Wxwtchr | MO-CW-1

Another 1.1" and Thoughts on Winter 11-12

2012-01-18T05:43:00.000-06:00

Thursday, January 12 brought with it another 1.1" of snow. We were fortunate to not have school called off, although we were one of only three in Mid-MO that did not. Don't get me wrong, I love snow days, but with the warm winter we've been having, I haven't really felt the "need" to have a day off. The kids have been great, we've spent a lot of time outside, and we're kind of in this groove at school. Every January and February I teach Astronomy, but it is inevitably interrupted many times by snow days, wreaking havoc on any continuity required for deep understanding. So this year has been nice.

Again. I love snow days. Let's see if we get one this year.

My thoughts on this winter. I usually get quite upset if we go this long into the season without a nice snowstorm or two. But not this year. We have reached above 60 degrees and even 70 a number of times. I believe we have broken two high temperature records (at Columbia), and our rainfall has been somewhat average. I've really enjoyed it. I think the thing I have noticed and appreciate the most is the abundant sunshine. This pattern sure has many meteorologists puzzled, as Alaska and northern Canada have been in the deep freeze for most of the winter with temperatures steady in the -20 to -40s. Each week there is talk of this cold air spilling southward, and each week it stays where it is.

Groundhog day is only 2 weeks away. Lots can happen in two weeks in the midwest.

First inch of '11-'12 Winter

2011-12-08T06:43:00.000-06:00

Our first inch of snow came through Monday night, and took most everybody here by surprise. By 5:00 am, we had nearly half an inch on the ground and roads, which made it a slick drive to work. Snow fell steadily throughout the day, albeit in spurts between light snow and flurries. When the day was done, and after a bit of melting, we ended up with 1". Only missed that date by three days this year!

Calling for light snow tonight. I'm looking for a birthday snow!

First possible accumulating snow

2011-11-29T06:46:00.000-06:00

The snow contest board is up in the teacher workroom, and I feel good about my predictions this year. We try to predict the first accumulating snow (>T), first snow day, and total amount for the season. Here are this year's predictions:

First Accumulating: Dec. 3
First Snow Day: Dec. 9
Total Snow: 28.5"

It's funny to see how last year's 54" of snow affected everyone's predictions for this year. There are a lot of guesses in the 30s and 40s! That's an Oshkosh winter.

NBC Action News Weather Blog is showing a chance for snow this Saturday (the 3rd!), which could be the first for many in Missouri. I'm getting excited and am ready for the season to start.

What????

2011-03-15T20:45:00.002-05:00

Surprise!! March 14 was supposed to be the beginning of our spring break, but our blizzard break from Jan. 31 - Feb 4 wiped all those day away. No complaints here, though. Much to our amazement, and the meteorological network's surprise, we were graced with another nice snowstorm! Forecasted to bring our area <1", we ended up with a total of 9.1" at this station. This brings our seasonal total to 51.2".

The snow fell as very large conglomerate flakes during much of the day. It was amazing. A co-worker said it reminded her of spring in Colorado.

World Sunlight Map

2011-02-23T10:44:00.003-06:00

In my research I often find some pretty interesting resources. I thought I'd share with anyone here who might find this interesting as well.

http://www.die.net/earth/

Exploding Snow

2011-02-14T20:48:00.001-06:00

Found this video on another blog. I've seen some big ice chunks come off 18-wheelers, but never anything this bad.

February 1, 2011 Blizzard Review

2011-02-05T11:18:00.000-06:00

Posting some links to NWS reviews for the blizzard:

St. Louis Office
Chicago Office
Central Illinois Office (links to other regions can be found here)

Many thanks to the National Weather Service for the work they did predicting and analyzing this historic storm.

Post-Blizzard Pictures

2011-02-03T15:06:00.001-06:00

https://picasaweb.google.com/Wxwtchr/BlizzardFeb12011#

Blizzard '11 - February 1

2011-02-01T09:25:00.005-06:00

7:30 p.m.

The wrap around moisture from the storm has come and gone in a hurry. We experienced a short time with moderate snowfall and light winds as the low pressure system traveled nearby. Now that it is on its way to the NE, we are officially on the back side of the storm and into the 3rd phase, windy and bitterly cold.

My final observation was at 7:05, bringing the storm total to 16.0". This is of course assuming we don't experience any more wrap around moisture.

Here are my final snowfall observations (pending any additional snow tonight)

Snowfall rates started off light but quickly became incredibly intense. By the 10:00 hour, we were pushing 2.0"/hr and many places were reporting the same. I read a few reports in areas north and west of here experiencing thundersnow, but didn't hear any today.

Storm average snowfall rate from the period of 5:30 am to 7:30 pm: 1.14"/hr

Photos and Videos

Video #2 - From earlier in the day

Video #3 - Nearing the end of the storm; shows some of the amazing drifts

More photos from the storm can be found here.
______________________________

2:30 p.m.

I could only imagine what a blizzard looks like, and what I'm seeing now is the image I've had. But I never realized what a blizzard feels like. It kinda puts your senses on edge. Our winds are now sustained at 23 mph and gusting 35-40. I feel like something could give at any time. And that makes me nervous.

12:05 p.m. | 7.5"
1:05 p.m. | 8.5"
2:05 p.m. | 10.0"

______________________________

11:30 a.m.

At midday, snow has been falling for 6 hours. Moderate snow has been the norm with periods of heavy snow. At the most, we have had 2"/hr rates. Snow is getting difficult to measure, so I've had to start taking multiple measurements. Here are the 2 observations I've taken since last observation:

10:05 a.m. | 4.0"
11:05 a.m. | 5.7"

Our power went out for a minute or two a little while ago. It made the sober reality set in for my wife and I. There are reports of power outages since 10:30 just south of Mexico (25 min north of here).

______________________________

9:05 a.m.

Snow started falling this morning around 5:30, and increased in intensity very rapidly. Moderate and heavy at times, the snow quickly covered the ground. Winds have been light at times and brisk at others, nothing extreme yet.

Total Snow: 2.0"

This video shows our current snowfall rates, as of 9:05 a.m.

Blizzard '11 - January 31

2011-01-31T21:48:00.001-06:00

A historic event is expected to unfold in mid-Missouri, and in fact in most of Missouri tomorrow and Wednesday. Having grown up in Missouri, I have seen snow storms come and go. Most of the 'big' storms have been such that provided a nice blanket of 6-10" (as we just experienced on the 20-21st), and I can count on one hand the times we have had extreme snowfalls of 12-15". Nothing comes close to what has been churning for the past few days, and what may possibly come through in the next 12 hours.

The Setup

A split flow in the jet stream has merged dropping down a large polar air mass that is expected to bring sub-zero temperatures by Wednesday night. At the same time, a huge storm will be ejected out of Texas bringing an enormous amount of moisture tapped from the gulf. Below is a graphic showing the projected path of the surface low that will cause this storm.

Here is the 2-day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast valid Monday night:

These amounts are extreme, even during spring torrents that visit the area. But to have a snowstorm bring such rain is unprecedented during this generation.

On the right side of my blog, I show the NWS STL graphical snow forecast. This changes with each cycle of the model runs, and this image was captured at 6:00 am Tuesday morning. Amazing totals.

Finally, a first has happened in the history of the NWS STL. Never before have they issued a Blizzard Warning for their CFA. As you can see below, much of Missouri is under a blizzard warning from 6 am Tuesday till noon Wednesday. Blizzard conditions include heavy snow, 35+ mph sustained winds, and 1/4 mile visibility for at least 3 hours.

Of course, this storm is not affecting only our area. Many people will be affected by this dangerous system across the country. A crippling ice storm is expected for southern Illinois into Indiana, and the heavy snow will continue northeastward into the already battered New England states. The warning map below was captured early this afternoon.

Snow Watch Jan. 31 - Feb. 2

2011-01-28T09:08:00.002-06:00

Another GFS map, only focused on the STL CWA

http://wxcaster.com/gis-gfs-snow-overlays.php3?STATIONID=LSX

Snow January 19-20

2011-01-19T18:13:00.009-06:00

::Update::

I've added a couple of videos from the storm. The first one is at my first observation at 5:00 p.m.

This next video was at 11:00 p.m., my last observation before morning. 5.4" on the ground at the time.

_________________________________

Jan 20
9:15 a.m.

Total Snow: 8.5"

Light snow is steady but tapering off. Wind N 12 mph

Find more pictures HERE

_________________________________

Jan 20
6:00 a.m.

Total Snow: 8.2"

What a cool sight this is! We haven't had this much snow fall since the big storm on Nov. 30-Dec. 1 2006. It's been a long time coming. Presently, light snow is falling with a light north wind.

_________________________________

Jan 19
11:00 p.m.

Total Snow: 5.4"

Moderate snowfall still occurring at this time. Wind N 13mph

_________________________________

Jan 19
9:30 p.m.

Total Snow: 3.8"

Snow rate has intensified, as we have picked up an additional 1.9" over the past hour and 45 minutes.

_________________________________

Jan. 19
7:45 p.m.

Total Snow: 1.9"

Wind has picked up a bit close to 10 mph out of NE. Light to moderate snow.

_________________________________

Jan. 19
6:40 p.m.

Total Snow: 1.2"

Light to moderate snow falling, little to no wind

_________________________________

Jan. 19
5:00 p.m.

Total Snow: 0.25"

Snow began lightly around 4:15, and is quickly intensifying. It didn't take long for the roads to slicken up.

January 10-11 Snow

2011-01-10T18:37:00.003-06:00

Snow fell again in mid-Missouri, and it's a beautiful sight. Around 11:00 am, light snow began to fall, and throughout the day, we experienced steady moderate snowfall, tapering to light snow by evening and finally ending around 3:00 a.m. This morning, the 11th, we have frigid air spilling in. Currently it is 12° with a wind chill reading around 5.

______________________________________________

Jan. 11, 4:30 a.m. observation:

Snow has stopped around 3:00 a.m.. The wind has started to pick up a bit as this storm makes its way by us.

Total Snow: 4.6"

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Jan. 10, 9:45 p.m. observation:

Still snowing at this time. The intensity has definitely tapered off, and the east wind has all but quit. Currently, light snow is falling with some nice conglomerate flakes mixed in.

Total Snow: 2.9"
SWE: 0.25" (11.6 : 1)

______________________________________________

Jan. 10, 6:30 p.m. observation:

2.4" and still snowing

Christmas Eve Snow

2010-12-25T15:49:00.000-06:00

It's not often we get snow on Christmas, and it's even less often that we get it two years in a row. Last Christmas, the middle of the country was graced with a powerful storm that spun into the area, sat on Iowa for a while, and went on its way, giving millions of people a white Christmas. Although we didn't measure much snow from that system, it was impressive and memorable. Here's a link from last year's post.

This year's storm was a different beast. It was faster, and gave us a beautiful wet snow all day Christmas Eve. We were in Rolla visiting my family, and watching the snow falling slowly through the bare trees was awesome. I took the liberty of bringing one of my extra rain gauges on our travel to measure the water content of the snow. It was a wet 9.3 : 1 ratio. Contrast that to the nearly 20 : 1 snow we had on the 11th. Geez, if this snow had that ratio, our snow total would have more than doubled. That made me wonder on our trip home...what is/are the factors that affect this ratio? I assume primarilly temperature. I also assume that one could accurately predict the type of snow based on this factor, which could end up saving cities money on salt/cinder they throw on the roads...but I digress.

