Friday, December 26, 2008

Ice, 60 degrees, Chance of Tornadoes, Flash Flood Watch

Freezing Rain

This pretty much describes Missouri weather. On Tuesday, the 23rd, we received freezing rain, which changed over to rain through the day due to a lifting warm front. Before the glaze melted, there was an estimated 0.10" of ice on surfaces, and our sidewalks and roads were very slick. By night, the roads had cleared enough for all the holiday travelers.


Warm Temperatures

This morning, it is 50° with a stiff South wind bringing with it some abundant Gulf moisture and warm temperatures. We are forecasted to have highs in the mid 60s with heavy rain and strong/severe storms.


Here is the NWS HPC 1-2 Day QPF for today and tomorrow:


(Image Courtesy: NOAA)

Because of the frozen ground and high amount of rain that is expected in the area, the National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch from this evening into tomorrow afternoon.

The convective outlook on the SPC page is reminiscent of spring time weather, showing a decent probability of tornadoes and hail for the extreme southwest corner of Missouri extending up I-44 to about Rolla. Storms are expected to become strongest late overnight.

Tornadoes are not that uncommon in the winter. Last year, on January 7 there was a tornado outbreak across Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois. The STL NWS office has a great overview of this outbreak.

Check it out Here

2 comments:

Ami Jo said...

One thing that always amazes me is in some parts of the world the temperature fluctuates only 6 or so degrees for the entire year - but here in Missouri, we go from wind chills in the negatives on December 22, to highs in the mid 60's on December 26!! Tonight's weather should certainly be interesting!

Ami Jo said...

Just as an FYI - at around 11:30 Friday night, the temperature has gone up to 69 degrees!! It is now after midnight, and the NWS has just issued a tornado watch for areas including ours (yours, mine, and mom & dad's). Could be an interesting night!