.
If It’s Below Freezing, Why Is It Raining?
Long story short… freezing rain occurs when the atmosphere is warmer higher up than at ground level. It’s called an inversion. Usually it’s a shallow layer of warm air fairly close to the ground (below about 5000 ft) that precipitation falls through and melts. There is insufficient time for it to reform into snow before hitting the ground. Since the ground is frozen and the temperature is below 32 degrees, it will freeze.
We expect the lower atmosphere to continue cooling this afternoon so if any additional precip develops, it should fall as sleet or snow. Knock on wood.
January WAS Running Warm…
That was until the #PolarVortex hit us last week. No chance of that now. After ending 2018 below normal, we are off to a cool start for 2019.
Snow is running below normal too. That makes sense when its colder as the atmosphere runs drier.
The latest winter storm has underperformed (thus far) in terms of city snowfall. No measurable snow as of 10:30PM Tuesday night. Too much westerly flow, not enough northerly. That hasn’t kept the wind from kicking up quite a bit of blowing snow. Wind chills as of this posting were -20 and falling. You never know. I could post this, go to bed, and wake up to 6″ tomorrow.
This weekend should offer a reprieve, but don’t get too used to it. There appears to be another cooling trend in the extended outlook.
Punxsutawney Phil might be held at gunpoint this year.
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[UPDATE Wed 1/30/19 9:00AM]: Our snow board had only a trace of snow on it this morning. Our gauge caught what amounts to something like 1″ of snow (when you reconstruct it from liquid equivalence and compensate for under catch from wind).