In Rolla, I measured 2.8", which melted down to 0.30". In Fulton, we ended up with 3.5" melting down to 0.37". The roads are great...dry in fact, which I presume is a result of the wet snow. That's what led me to my inquiries above during our drive home today.

Merry Christmas!

Cold Start to December / Dec 16 Ice

2010-12-16T06:59:00.000-06:00

We have experienced a colder than normal start to the month with a mean temperature of 26.0°, a -8.2° departure for the period of Dec. 1-15. As seen from the chart below temperatures have been below average, but of note are two periods of cold (4-8) and (12-15). Both brought breezy canadian air with it, and the latter gave us our 2" mini-blizzard on the 11th and 12th.

Ice Dec. 15-16

An upper-level disturbance is bringing snow to the upper plains and through to the east coast. As it developed, it brought light freezing drizzle/rain to our area. Barely enough to measure in the rain gauge, but it was enough to create a thin glaze on roads and elevated surfaces (enough to call off schools even). Below is this morning's radar showing the long band of snow affecting the nation.

Dec. 11-12 Winter Storm

2010-12-12T00:34:00.003-06:00

(Source: NWS STL)

Update 8:00 a.m.

The snow ended early this morning and the wind didn't let up a bit all night. With gusts sustaining in the upper 30 mph range, it made for some difficult snow measurements this morning. I made multiple measurements around the yard, and came up with a 2.0" total. This storm reminds me of the January 6-7, 2010 storm. Strong NW winds made similar drifting patterns, although more exaggerated due to double the amount of snow then. Pictures from that storm can be found here. Compare those with this year's storm.

Here are a couple of pictures from the storm:

Update 12:00 a.m.

Snow is currently falling with vigor in Missouri again. After much anticipation, we will reach our first inch tonight. We reached our maximum temperature of 46° around 10:00 am, and by 10:00 pm we were at 17°. Morning rain changed to a mist, and then quit for a while. Around 2:00 we started seeing flurries flying around, which intensified bit by bit through the evening hours. Tonight, at 12:00 am snow is falling at a moderate rate and wind gusts are reaching 40 mph. The current temp is 16°.

I tried to make a measurement, and my best estimation is a current depth of 0.5". Below is a video I shot and the coinciding radar image at 11:45 pm.

November Weather Summary

2010-12-07T20:39:00.001-06:00

The dry weather continues this month. After an extremely arid 0.54" total for October, we ended up with a slightly better 1.74" for the month of November. The dry months stick out to us lately, since we haven't really experienced any prolonged stretches of dry weather patterns in the past three years. I did a quick data check. Over the past 36 months, 27 of them have exceeded the normal precip amounts, and only 9 have had deficits. The months with deficits, ranging from 1/2008 - 11/2010 are:

Aug 08
Nov 08
Jan 09
Nov 09
Mar 10
May 10
Jun 10
Oct 10
Nov 10

It's interesting to note that the past three Novembers have run on the low side of precipitation.

November Daily Observations

Temperature

Mean Temp: 45.9°
Deviation: 2.7°
Maximum: 75° on Nov. 10
Minimum: 18° on Nov. 26

Precipitation

Average November: 3.85"
Actual November: 1.74" (-2.11")

Days with measurable precip: 7

Snow

We did see our first flakes of the year on the 30th. Some midday flurries and light snow just blew around, but made for a welcomed sight for me. It's hard for me to imagine, but our average snowfall for November is 1.6"

Other Weather Info:

Days with thunder: 2
Days with fog: 1
Days with wind gust (>= 20 mph): 20

Supercell Pictures

2010-12-03T07:29:00.000-06:00

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1334672/Jaw-dropping-image-enormous-supercell-cloud-Glasgow-Montana.html

Follow this link for some awesome July storm pictures from storm photographer Sean Heavey

First Flakes of the 2010-11 Season!

2010-11-30T20:51:00.000-06:00

At 11:00 a.m. today the alarm went off. 20 pre-teen students went nuts at the sight of our first flakes falling from the sky. All learning ceased for a good 5 minutes as they postulated the probability of getting out early as their calm (but equally as excited) teacher tried to explain how the dynamics of the storm wouldn't allow for much snow to fall...but to no avail.

A strong storm system to our north brought us a relatively dry cold front. With it came a steep decrease in temperature, and sharp gusty winds from the NW. We got some good flurries and a light snow shower between 11:00 and 11:45 am.

Winter Storms

2010-11-24T09:07:00.000-06:00

The dry weather pattern that has dominated our region for the past 60 days is beginning to ease up. After 56 days of only 0.99" of precip, we have enjoyed three days in a row with rainfall, and two of them graced us with thunderstorms.

On Monday, you could feel the moisture in the air all day as a strong southerly WAA was in effect. The trailing cold front brought some strong storms to the area. In Auxvausse, the rain and wind was pretty intense, but at home I only found 0.06 in the gauge. Our wind topped 40 mph with the strongest storm.

This morning, we have had steady light to moderate rain with embedded storms, although not as strong as Monday's. The main feature of these storms is heavy rain. We have ponding in our back yard this morning, not because of large amounts of rain, but rather because of our extremely dry semi-impermeable clay soil.

Awaiting a strong cold front tonight. Should be a brisk day tomorrow!

Dry and Pleasant Start to November

2010-11-10T21:59:00.001-06:00

So far, the November weather pattern has followed suit with what we've been experiencing the past month and change. We are on day 16 with no rainfall, and of the past 46 days, only 0.54" of rain has fallen. We haven't experienced this type of aridness since the summer of 2007. There are currently no immediate impacts that I can forsee of our lack of moisture. There are places in Missouri, however that are drier than us and are in need of groundwater recharge.

Oh, but the changes are a comin. With the passage of a weak cold front tonight, the cards are set for a colder and more active weather pattern. High temperatures will most likely stay at or below normal for most of the rest of the month, and we may even see our first flakes of the year.

Diurnal Temperature Variations

Thanks to a comment on Bob's blog, posted by OSNW3, I was curious to know what our diurnal temps do throughout the year. I must admit, I never thought of it before. Interesting stuff indeed. Here's what I found out.

As expected, the transitional months of Mar/Apr, and Sep/Oct contain the highest amount, with the more steady temperatures occurring in the summer and winter months. In winter, we can see days where the temperature doesn't move but a few degrees in a 24 hour period. The dense air masses that invade the area, and prevalent cloud cover throughout no doubt have an impact on this. I was a bit surprised with November, as there's a pretty extreme drop off from the beginning to the end of the month. I'm sure the increase in cloud cover that occurs during this month has a part in this equation as well. Lots to think about on this one!

October Weather Summary

2010-11-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

What a change we experienced this month! A quick look at our data throughout the year, and October will stick out. Dry and warmer-than-average is the best way to summarize the month. We have had only 0.54" recorded over the past 41 days, and 71% of those days recorded higher than average max temps. The dry and warm weather couldn't have come at a better time, as the regional farmers were given ample time to get in their crops. Most are done now, and have started in on their winter work.

We had our first frost on Oct. 4th
Our first freeze occurred on Oct. 29

October Daily Observations

Temperature

The above average temperatures were incredible. It gave us a longer than normal transition period between summer and winter. Usually in this region we get about 10 days of "chamber of commerce weather" before cold/windy days arrive.

Mean Temp: 59.5°
Deviation: 3.4°
Maximum: 85° on 8-Oct
Minimum: 28° on 29-Oct

Precipitation

Not much happening here. As you can see in the graphic below, much of the country had dry rain buckets, with extremes in SE Texas and Florida.

(Source: water.weather.gov)

Average October: 3.25"

Actual October: 0.54" (-2.71")

Days with measurable precipitation: 4

Check out the contrast between last year and this year.

Other Weather Info:

Days with thunder: 1
Days with fog: 4
Days with wind gust (>= 20 mph): 16

A final count on mowing the yard: 22. Kids in the neighborhood here charge ~$20 per yard. That's a pretty good haul for a teenager, especially if you have the time to work several houses through the summer.

First Freeze 2010 / YouTube Channel

2010-10-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

It seems that our first freeze will occur tonight and tomorrow morning. The historic cyclone that set records and wreaked havoc for much of the country also brought with it some cold, dense air. The ridge of high pressure, coupled with a light wind will provide us with our first freeze of the year.

Wxwtchr YouTube Channel now online!

Thanks to OSNW3 and Bob for the idea, I started a channel for this station in Fulton. I posted a video tonight (the rest are on my work computer). But now that we have an upgraded system at home, you can expect much more to come!

Sounds and Smells of Spring

2010-10-25T15:49:00.001-05:00

You know the smell I'm talking about. The moist, complex smell that is so prevalent in April and May. Birds are singing their encouraging melodies, dew points are in the 60s, and storm spotters are put on alert.

The past couple of days have been very spring-like. Saturday, St. Louis recorded a record high low temperature of 67 degrees (2 degrees above the normal high). Hail reports clogged the NWS phone lines last night as a line of storms invaded the I-44 corridor from Rolla, MO to Illinois.

Stormy Night

It's not often we see these icons on our forecast page, let alone at the end of October. Although a severe event is not out of the question any given year, it certainly does catch you by surprise.

A powerful cold front is driving through Missouri tonight, bringing with it a squall line with embedded mesocyclones that are likely to produce some tornadoes (according to the latest evening HWO discussion). The quick pace of the front and resulting speed of the storms adds a higher degree of urgency if storms do turn severe.

As of 10:05 p.m., the squall line had started to develop, as seen here in the watch product. A very large area is under the gun until 6:00 a.m.

October Lull

2010-10-20T07:39:00.000-05:00

This October is proving to be a very dry one, indeed. We haven't been impacted with any notable weather system the entire month. It has resulted in a beautiful month with plentiful sunshine. The Indian Summer ended, and we are back to normal temps now. For the 20 days so far this month, we have had 1 day of measurable precipitation, which brings our monthly rain total to 0.07". A far cry from last year's October total of 12.49" (18 days of measurable precip).

Unsettled weather is expected to join us again for the last week of the month. Depending on the strength of the systems, it could still pull us up close to our average for the month.

Indian Summer Coming to and End

2010-10-12T06:50:00.000-05:00

Although I can't find specific thresholds defining the beginning and end of an Indian Summer, I can say with confidence that our current warm period is coming to an end. After our first frost on Oct. 4th, and another frost on the 5th, our skies cleared and temperatures stayed well above normal for a 6 day period. High pressure settled in the mid-section of the nation, keeping millions high and dry for the beginning of October.

A strong system from the NW has finally provided enough kick to move that airmass out of the area, and we are experiencing more seasonal cloudy, rainy, and normal temperatures for the mid-section of the week.

September Weather Summary

2010-10-07T22:20:00.004-05:00

Well, this September symbolized all I love about the fall in Missouri. We experienced strong thunderstorms, heavy precipitation, plenty of windy days (1 out of 3 days had wind gusts >= 20 mph), and a nice cool-down that brought air as fresh and crisp as the ripe Missouri apples we've been enjoying.

An interesting fact about this September. On Sep. 19, we had a 1.18" rain that put us just over our yearly average of 41.22". Every drop of rain from here out is a surplus, which has been the norm since 2008. Last year, we hit our average yearly precip total on October 7.

Year / Amount Surplus

2008: 18.66"
2009: 17.00"
2010: 2.15" (as of 9/30)

September Daily Observations

Temperatures

It really was a tale of two seasons, and as I remarked in a previous post, the delineation between summer and fall was quite easy to notice, and can be seen on the graph below. September 24 was a good "first fall" day (although I have no quantitative formula to back that up)

Mean Temp: 69.1°

Deviation: +1.8°

Maximum: 90° on Sep. 18

Minimum: 46° on Sep. 27

Precipitation

Once again, we have been inundated with heavy precipitation. Those living in flood plains have had a rough three years, and there were many farmers in the area that lost entire fields of crops due to a late-year flood right before harvest time.

Average September: 3.68"

Actual September: 8.26" (+4.58")

Days with measurable precipitation: 13

Other Weather Info:

Days with thunder: 4

Days with fog: 9

Days with wind gust (>=20 mph): 10

Yearly Totals:

Thunder: 44

Fog: 43

Wind Gust: 58

Mows: 20

Coming Soon...Water Year 2009-2010 Summary

First Frost of 2010

2010-10-04T10:59:00.000-05:00

A cool Canadian high pressure system and a clear sky brought us our first frost over night. At this station, we dropped to 36° around sunrise today (10/4). Frost was fairly thick on the roof of my car and other elevated metallic surfaces. I welcome the cool weather with open arms!

The Chill is Back!

2010-10-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Note: I had hoped to get the September Weather Summary and 09-10 Water Year summary posts in tonight, but needed to do some data entry for CoCoRaHS. I had computer issues this summer, and was without access for most of the summer. We're back online now, but the data entry took longer than expected. I'm hoping to get the summaries up soon...lots to talk about.

But for now, a quick commentary on mid-Missouri weather as of October 2nd

Since I was young, I've always pondered the official beginnings of the season according to the calander. My birthday lands on December 9 which to me has always felt like winter. Snow, cold, no leaves...winter. It always confused me that it is still fall until just days before Christmas.

I think, however that the Autumnal Equinox is a very good dividing line many years that marks the beginning of fall. When the wind shifts to the north, it brings drier and cooler air than it has for the past few months. The freshly-cut corn and bean fields fill the air with the memories of hay rides and fall festivals. This year was no different. We topped out at 90 degrees this September, with many more days in the mid to upper 80s throughout much of the month. But the last week or so was just plain nice. Tomorrow night, we will even have a chance for our first frost to greet us. This is fast becoming my favorite time of year.

I have a lot to talk about in my September summary, which is why I'm choosing not to write the post now. Some highlights are the high temperatures, reaching our yearly rain total this month, and some ponderings on the increasing rain intensities over the past 30 years.

Oh, and we're up to 20 mows now. Hopefully we're getting close!

August Weather Summary

2010-09-08T23:31:00.000-05:00

This past month is easy for me to summarize: Hot and sticky. I know...kinda goes with the territory for mid-Missouri in the summer, but it was just nonstop this year. It's possible that I've just been spoiled with the fantastic summers of 2008 and 2009. We spent much of August this year under a heat advisory, and spent a two-week period with daily Heat Indices at or above 100°. Not only is that uncomfortable, but it's also dangerous. Heat is the #1 weather-related killer in the country.

August Daily Observations

Temperatures

Notice the beginning of the month. Although we didn't get close to records, the constant heat was very uncomfortable.

Mean Temp: 79.6°
Deviation: +4.0°
Maximum: 99° on Aug. 3, 10, 13
Minimum: 55° on Aug. 28

As a side note, the maximum dew point recorded this month was on Aug 9 at 79°

Precipitation

Yes, the temperature was the big story of the month, but making its appearance in the shop talk was once again what a wet summer we are having. For the third year in a row, we have experienced above-average rainfall amounts. So far, for the period of June - August, we are 4.91" above the 30-year mean. With only 7 days with measurable precip, we ended up with a total of 6.80" this month (about half of that fell on Aug. 20 alone).

Average August: 3.64"

Actual August: 6.80" (+3.16")

Days with measurable precip: 7

Other Weather Info:

Days with thunder: 4
Days with fog: 4
Days with wind gust (>= 20 mph): 4

Number of mows: 19

July Weather Summary

2010-08-10T18:50:00.000-05:00

July ended with a warm and wet tone in the books, although if you were to guess, it would seem hot and dry. Even with 13 days of precipitation, it didn't seem like it was overly wet (at this station). Still, it was no typical July, but it has fallen in line with the past two years. Although we were much cooler last year, we also recorded a surplus of +2.36" (this year was +2.83").

July Daily Observations

Temperature

Mean Temp: 79.6°

Deviation: +2.1°

Maximum: 96° on July 14

Minimum: 56° on July 2

Precipitation

Average July: 4.12"

Actual July: 6.95" (+2.83")

Days with measurable precipitation: 13

Other Weather Info

Days with thunder: 10

Days with fog: 3

Days with wind gust (>=20 mph): 4

# of Mows so far this year? 14

Severe Storm July 20

2010-07-21T06:36:00.000-05:00

For the past three days, a line of strong and severe storms have raced through our area bringing with them very heavy rain, lots of lightning, and strong winds. Sunday morning's storm brought with it some hail in addition. We missed out on Monday's storm, but it knocked down a barn 20 miles north of us. Tuesday's storm is the topic of this post. The storm hit around 7:30 a.m. and had lots of lightning, and the strongest winds I've seen since my 6 years in Fulton. Officially at this station, we recorded a NW wind at 48.3 mph. Now the anemometer is in a somewhat sheltered area given the houses around us, so I would bump that speed up for accuracy. After the initial storm passed, light rain fell for about 2.5 hours. Rainfall totaled 1.02" for the morning.

At night, we had another storm roll through, bringing our daily total to 1.32"

Below are pictures of the damage to the neighborhood. Anything that wasn't secured down was blown out of yards. Multiple trees, up to 12" in diameter were snapped in half, and those folks with 6' privacy fencing lost sections. The van across our street was damaged by a flying piece of fence. The storm was apparently at its worse over southern Fulton (including my neighborhood). Where I work, on the north side, we didn't have a single twig on the ground. But as I drove home for lunch, I saw more and more limbs on the side of the road.

One of the damaged fences

June Weather Summary

2010-07-03T22:27:00.003-05:00

So far, I can say that the past few summers have just been plain nice in Missouri. We are still experiencing days with dew points topping 70°, but temperatures haven't been that oppressive (which can be a typical talking point for Missouri loafers). The last time we officially hit 100° was August 16, 2007 (according to the NWS Columbia Station). I remember 2007 as an intense summer. We had a string of 20 days at or above 90° (from 7/31 - 8/19), and if I remember right we had a minor to moderate drought in parts of Missouri. I remember a funny scene on the news that summer. The Governor was giving a speech at a Mid-Missouri farm announcing the release of state emergency funds for the drought...in the middle of a tropical downpour!

All that being said, we have enjoyed a couple of nice years, but the law of averages are not pointing in our favor. And traditionally July and August are our toughest months.

Dew Point

I am interested in keeping track of the amount of moisture in the air throughout the year (by means of dew point temperature). Although I could manually check the hi/low Td for each day as I do with the temperature, I'm not convinced I would stay disciplined enough to keep steady data (feeling overwhelmed as I do often). For now, a glance of nighttime temps will suffice, as a lower Td will allow for more cooling overnight. This month, we had 10 days with a nighttime low at or above 70°. That makes for some sticky weather -- or "Air you can wear"-- as one local meteorologist puts it.

June Daily Observations

Temperature

Mostly above average this month. We had 23 days with a high exceeding the average, which helped bump up our mean temp quite a bit over the 30 year average.

Mean Temp: 77.4°
Deviation: +4.7°
Maximum: 95° on Jun. 20
Minimum: 59° on Jun. 30

Precipitation

Interspersed as it was, we still didn't hit the mark this month. Pop-up showers and thunderstorms were the norm in Missouri this month, so extreme differences can be found from station to station. We weren't that lucky, although we did receive our fair share. The lawn looks the brownest that it has in three years (which is its normal dormancy period for MO). I don't mind much because it gives the mowing a little respite.

Average June: 3.87"
Actual June: 2.79" (1.08)

Days with measurable precip: 12

Other Weather Info

Days with thunder = 7
Days with fog = 1
Days with wind gust (>= 20 mph) = 5

Our lawn mowing count is up to 10 for the year. I'm still thinking the total might top out at around 18...we'll see.

Random Photos and Video

Below is a video I shot shortly after sundown on May 24. The lightning was simply beautiful that night, so I couldn't help getting video of it. The camera view is facing ESE.

Other photos I have are ones that I've snapped over the summer. There are plenty, but I chose only a sampling. Enjoy!

Sunrise - June 27, Montauk Springs

The garden so far. We've got peppers that are close to being ready,

lots of green tomatoes, and squash comin out of our ears!

June 8 Shelf Cloud

2010-06-11T23:16:00.000-05:00

June has been relatively active for Missouri. While we have experienced average precip here, the poor folks in northern MO have had an extremely wet 14 days. Estimates for extreme northern MO are up to 10" according to the AHPS Precipitation Analysis team.

The purpose of this post, however is to share one of the most exciting clouds I've witnessed. On the morning of June 8th, around 11:00 a.m., a rather large complex of storms eased its way southeast. After hearing reports of a wicked shelf cloud 30 minutes ahead of the actual storm, I grabbed the camera and waited outside. I was not disappointed! I made an attemt (my first) at pasting together a panoramic of the clouds, but believe me the picture doesn't do the cloud justice. This was amazing.

(For a larger view, click on the picture)

May Weather Summary

2010-06-11T22:41:00.001-05:00

Since the last post, May dried off and heated up. We enjoyed some sun at the beginning of the month, a wet--although not over the top--middle, and by the end, we were getting a nice welcome into summer.

MO-CW-1 Daily Observations

Temperature

Mean Temp: 64.7°
Deviation: +1.0°
Maximum: 91° on May 24
Minimum: 41° on May 8

Precipitation

Average May: 4.97"
Actual May: 4.23" (0.74")

Days with measurable precip: 12

Even with 12 days of measurable precipitation, we still came under the mark for the month. This is partly due to the fact that we didn't have any 1" events, but rather more moderate amounts as shown in the above graph. Compare this with last year's totals below. We had 12 days of measurable precip, but over an inch more rain filled the bucket.

Other Weather Info

Days with thunder: 10
Days with fog: 4
Days with wind gust (>= 20 mph): 5

As of today (June 11), we've mowed the yard 7 times.

A Soggy Eight Days

2010-05-18T08:08:00.001-05:00

May has been tricky this year. We started out with clear blue skies, and for the most part above average temperatures. But the last eight days have been a much different story. While it hasn't come in abundance each day, it has rained on and off - sometimes very heavy, sometimes just a steady mist. But the fact remains that it has soaked us. The eight day total is 3.45", which is 69% of our May average.

Some Mid-May Stats:
(May 1 - 17)

Mean Temp: 59° (2.6°)

Precip Total: 3.69"

Days With Thunder: 7
Days With Fog: 3
Days With Wind Gust (>= 20 mph): 5

As of today, I've mowed the lawn 4 times. The chives are looking beautiful - I'll have pictures of them on my monthly summary. Not a cloud in the sky today...I'm looking for some time to dry out!

April Weather Summary

2010-05-01T15:28:00.003-05:00

-----** Additional Yearly Data Updated on 5/5/10 **-----

April in Missouri can be a wild time. The transition between Winter and Summer can cause some intense battles between air masses, and the midwest is fortunate (or, depending on your view--unfortunate) to receive the brunt of these clashes. While we did have a couple of very weak tornadoes in and around the area, there was no real severe weather to write home about. April can be split up into three segments this year: Wind, warmth, and water.

Wind

50% of the month could be classified as "breezy" (gusts =< 20 mph), as we experienced 15 days meeting that criteria. The first 8 days of the month were incredibly breezy, as they finished off a 10-day period of windy weather. The top wind gust of 40 mph occurred on April 23rd as a strong bow echo passed through. You can view the data HERE.

Warmth

Take a look at the temperature graph. You'll see that of the first 15 days, we experienced a high temperature below average only once. The high temperature during those 15 days averaged at 77.5°, where the normal average high for that period was 63.6°, a 13.9° difference. OSNW3 experienced the same warmth in Wisconsin. For his perspective of April from the upper-midwest, click HERE.

Water

The last 10 days of the month experienced an active weather pattern that brought most of our monthly precip total. Collectively, we recorded 2 days with precip above 1", with our one-day max occurring on the 24th of 3.02". We exceeded our monthly average by 2.58".

MO-CW-1 Daily Observations

Temperature

Mean Temp: 60.9°
Deviation: +6.5°
Maximum: 87° on Apr. 1
Minimum: 36° on Apr. 9

Precipitation

Average April: 3.96"
Actual April: 6.54" (+2.58")

Average April Snow: 0.6"
Actual April Snow: 0.0" (0.6)

Days With Measurable Precip: 11

As the year goes on, count on seeing more bars on the heavy side of the graph.

To compare this April with the past two years:

Other Weather Info

Days With Thunder: 7
Days With Fog: 4
Days With Wind Gust (>= 20 mph): 15

Yearly Weather Info
With the year a quarter of the way done, here's some miscelaneous data:

Max Temp: 87° on Apr. 1
Min Temp: -5° on Jan. 9

Greatest 1-day Precip: 3.02" on Apr. 24
Greatest 1-day Snow: 5.4" on Jan. 6

Days With Thunder: 11
Days With Fog: 21
Days With Wind Gust (>= 20 mph): 28
# of Mows: 2

March Weather Summary

2010-04-05T09:27:00.000-05:00

Another textbook month for Mid-Missouri. March offered a nice respite from the usual suspects of winter by bringing more warmth, humidity, thunder, and more color to the area. Old man winter seemed to get one more punch in on the 20th with a day filled with snow to our west and sleet in the Fulton/Jeff City area. Other than that, it was a very nice spring-filled month. Especially the last week. OSNW3, it definitely went out like a lamb here, too.

March Daily Observations

Temperature

In typical March fashion, temperatures fluxuated (though not wildly) throughout the month. The spread occurred from the beginning of the month to the end.

Mean Temp: 46.5°
Deviation: 2.4°
Maximum: 85° on Mar. 31
Minimum: 20 on Mar. 3

Precipitation

Average March: 3.14"
Actual March: 2.74" (-0.40")

Average March Snow: 3.4"
Actual March Snow: 0.1" (-3.3")

Days with Measurable Precip: 10
Days with Measurable Snow: 1
Days with Snow Cover (>0.1"): 1

Days with Precip:

Average Monthly Total: 3.14"

As you can see, we haven't hit our 3.4" of snow mark, nor gotten even close to it for three years now. Spring has been coming early for us.

Other Weather Info

Days With Thunder: 2
Days With Fog: 4
Days with wind gust (>= 20 mph): 3

Signs of Spring

2010-03-20T09:57:00.001-05:00

Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Tasty Herbs, and Trout. All have been signs that Spring is finally here in Missouri. Even the mix of rain, sleet and snow as of this posting isn't dampening my spirits. I feel renewed and refreshed by the warmer weather and SUN that has been greeting us--although fleetingly--lately. What follows are three glimpses of spring that makes this weather lover and outdoor enthusiast smile.

March 10 -- Thunderstorms...Tornado

March 10 gave us three "firsts" this year. The first day above 70°, first day with thunder, and first tornado warning (and confirmed EF0). The temperature climbed up to 74° under a sunny sky, the climax of a week's worth of rising temperatures. In the spring, though this usually brings the same anticipation as climbing up the hill on a rollercoaster. You know that after you peak, you're in for a rough ride. And, to a point, we did on that Wednesday.

I hurried to get the steaks grilled that afternoon (oh, another "first" for the year) as I could see the dark clouds coming in, and even reports of Severe Weather in the area. We had a little storm pass around 4:30 pm. By bedtime, I had no reason to believe there would be any more severe weather. I was awaken at 10:30 with the town's tornado siren, and thought "surely that couldn't be!". Sure enough, there was a doppler indicated tornado south of the area, moving slightly to our East. After some tense moments, the storm passed with no incident. Fulton spotters reported 1" hail, but I didn't have anything at my location. Appropriately, this was Missouri's Severe Weather Awareness Week.

Tasty Herbs

Picture taken on March 12. The plants in the middle are Columbines, and Chives are popping out of the ground. I was able to use some on my potatoes and trout dinner a couple of days ago. Tasted like summer!

Trout Fishing!

Trout season opens March 1st in Missouri, and I made my first outing last Wednesday. It was a cloudy morning, but the sun peeked out after noon. It was a magnificently fulfilling day. I can't imagine a better way to view God's beauty than the Missouri outdoors.

1st Day of Spring

Today is the first day of spring (as of 12:32 pm), and we have 2" of snow predicted for the area. 62° by Tuesday.

"What Will Fall and Winter Bring" revisited

2010-03-06T16:28:00.000-06:00

Back in August, I posted a comment based on a little research I did into the effects (if any) of an extremely cool summer (find the post HERE). July 2009 gave us some very below-average temps, and although there were no complaints to be heard, I was curious how the fall and winter would play out. Now that the books are filled in, I'd like to revisit that post and see how our data compared with the previous 9 coldest July's.

Fall temperatures didn't impress me either way. If we deviated, it wasn't by too much. The maximum deviation were by 3.1° or 3.2° during these years. This year's fall was no different, only slightly cooler than normal.

Winter temperatures offer the same in the way of deviations. The average of all ten of these years came out to 31.9°, where the normal was 32.0°. This winter's deviation was -3.7°. Below average has been very common for the past 6 months. I wonder if El Nino has something to do with that.

Precipitation is the hot topic for fall and winter. For fall precip, this year and 1905 were quite the outliers with a surplus of +10.05" and +9.61", respectively. Abundant gulf moisture in October was the ticket this year, with 12.49" falling in just one month!

Winter precipitation is a much more telling story. Look at all the black in that column. Surplus precipitation seems very likely, with only one year shorting us a mere -0.19". We followed suit this year with a surplus of +3.08".

Snowfall amounts during these ten sample years are below average. The mean snowfall amounts for these years is 2.4" below average. This year, even with an abundance of days with measurable snow, we still fell short (barring any late-season snowstorms of course). We ended up behind by 1.8" with a total of 18.6".

So how does our friend El Nino play into this? Not sure...but this is the only year (2009) on the data table above that occurs during an official El Nino event. Two years on the table (1950, and 1971) occur one year before a major El Nino event.

February Weather Summary

2010-03-01T07:52:00.001-06:00

Cold and snowy, just as I like winters in Missouri. I've said before that I don't mind the cold weather, as long as we get to enjoy some snow along with it. Last year's winter seemed to drag on and on with our measley snow amounts (February 2009 recorded 0.0" of the stuff). But this year was a nice turn around. We had 7 days with measurable snow, and 11 days that snow was falling from the sky. Although our winter-season snowfall amounts aren't impressive (only average at best), it has been described by many around here as a very "snowy" winter. That is due to the fact that we've had many days with minimal accumulations, and below-average temperatures made sure that it stuck around.

Speaking of which, so far this winter we have recorded snow on the ground 37 days. Now, I'm not sure what is normal, but I am certain that this amount is higher than average. Again, lower temperatures has been the cause of this. Normally, a snow will last anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. This month alone, we saw a 15-day stretch with a snow pack.

February Daily Observations

Temperatures

Mean Temp: 28.4°
Deviation: (5.3°)
Maximum: 48° on Feb. 28
Minimum: 2° on Feb. 9

Heating Degree Days: 1024 | 791 Last Year
Cooling Degree Days: 0

Bob and OSNW3 have reported above average temperatures this February. I don't know what they're doing right, but we can't hardly get above average! We only had 4 days where the high temperature acheived a higher mark than average. The official Columbia NWS station only recorded one! It has been a chilly month in Missouri. A local fruit tree farmer told me that she will probably not have any peaches or apricots this year because of it.

Precipitation

Average February: 2.17"

Actual February: 2.59" (+0.42")

Average February Snow: 5.8"

Actual February Snow: 7.0" (+1.2")

Days with Measurable Precip: 10

Days with Measurable Snow: 7

Days with Snow Cover (>.01): 15

Days with Precip:

Precip Average: 2.17"

We have hit our average precip for the last three years.

Other Weather Info

Days with thunder: 0
Days with fog: 3
Days with wind gust (>= 20 mph): 3

February 8-9 Snow

2010-02-08T07:13:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day. The roads had finally dried, yet snow was still prevalent on the yards and fields (except for a neighbor's yard, where nearly all their snow was used up in constructing a 10' snow monster!) Clouds began to drift in from the west by evening, and overnight, light snow developed in our area and across Missouri.

The air temperature is 6° colder than during Friday's snow. This has completely changed the structure of the snow that's falling, along with the snow-water ratio (which was 6.3 : 1) . Today's snow is a very light, disc-like flake that acts like a million reflectors on the ground.

:: Feb. 8, 6:00 a.m. ::

New snow: 0.7"

SWE: 0.07"

Water Ratio: 10 : 1

Storm Total: 0.7"

Total Snow: 2.5"

(new snow)

(total snow)

What a beautiful day it has been! After this morning's observation, we got the call from school that we'd be staying home. I headed into town to get a cup of coffee and enter the first part of today's entry. On my way back home, I was treated with some sun dogs. I typically see these on the other part of the sky, at evening (although, I usually drive to work before the sun comes up, too). I just happened to have my camera with me:

The sun came out shortly after this picture was taken (roughly 7:30 a.m.), and we had partly sunny skies for a moment or two. The snow didn't pick up again until around noon (giving us the chance to head to Columbia and hit Bass Pro *score!*). Our temperatures hovered just above freezing for the majority of the day, so any snow that fell melted as soon as it hit the ground. I feel that this greatly impacted our storm total amount. It has been snowing at a steady rate since noon, and it is still snowing.

However...the accumulation didn't begin until late evening, when the temperature dropped below freezing once again. Hence the long break between observations.

:: Feb 8, 9:30 p.m. ::

New Snow: 1.2" (since 6 am observation)*

Storm Total: 1.9"

Total Snow: 3.9"

Observation: The wind has just now picked up, as it has been calm all day. It is gaining strength out of the WNW. Light/Moderate snow is falling.

(new snow)

(total snow)

* - Much snow fell today that didn't accumulate.

Monster Snowman!

At least 10' tall

Final report tomorrow morning. Measurement will be difficult as the strong NW winds will blow most of what falls tonight.

:: Feb 9, 6:00 a.m. ::

The snow continued overnight until around 2 a.m. and the temperatures plummeted quickly! When I went to bed, they were just beginning to drop, at 30°. This morning, it is 4° with wind chills down to -6°.

Storm Totals

New Snow: 0.2"

Storm Total: 2.1"

Total Snow: 4.1"

February 4-5 Snow

2010-02-05T08:39:00.009-06:00

Updated 6:30 a.m.Feb. 6

A strong surface low is taking a very similar track as last week's storm, causing headaches for many. This storm, however has pushed precipitation and warmer temperatures farther north. So many people that ended up with near a foot of snowfall last weekend won't have to deal with that this time. It also means that we are in line to get snow this time! In fact, we already have some on the ground.

I'll try to update this entry as often as I can today:

Thursday, Feb. 4

4:55 p.m. | Precipitation began as light rain/sleet, changing over to very light snow, creating a dusting on elevated surfaces and grass.

Overnight, the precipitation tapered off, and slightly above freezing temperatures melted what we had when the sun went down.

Overnight precipitation: 0.03"

Friday, February 5

This morning, at 5:00 a.m., light rain was falling. I could see a very wet snowflake fall in concert with its liquid friends from time to time. By the time I left the house at 6:00 a.m., there was a little "slush" on my car as the snowflakes became more prevalent.

Here are some pictures I took at 7:15 a.m.

By this time, the snow had all changed over, and the flakes were huge -- sometimes the size of quarters! It felt like small snowballs hitting your face.

(in Fulton)

(Hwy 54, just North of Fulton)

(At Auxvasse)

:: 12:35 Update ::

12:30 p.m.

Total Snowfall: 1.2"

Conditions: Light to moderate snow

:: 2:30 p.m. Update ::

Total Snowfall: 1.5"

Conditions: Light snow, wind N 6 mph, gust N 12.

:: 4:30 p.m. Update ::

Back in Fulton

Total Snowfall: 1.9"

Conditions: Light snow, wind N 2-4 mph

:: Update 6:30 a.m. Feb. 6th ::

The snow ended overnight, and we are left with a perfect blanket on the ground. The temperatures were slightly above freezing all day yesterday, which made the job easier for road crews, and the roads look nice. Just a bit slushy.

Storm Snow Total at MO-CW-1: 2.9"

SWE: 0.46"

6.3 : 1 snow to water ratio

The birds are happy that I put out their feed today!

January Summary

2010-02-02T12:36:00.003-06:00

Normally I'm not a fan of January. Memories of it ring of dry, cold weather. While the climatology of the area speaks a different story, I think recent memory has tainted my view of the month. This January, however, provided some nice contrasts, and a good little snow. Generally dry, and overall colder than normal, we experienced a good 5.5" snow, temperatures that ranged from -5° to 52°, and a rain event that sent gulf moisture to the tune of 1.48" in the rain gauge. Not a boring month at all!

January Daily Observations

January 6-7 Snow

Total Snow: 5.4"
Total Precip: 0.27"
Max Wind Gust: WNW 29 mph (Jan 6)

Arctic air spilled in just before the new year, bringing the coldest air of the season so far. Wind chills flirted around -20° at some times. With extreme cold air in place, a strong system slid through the area from the Northwest. Traditionally, these storms don't carry much moisture, especially with the polar air in the region. But this one packed enough punch to give much of the midwest a decent snow cover. As the storm passed, winds picked up, and sustained in the 20 mph range.

As the storm began, we had a few hours of nice, BEAUTIFUL vertically falling snow. Overnight, the winds picked up, and a different scene could be found. Below are a few of pictures of the drifting that occurred:

The snow was extremely dry, with a water content of 20:1. I literally swept the snow off my car in the above picture with a broom. The drifts are telling of the wind gusts we experienced overnight. The drifts you see in the pictures were 12" in some places. Click HERE for more pictures.

Temperatures

Mean Temp: 24.7°
Deviation: (3.1°)
Maximum: 52° on Jan 13
Minimum: -5° on Jan 9

Heating Degree Days: 1250 | 1178 last year
Cooling Degree Days: 0

As I stated before, the arctic air was the story of the first part of the month. On December 31, we dropped below freezing, and we didn't get above that mark for 11 days. That's a long time for our area. Some shallow ponds around here have risked a major fish kill as the ice reached ~10" (as reported to me by some). It is easy to see from the below graph that we rebounded very quickly during the second week, and stayed in a warm pattern for 10 days.

The warmer temperatures are deceiving because during that time, we were under a cloud (in it, actually) for much of that time. Dense fog was the word through that period. For a nine-day period (from Jan 15 - 23), we had fog, lasting all day at times!

Precipitation

Average January: 1.87"
Actual January: 2.47" (+0.60")

Average January Snow: 7.2"
Actual January Snow: 5.6" (1.6")

Days with measurable precip: 5
Days with measurable snow: 3
Days with snow cover (>T): 13

For the third year in a row, January has fallen short of its snowfall quota. After reading OSNW3's January Report, I made an interesting realization. January is supposed to be our snowiest month, but as of late, it hasn't. It is the same in his area (Oshkosh, WI). We did make an improvement from last year's precipitation, thanks to a nice storm system that brought over an inch. Our ground drank up 2"+ more water than last January. Unfortunately, we currently do NOT need any more moisture. I'm afraid our luck will run out this July and August with a crippling drought.

Even though we didn't get many measurable events this month, we did see snow falling from the sky 10 days. The current outlook for the beginning of February promises a combination of a sub-tropical jet (thanks to El Nino), and northern jet stream that could converge enough to provide some interesting weather. It'll be fun to see it pan out.

Days with Precip:

As stated before, the last three years have been lacking in the snow department. It's interesting that we have had equal amounts of measurable precipitation days for each of the years, and although we exceeded the precip amount two out of the three months, we still didn't hit the mark with snowfall. Looking at the NWS STL data for January 2008, I see that it wasfairly warm (3.4° above average), with the high temperature reaching 73° on the 7th!

Other Weather Info

Days with thunder: 0
Days with fog: 9
Days with wind gust (>= 20 mph): 6

CoCoRaHS Recruitment Video

2010-01-26T07:30:00.000-06:00

If you haven't read it yet, Nolan sent an e-mail that contained a link to a video containing some great information about CoCoRaHS. This would be a great link to add to websites, signatures on e-mails, and to send to anyone interested. I'm not sure who created it, but it is well done.

Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKlpFuaLw0I

2009 Year In Review

2010-01-12T16:12:00.000-06:00

Monthly Summaries

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Temperature

Maximum Temperature: 97° on 6/17, 6/19, 6/21, and 6/22

Minimum Temperature: -4° on 1/15

Coldest Month: January | 27.0° mean temp

Warmest Month: June | 77.4° mean temp

Coldest than average month: October | -5.2° mean temp departure

Warmest than avg month: November | +7.6° mean temp departure

Looking at the above yearly temperature graph, I made an interesting realization. It seems, this year at least, that there is much more temperature variability in the winter and spring months (sorry there's no X axis labels...couldn't figure that one out). The temps really flatten out in the middle of the year, from late spring to early fall.

Precipitation

Average Yearly Precipitation: 41.22"
2009 Precipitation Total: 58.22"
2009 Precipitation Deviation: +17.00"

What a year for precipitation. 2008 and 2009 was the wettest two-year period for the area, as noted by state climatologist Anthony Lupo. We had 10 months that exceeded the monthly precipitation average. On the flip side, we were very lacking in the snow department. Only 8.8" fell in the entire year! 14.5" below average. It was not a fun start to the year...just cold and dry. December gave us the only month with above-average snowfall.

For two years in a row, we haven't had any droughts to speak of, which is not common in this area. Usually, we will experience a bad drought at least once a year. I'm afraid of what may come next year.

I was excited for this last graphic. The "Days With Precipitation" graph tells you what kinds of rain/precipitation events we experience here in Fulton.

Total Days with Measurable Precipitation: 127 (34.8% of year)

Total Days with Precipitation (T or more): 158 (43.3% of year)

I'm excited to be able to compare this with each year as we will inevitably have a drier year this year.

Other Data

Days with thunder (from March to December): 45

Stormiest Month: June (11 days)...also the warmest month

Windiest Month (no data Jan/Feb): March and April

I'm working on a graphic depicting each wind event we had here at the station. So check back for that later. I'm sure I have forgotten to add something, so some updates may be necessary.

January 6-7 storm

2010-01-08T22:34:00.000-06:00

The beginning of the new year has started a new trend in our weather. Cold and snowy. We are currently in the middle of one of the coldest cold snaps (close to the top 10 for Columbia), and from the period of January 1 - 8, our mean temperature is a mere 9.8°.

A low pressure system plunged SE on Wednesday, January 6. In the morning, the system was centered in South Dakota, and by 2:50 p.m., we started to see our first flakes fly. The line of snow had to push through the area by about 50 miles before the snow could saturate the lower layer of the atmosphere and reach the ground. With the sub-freezing temperatures we experienced prior to this (we hadn't seen above-freezing temps since 12/31), the snow stuck quickly and the roads got slick in a hurry. Of course, folks in Missouri really freak out when snow hits the roads. Many people don't realize that you can't drive the same in all conditions.

The snow continued at a moderate rate throughout the night. I went to bed around 10:30 p.m. (late for me) before the winds picked up. We had right at 2.0" of light, fluffy snow. The flakes were beautiful, perfect dendritic works of art. The true work of a master craftsman.

By morning, the scene had changed quite a bit. After the strong low pressure system pushed through, the backside brought strong NW winds gusting around 30 mph. I have picures to share with you, and will add them to this post early next week. The houses in the neighborhood created wind tunnels and provided some wonderful drifts between and around them. This made measurement a nightmare!

How in the world do you measure such a snow??

I went around, taking multiple measurements...some were 1/2", some over 12". I finally decided to let math do the work for me. Using the data from the KCOU station at the Columbia Regional Airport, I calculated the snow density, and using my melted snow from this station, I figured up a number of 5.4". This turned out to be close to the average of all my measurements, so that's the figure I went with. Not as quantitative as I wish, but it's the best I could do! If any old hats have any suggestions for measuring blowing snow, I'd be happy to learn more. Our snow density was 20 : 1

Frigid Temperatures

Here's a rundown of this month's temperatures so far:

1/1: 20 10
1/2: 18   0
1/3: 15   2
1/4: 16 -3
1/5: 21 -2
1/6: 24   3
1/7: 19   1
1/8: 10   2

It has snowed 5 of the past 8 days. It's turning out to be a beautiful winter. Look for updates including pictures early next week.

December Weather Summary

2010-01-04T17:17:00.001-06:00

As this month came to a close, I have tried to think of a creative way to describe its events. None come to mind...maybe its the sinus infection that has taken residence in the creative part of my head. For all I could tell, this December, although it had its significant events, was an average one for Mid-Missouri.

View Daily Observations Here

Temperatures

High Temp: 57° on 12/1

Low Temp: 7° on 12/10

Mean Hi Temp / Average: 39.3° / 41.5° (-2.2)

Mean Lo Temp / Average: 24.3° / 22.5° (+1.8)

Mean Temp / Average: 31.8° / 32.0° (-0.2)

As you can see, aside from the brief extreme changes which define life in the midwest, we were able to keep a near-steady mean temperature for the month. In addition, we exceeded the average high temp mark 10 days and were below the mark 21 days.

Precipitation

Two things come to mind with precipitation: Flooding rain and lots of snow! During the period of 12/22 - 27, we recorded 2.77" of precip (103% of our monthly average). And it sure seemed snowy, as we recorded 9 measurable days of snow (13 days if you count the days with only a trace). While we only recorded 6" for the month, it was above average, and with low temperatures it has stuck around a while.

Days with snow on the ground: 9 (0.5" or higher) OSNW3 was right in the comment he left on the last post, when it snows, it doesn't stick around long. That's why it seems so snowy to me here. Its nice to see the white stuff stick around. And with current forecasts, the snow doesn't look like it'll be leaving us any time soon.

December was the 10th month this year to record a surplus in precipitation. More on that and the yearly graph in a future Year-In-Review post.

Average precip: 2.70"

Average December Snowfall: 4.7"

Total This December: 6.0"

The days with measurable precipitation for December:

Summary of December 23 - 27 Storm

2009-12-29T22:29:00.000-06:00

The Christmas Snow of 2009 will be remembered by many in the country. While we didn’t get much of the snow, the event was still memorable for us in mid-Missouri. Here’s a wrap-up of the events, starting the night of the 22nd.

-- December 22 --

As the warm air mass lie just to our south, rain began to spread over the area overnight on the 22nd and early morning the 23rd.

Daily Precip 12/22: 0.39"

-- December 23 --

Rain fell modrately throughout the day on the 23rd, falling heavy at times. The next map shows the distribution of thunderstorms that rolled through the area during the evening hours.

Daily Precip 12/23: 1.70"

-- December 24 --

During the morning hours, we caught a bit of a break from the rain. During the afternoon though, the rain picked up again. The big story today was the severe storms down in Louisiana, and snow falling in Texas and Oklahoma. Dallas recorded their top December 1-day snow, with a total of 3". Oklahoma City recorded 16" in a record-breaking one-day total.

Daily Precip 12/24: 0.59"

Daily Snowfall 12/24: 0.1"

As the low treveled north of the area, cold air spilled in from the west and changed the rain over to light snow. We were greeted to light snow falling and a bit of snow on the ground Christmas morning.

-- December 25 --

The wind picked up overnight as the front passed, although not as bad as the blizzard conditions in Nebraska and Kansas. Our top wind gust at this station was SSW at 25 mph early in the morning.

Our high temperature of 51° occurred just after midnight, and nine hours later we reached our low temperature of 17°. We stayed in the upper teens and low 20s all day. It was cold and windy!

As you can see in the next few maps, the low meandered a while in Iowa and northern Missouri. As it did, it provided a steady snowfall throughout Christmas day. Although it didn't accumulate much, it was perfect for a beautiful, yet easy to travel day in mid-Missouri.

Daily Precip 12/25: 0.04"

Daily Snowfall 12/25: 0.5"

-- December 26 --

The 26th was much like Christmas day, except not quite as windy. Flurries and light snow fell through much of the day, accumulating a bit.

Daily Precip 12/26: 0.05"

Daily Snowfall 12/26: 0.5"

-- December 27 --

In this final map, moderate snow was falling the morning of the 27th. There was a persistent band of moderate snow that lined up on I-70, with snow ending in Fulton a little after sunrise. St. Louis felt the snow for longer in the morning. This was our final, yet heaviest snow of the system.

Daily Precip 12/27: 0.11"

Daily Snowfall 12/27: 1.3"

Storm Total Precipitation: 2.77"

Storm Total Snow: 2.4"

White Christmas

2009-12-25T11:25:00.000-06:00

It's been seven years since we last woke up to a white Christmas. The snow storm that brought record-breaking snowfall to Texas and Oklahoma has pushed northward, allowing the cold arctic air to spill in and give us the snow we were dreaming of. At daybreak, we only had a trace on the ground, but presently at 11:00 a.m. we have nearly an inch. It's nothing to shake a wovel at, but it's enough to cover the ground. And with my family all here, on Christmas...it's beautiful.

This is a storm that will be remembered for many years. Check out Chris' CoCoRaHS blog to see the massive amounts of watches/warnings that were posted. Everything from blizzard to tornado, this storm has had it all. So far, this storm has kicked out 15 reported tornadoes in Louisiana and Mississippi, and over a dozen people have been killed in the blizzard. A reminder of the power and danger of these storms.

A current radar image shows the size of the storm.

Ami, I heard you had a nice Christmas gift last night. Can't wait to see your data online! :o)

I hope everyone has a blessed and peaceful Christmas.

Traveling This Week? Read This!

2009-12-21T14:43:00.000-06:00

Visit this blog for the latest on the storm to impact the midwest later this week. You'll find some analysis of the storm and possible events to take place, PLUS suggested arrival times for cities around the midwest. Much work was put into this post, so many thanks to Jeff and all the forecasters at KMIZ.

Cold Start to December

2009-12-12T09:38:00.000-06:00

Over the past six months, five of them (December included) have started out with below-average temperatures. So far this month, we have only seen a high temperature exceed the average two times (from 12/1 - 12/11).

Attention should be drawn to December 8-10. This was the timeframe of a major snowstorm that impacted a huge section of the upper-midwest. Parts of Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin got buried by snow up to 12" in places, and a widespread swath of 8-10". Here's a great image of the snow cover. Quite impressive.

(source: National Weather Service, IA/IL)

Below are some links to area National Weather Service offices that were affected by the storm.

Quad Cities, IA/IL

LaCrosse, WI

Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI

Topeka, KS

Omaha/Valley, NE

Looking Ahead

The Climate Prediction Center still shows December giving us below-average temperatures, with equal chances of precipitation. Local meteorologists are expecting small disturbances to move through the area, bringing small snow events, but nothing big.

Heavy Wind December 9

On December 9, I celebrated my 30th birthday with a max wind gust of..yep, 30 mph at the house. In Auxvasse, we recorded 31.1 mph. Sustained winds were anywhere from 15 - 25 throughout the night and day.

Here's a summary of official wind gusts in the area from the NWS STL office.

LOCATION                  PEAK GUST (MPH)      TIME

ST CHARLES      (KSET)        58              902 AM
LITCHFIELD      (K3LF)        58              804 AM
ST LOUIS        (KSTL)        56              811 AM
CHESTERFIELD    (KSUS)        52              711 AM
ALTON           (KALN)        52              850 AM
HANNIBAL        (KHAE)        49              705 AM
WELDON SPRING   (KLSX)        49              750 AM
BELLEVILLE      (KBLV)        48              744 AM, 911 AM
JEFFERSON CITY  (KJEF)        48              750 AM
COLUMBIA        (KCOU)        47              738 AM
QUINCY          (KUIN)        47              643 AM, 935 AM
SALEM           (KSLO)        46              945 AM, 1025 AM
SULLIVAN        (KUUV)        45              925 AM
CAHOKIA         (KCPS)        45              852 AM
PITTSFIELD      (KPPQ)        44              706 AM
CENTRALIA IL    (KENL)        43             1005 AM
SPARTA          (KSAR)        39              225 AM, 1025 AM
FARMINGTON      (KFAM)        38              215 AM, 955 AM

First Accumulating Snow

2009-12-07T07:40:00.000-06:00

Last night, we were treated with our first accumulating snow. A weak system flew through the area during the evening hours, and around 8:00 p.m., we experienced light (moderate at times) snowfall. It was enough to cover the cars and mostly cover the grass. I was able to get outside after it stopped to measure how much had fallen. Officially, we had 0.2" here, and 0.3" at school in Auxvasse.

Keep your eye on the graphic in the sidebar to the right. I put the snow forecast graphic from the STL NWS office. They update it a few times a day during active weather. It does look like the low is going to track right in our back yard, successfully squelching any chances for a big snow event here. For some good reading in the next few days, though, keep these blogs in your tabbed windows! Our friends in Wisconsin are going to get a nice storm!

Watching the Dec. 8-9 Storm

2009-12-04T09:53:00.000-06:00

The season of anticipation has begun for me. Missouri can be a very variable place for weather, and December can provide some impressive snow storms. I'm hoping next week won't dissapoint (which was the story for last winter).

Up to this point, all reports about next week's storm has been favoring a southern track for the Low, with it passing through the SE corner of MO, through IL Northeastward. This would put us in the shield of heavy snow on the NW side of the system. Today's models however have trended the path more northwards, with the newest GFS model tracking the Low through Eastern KS, Central MO, and Northeastward. This puts Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin in the crosshairs for the major event, which would be a welcomed sight from the snow-deprived bloggers in WI.

Unfortunately, that puts the Low tracking right over us, which would greatly decrease our chances for a major event. Forecasters are still calling for below-freezing temps for much of the time period as a cold shot of air will be passing through just as the system arrives. This may give us our first accumulation (and possibly still a snow day), but not a major event.

As always, much can change between now and Tuesday, and I'll keep the blog updated till then!

November Weather Summary

2009-12-02T13:15:00.004-06:00

At the end of October's monthly summary, I mentioned that the CPC suggested that November would be drier. They were certainly right, and had it not been for a strong storm dumping over 2" on us mid-month, we would have reported much drier conditions for November. As I stated in a previous post, we experienced 16 days without measurable precipitation; this is on the heels of the wettest month of the year. The more than two week respite from the rain provided a chance for the farmers to get out and harvest most of their crops. We still have beans and corn standing in places.

As of today, we have not seen any snow here in Fulton. There are places in Mid-Missouri that have reported a trace of snow, but none here. Therefore, the November snowfall average of 1.6" was not met. To my knowledge, we ran a deficit on snowfall every month last winter. Look forward to more complete data this year.

Temperatures

November ranked 9th warmest on history for Columbia, as this data depicts. We only had 6 days with a below-average high temp, and 23 days above-average.

Mean High / (average): 60.2 / (53.4) +6.8

Mean Low / (average): 41.4 / (33.0) +8.4

Mean Temp / (average): 50.8 / (43.2) +7.6

High Temp: 76° on November 7

Low Temp: 27° on November 27

Precipitation

As stated before, we experienced a 16-day dry spell, which was abruptly ended by a 2.08" rain on the 15th (made the deer hunters pretty mad). The 5-day precip total from the 15th - 19th was 2.86". This means that 97% of our precip total for the month fell in this 5-day period.

Average monthly total for November: 3.85"
Actual monthly total for November: 2.94"
Deviation: -0.91"

This is the first time we have had a deficit of precipitation since January.

Although we ran a deficit, we are still above the past two Novembers

For the year, we currently have a surplus of 15.98", which is unbelievable to me considering some people only get that much a year. I am up to two years since I last watered my yard. That's almost unheard of in Missouri, since we almost always have a grass-killing drought sometime each summer.

Data disaggregation of days with precip:

Missing something? Snow graph. Hopefully I'll have one for you next month.

First Snow Today?

2009-12-02T06:40:00.001-06:00

There is a chance we could see our first accumulation here at MO-CW-1 in Fulton. The forecast changed a bit overnight due to the track of the storm, but we still stand a chance to have some white on grassy surfaces by tonight. At least we'll get to see the snow fall for the first time this year.

December Outlook...Cold and Active??

2009-11-27T23:31:00.001-06:00

Record cold October...check

Near record warm November...check

Record cold December?

I saw an interesting blog entry from the local TV station (KMIZ) tonight. They frequently do a superb job of keeping the public updated with any potential weather threat as early as they can. This particular entry caught my attention with the words "colder than average month, and very active as well".

Watch the video

This reminds me of the last significant snow event we experienced here in Fulton. It was November 30 - December 1, 2006. Fulton officially recorded 14.2" during that period. Interestingly enough, I was watching the weather that day (no school that day obviously), when I saw an advertisement for CoCoRaHS on the local CBS station, it was the first I had heard of it.

Here is the great write up the NWS in St. Louis made on the storm.

They added an amazing satellite pic from the MODIS polar orbiting satellite that shows the grandeur of this awesome storm. OSNW3, looking at your data, you managed to squeeze 1.1" out of the system.

(Source: nasa.gov)

Follow the source link for higher-resolution pictures

October Re-visited

2009-11-16T15:24:00.002-06:00

I'll start today's post with an interesting statistic for the year:

The wettest month this year was October -- with a total rainfall of 12.49".
Immediately following this, we experienced our driest period of the year, with 16 days of no measurable precipitation (>T)

After a very warm beginning to November, October is back with temperatures in the 40s and all-day rain events. Some cooler air is spilling in behind the storm system bringing 5-8" of snow to Kansas. Our first rain of the month came on the 15th with 2.08". I thought we might actually have a month with below average precip, but I'm starting to think again. These poor farmers in Callaway County are having a hard time getting their crops in. There are still fields half-full of corn in places.

What Month is This?

2009-11-10T06:15:00.000-06:00

It seems October and November made a switch this year. What an amazing shift in weather! The month of October, with its 12.49" precip total, under average temperatures, and even some snow to the upper midwest, gave way to the most pleasant beginning to November I can remember. The past 9 days have simply been a delight. We have enjoyed dry weather, sunny skies, and above-average temps every day so far.

We have gone 11 days now without any measurable precipitation, which is the first time since February 25th of this year. With a 40% chance of showers today, we might be able to extend this dry spell even longer.

I don't mind, as long as it gets cold and nasty by the time deer season rolls around.

An October To Remember

2009-11-02T07:17:00.002-06:00

--- Updated 11/4 ---

This summer was quiet in the world of weather blogs. We have more than made up for it this month, though. October 2009 brought with it record cold and wet weather. We saw a couple mornings with frost early on, but for the most part, the temperature stayed above freezing overnight. Here are some notable stats on the month:

We experienced 21 days with at least a trace of precip
Average Temperature: 50.8° *4th coldest October*
Total Precip: 12.49" *New Record for Fulton*
Fun Fact:

Every Thursday was wet
Every Saturday was dry <-- Correlation?

Click HERE for MO-CW-1 Daily Observations

Temperatures

We only exceeded the average high temperature 5 times this month.

Highest Temp: 75° on Oct. 20

Lowest Temp: 30° on Oct. 18

Mean High (average): 59.3° (68.0°) | -8.7

Mean Low (average): 42.4° (44.1°) | +1.7

Mean Temp (average): 50.8° (56.0°) | +5.2

Days Above Average High: 5

Days Below Average High: 26

Precipitation

Days with measurable precipitation: 18

Days with thunder: 5

Our yearly total so far. The average yearly precipitation total for Fulton is 41.22"

Looking at a comparison of the past three Octobers gives you an idea of the huge month this has been.

Monthly Average: 3.25"

Finally, a data disaggregation of our precip this month:

Looking Ahead to November

Looking at the CPC models, a drier and warmer start to November seems to be the hand dealt to us. I am glad for the break. I'd like to take some time analyzing the past month some more. I'm sure I'll want to know more about what happened a few years from now.

----.....----.....----.....----

Weather Station Now Online!!

2009-10-29T06:51:00.001-05:00

I am very excited this morning. Our wonderful tech guy here at school has hooked up our new WMR-968 online. I'm still playing with much of the formatting and such, but it will start shaping up soon.

The outside temp sensor and anemometer are still in my room (haven't had a chance to get them in an appropriate place outside yet), but they will be up soon.

The official school weather site is HERE.

For more detailed data and weather history for the station, click HERE.

October Update

2009-10-22T09:35:00.000-05:00

After recording the coldest start to October, we had a snippet of what we've been missing over the past few days. This week has given us sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. We've been trying to get in all the outside time we can before these days are long gone.

The National Weather Service STL has updated their records through October 19, and Columbia is still recording the coldest average temperature, while St. Louis is recording the 2nd coldest. View their data here.

After recording 0.05" this morning, our October total tipped the 8" mark. We are currently above the yearly average by 5.89" with 2.5 months to go.

NOAA's Winter Outlook

2009-10-16T12:06:00.002-05:00

Everyone's wondering what this winter will bring with El Nino in affect. NOAA has just recently published an article outlining what they believe this winter will look like. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out!

View the article here.

Source: NOAA

Source: NOAA

Chilly and Wet Start to October

2009-10-15T06:27:00.003-05:00

We are still two weeks away from Halloween, but the weather feels more like Thanksgiving. Our average high temperature this past week has been 52°, which is the normal high for November 19. Cloudy, drizzly, rainy. That's pretty much how you can describe October so far this year.

Some stats:

October 1 - 14

Mean Temperature (normal): 50.04° (59.43°)
Total Rainfall (monthly norm): 7.88" (3.25")
Days meeting/exceeding average high temp: 0

From the NWS STL website, these are the top ten coldest periods from October 1-14 in Columbia, MO:

  Value   Year
1    50.2   2009
2    51.0   1987
3    51.3   1988
4    51.8   1977
5    52.1   1917
6    54.3   1935
7    54.5   1964
8    54.7   1921,1952
10   55.0   1908

Finally, check out this month's temperature graph so far.

Storm Rain Total

2009-10-09T15:57:00.007-05:00

Fulton Station, MO-CW-1: 5.72"

Auxvasse Station, MO-CW-5: 5.83"

**For a complete 3-day loop of this storm, visit OSNW3's blog entry October 11 Scroll to the bottom for radar loop**

Thursday, October 8

Friday, October 9

Flooding Rain Today

2009-10-08T07:41:00.003-05:00

Heavy rain has been affecting the area since late last night. I don't know what your favorite sound is, but mine is thunder in the morning. It can perk me up better than a finely brewed cup of coffee. This rain has come so quickly, and our ground was semi-saturated from the wet end of September and early October. Creeks and rivers have quickly filled their banks. The road by our house had 3-4" of water over it, and in the 6 years we have lived here, I have never seen it with water.

Morning observations (as of 5:30 a.m.)

Fulton Station (MO-CW-1): 1.59"
Auxvasse Station (MO-CW-5): 2.85"

I've been hearing word of students not able to come to school and some roads have been closed in the area.

Here are some local storm reports. I'll update as I get time today:

6:30 a.m. (Boone County) Several water rescues have occurred
6:55 a.m. (Callaway County) 6-8" of water on county roads

::Update::

So far at school (using an electronic rain gauge) we have experienced 4.25". I haven't checked my CoCoRaHS gauge yet, so I'm looking forward to seeing if the electronic gauge holds up.

Other reports:

3.82" reported at Sanborn Field at the MU Campus in Columbia
2.25" in Mexico, just north of here

Rain Intensity Table

2009-10-06T07:06:00.003-05:00

I was doing some research on the water cycle for a class when I ran across this table on the USDA website. It quantitatively defines precipitation of different intensities, and I found it to be interesting.

An early October cold front gave me a nice wake up this morning at around 5:00. Lots of lightning and 0.35" of rain fell (as of 6:00) in response to the squall line. The parent Low pressure center is currently marching into Wisconsin giving our friends up there another soaking, giving them a relief from a dry September.

The snow returns on the national radar is becoming more common each day. It won't be long!

September Weather Summary / WY 08-09 Summary

2009-10-01T05:33:00.011-05:00

I'm pulling double duty on this month's summary. With the books officially closed on the 08-09 water year, I'd like to share some water year data with you. First, let's start with this month.

As in my previous post, this month shows more of the same in the precipitation department. We ran another surplus, but only after following a 31-day period of 0.31". Late in the month, an upper level low spinning in Colorado offered us the relief we needed, and my lawn responded with vigor! Each mow, now I am thinking, "Is this the last time?" Let's hope this weekend is the last.

Overnight, a warm front lifted NE through the area, giving us a milder start to the day than the previous few mornings (temps in the 60s rather than 40s), currently, there is a wide swath of rain and storms spreading from Texas to Missouri, and into Montana. Quite impressive indeed. There is thunder in the area, and we are sure to get the first precip of WY 09-10.

September Observations can be found here

Temperatures

September offered us very comfortable temperatures. We started and ended the month a bit on the cool side, but we stayed around average through the middle of the month.

High: 83° on 9/11 and 9/27

Low: 44° on 9/29 and 9/30

Mean High (average): 76.2° (79.1°)

Mean Low (average): 57.0° (55.4°)

# of Days Above Average High: 6

# of Days Below Average High: 20

Precipitation

Average Precip: 3.68"
September Precip: 4.28"

And our yearly totals so far...

2007 - 2009 September Comparisons

In a comparison to the previous two years, you can see a remarkable difference in rain amounts. Last year, the tropics were extremely active, and we had two tropical depressions impact our area. One even came right through Missouri! The result of that is easy to spot on the graph. 2007, on the other hand experienced some extreme drought (if you'll remember, that was the same year with the devastating Easter Freeze).

September Days with Thunder: 2

I took some time over the weekend to generate some disaggregated data concerning rainfall amounts. I was interested to know the frequencies in which we experienced heavy/light rainfall events. I'm excited to have these data now. Thanks to OSNW3 for showing me some cool features on Excel.

January - August 2009
Days With Precipitation

Water Year 2008 - 09 Summary

Yearly Precipitation Average: 41.22"
WY 2008-09 Deviation: +6.00"

Links to Monthly Summaries:

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August

Aug 19 - Sep 19 Dry Spell

2009-09-26T17:17:00.007-05:00

September is winding down. The trees have just started to shed their chlorophyllic pigments, and as a butterfly hatches out, each day provides more and more color. In my previous job, fall was a very demanding season, and I haven't really had the privilege to enjoy God's autumn beauty in Missouri's woodlands. This year has been different, though. I've had the chance to spend some time outside with my three girls, and just recently enjoyed some much needed time with my wife down at the lake.

But that's not the topic of this post.

September is showcasing yet another surplus month for precipitation. As of today (9/25), we are running a surplus of 0.59". With the exception of a dry January, every month has exceeded the average precipitation mark. But the data for September doesn't tell the whole story.

(click table for larger image)

For a period starting on August 19, we experienced a very dry and cool weather pattern. Foggy mornings and mostly sunny skies were the norm for much of that period. The air was dry, and we only exceeded our average high temperature four times.

As beautiful as the weather was, we did go through a period of 31 days with very little rain. We experienced only 6 days with measurable precipitation (0.01 or greater), with the total precip adding up to 0.31".

Visual stress could be seen in some plants and the soil. The cracks in my garden grew bigger and bigger as the clay in our soil shrunk like an old piece of leather. By the end of that period, I couldn't till/weed the garden as the soil had become hard as a rock.

The ground around our foundation also began to pull apart, making me all the more thankful that we don't have a basement. Folks around here are plagued by periods of dry weather. Once the first big rain comes, the water comes pouring in because of a semi-impervious dry soil.

We did get our relief as an impressive upper level low spun in Colorado for a few days, bringing the first snow to some in the mountains, and steering moisture our way. We experienced some nice cloudy days and soaking rains.

The graph below highlights the two major rains we experienced during this two-month period: August 16 - 19, and September 19 - 24. The latter being the effect of the Colorado upper level low.

I've put together some disaggregated precipitation data this week that shows the frequencies of monthly rain event intensities. I'll start posting them in my monthly reports.

As the weather gets colder, I'm getting excited for a couple of reasons: The deer woods are calling my name, and each day is a day closer to our first snowfall!

Austrailia Dust Storm

2009-09-23T09:07:00.001-05:00

I ran across this news article this morning. It's good reading for weather enthusiasts.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1215443/Australia-dust-storm-sweeps-eastern-coast.html

August Weather Summary

2009-09-02T06:31:00.001-05:00

This has been the summer that just keeps on giving. I can't remember a July and August that were as beautiful as these have been. While no records were broken, the month could be summarized as consistently cool and abundantly wet.

> Days we've met or exceeded average max temp: 5
> Days with thunder: 7

Interested in the cooler weather, I began to keep track of our deviation from the normal high temperatures. What I found didn't surprise me. Here are the data from June/July/August and a summer mean.

June:

Max Deviation: +13° on 6/1, 6/2, 6/17
Mean Deviation: +5.73°

July

Max Deviation: -19° on 7/21
Mean Deviation: -6.84°

August

Max Deviation: -18° on 8/30
Mean Deviation: -5.42°

Summer High Temp Mean Deviation: -2.17°

_________________________________

MO-CW-1 Daily Observations

Temperatures

As was the theme last month, we have experienced below-average temperatures for much of August. I had a few students asking if I'd close the window yesterday! I love the crisp air that September and October bring...I just never expected it to be here so early. The weather complaint compartment can take a vacation in Missouri.

High: 93° on 8/11 and 8/12

Low: 49° on 8/30

Mean Temperature (Average): 72.11° (75.65°)

Mean High (Average): 81.9° (87.3°)

Mean Low (Average): 62.4° (64.0°)

_________________________________

Precipitation

August precipitation gave us another surplus of 1.01". Check out the stark contrast between 2007 and 2009. We had quite a bad drought that summer along with some brutal 100° days. We haven't had any precipitation >0.10" for two weeks now, so even though our numbers are impressive, we are feeling pretty dry right now.

Average August Precip: 3.64"

I'm starting to see some fall color here and there (maybe some trees are experiencing stress?) One tree by our school is in bright orange/yellow. I'll post any updates as I see them. Enjoy the transition everyone!

Heavy Rain August 16-17

2009-08-19T04:57:00.003-05:00

Much of Central and Northwest Missouri experienced heavy rainfall with a weak stationary front that slowly drifted SE through the state earlier this week.

Here is a list of the highest 2-day storm totals in the Kansas City area.

Location	Rainfall Total (inches)
Chillicothe, MO (DCP)	12.32"
Chillicothe, MO (COOP)	9.6"
Prairie Hill, MO	8.07"
Plattsburg, MO	7.20"
Leavenworth, KS	6.25"
Brookfield, MO	6.12"
Brunswick, MO	5.27"
Kansas City Int	5.05"
Trenton, MO	3.56"
St. Joseph, MO	3.15"
Lees Summit, MO	2.42"
Olathe, KS	2.75"
Kirksville, MO	2.14"
Sedalia, MO	0.45"

(Source: NWS Kansas City)

And their radar estimated totals...

(Source: NWS Kansas City)

The Cooling Continues

Besides a few warm days in the beginning of the month, it has been a carbon copy of July. On Monday, we experienced our first "dreary" day where the sun was nowhere to be seen. A reminder of things to come!
We are on the mark as of today in the rain bucket for August with a total of 3.61", only 0.03" behind the average for Fulton. Seems with the strong cold front passing through today we will have another above average month.

What Will Fall and Winter Bring?

2009-08-07T06:41:00.003-05:00

With the unusually cool July we experienced this year, you have to wonder what is in store for us this fall and winter. Thanks to OSNW3's comment on the July Summary, and a wealth of data on the National Weather Service STL site, I was able to dig up pictures from the past that may shed some light on what is to come.

(click on table for larger image)

I didn't find anything too extreme with the fall temperatures, although they tended to be a little below average. The same can be said about winter temperatures as well, with the exception of 1904, which was a cold winter.

The real story is in the precipitation department. A majority of the time, the fall precipitation was below average, with the exception of 1905, when September recorded 11.54" (possibly a hurricane?). And every year except one recorded above average winter precipitation.

It'll be fun to see how this year plays out!

EAA AirVenture 2009

2009-08-06T07:24:00.004-05:00

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) wrapped up its AirVenture event this weekend. I have to say, it is a class act. There is so much to see, too much for the two days we were there.

What struck me the most about the weekend was the awareness I experienced about the sights and sounds of World War II. Nothing can fully replace the experience of being in war, but I felt that they replicated it very well, with respect and admiration for any service man past or present. I think it's important to remember what veterans of war have experienced and the price that many have paid for the freedom we so often take for granted.

Here are the pictures I snapped while there. For more professional pictures of the event, visit the EAA website.

July Weather Summary

2009-08-05T08:08:00.002-05:00

July has come and gone. As I sit tonight on the farm, listening to the chorus of nighttime in Missouri (and a sleeping dog in the room), I find myself reflecting on the pleasures of July. After-dinner walks with my beautiful girls, morning runs, fishing trips, and blackberry pickin'...there usually isn't much to speak of as far as the weather is concerned, but that's okay. It seems that even the weather needs a break, too. This July is no different as we haven't experienced any major weather events. The conversations you here today--and many other areas--speak the tone of how beautiful our weather has been! Here are some notable stats:

> Maximum temperature: 90° on July 11
> Minimum temperature: 56° on July 18, 19*, 20* (*record)
> Mean temperature: 72.3° (Second coldest July at COU)
> Days we've met or exceeded average max temp: 3

In the precipitation department, we have run a surplus this year once again. Last year's deluge near the end of the month offered us an unheard of total of 11.77" of rain. I was away for that 3-day event, but was welcomed home with a rain gauge filled more than half way! Here are the totals from the last three years:

July 2007 ..... 1.42"
July 2008 ..... 11.77"
July 2009 ..... 6.48"

______________________________________

I did a little research on 100 degree days here as it seems that it's been a while. My hunch was right, we haven't experienced a day over 100° since August 16, 2007.

Here is a list of 100° days as recorded at the Columbia Regional Airport (COU):

2009: None

2008: None

2007:

8/7 : 100°
8/11: 103°
8/12: 102°
8/14: 104°
8/15: 105°
8/16: 103°

2006:

7/19: 101°
7/20: 103°
7/29: 101°
7/30: 103°
7/31: 102°
8/1 : 102°
8/2 : 103°
8/6 : 103°
8/9 : 102°

2005:

7/20: 100°
7/21: 102°
7/22: 103°
7/23: 105°
7/24: 105°
7/25: 102°
8/3 : 100°
8/10: 101°

2004: None

2003:

8/17: 103°
8/18: 101°
8/19: 100°
8/20: 102°
8/21: 105°
8/25: 101°
8/26: 101°

2002: None

2001: None

2000: None

______________________________________

MO-CW-1 Daily Observations

Temperatures

As I walked out to my car yesterday morning before the sun was up, I was greeted with a familiar sensation. A warm front had passed through and brought with it the wet sultry air that fills your lungs this time of year. It sure made me thankful for the absence of heat and humidity last month.

High: 90° on July 10

Low: 56° on July 18, 19*, 20* (*record)

Mean High (Average): 81.8° (88.6°)

Mean Low (Average): 63.1° (66.3°)

Precipitation

Had it not been for heavy rain on the 3rd, this would have been a below average month for the rain bucket. Our daily total of 3.52" on that day helped us reach our surplus of 2.36".

Average July Precip: 4.12"

EAA Oshkosh

I went with my dad, brother, and his two sons this past weekend up in OSNW3's part of the country for the annual Airventure air show. The show impressed me on so many levels, and the weather followed suit. With the exception of a brief shower early Saturday morning in response to the cold front passing through, we had partly cloudy skies all day Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures struggled to get out of the 70s both days, too. I will post pictures later this week.

The time has almost come to get the kids back in the classroom. Since we don't have AC yet, here's to another cool month!

Toad Strangler!

2009-07-04T20:09:00.000-05:00

I woke up a few times to thunder and heavy rain pounding against the house. Boy was I surprised to see the gauge this morning. 3.52" fell between midnight and my 7:32 a.m. observation time. I'm not sure when the precip began exactly.

July's average precip is 4.12". I'll post again with the combined total when the rain stops today.

Happy 4th!

--UPDATE--

We received 0.20" since the morning reading, bringing our total to 3.72" since last night.

June Weather Summary

2009-07-01T11:58:00.004-05:00

June was a fun month for weather watchers in Missouri. Up to this point in the year, we haven't been impacted with anything out of the ordinary, but this month saw multiple heat advisories, dew point temperatures consistently in the upper 70s, and a mesocyclone with 1.25" hail in the area.

Daily Observations

We received 7 days with wind gusts at or equal to 20 mph. Four of these recorded gusts came from thunderstorms, the other three were sustained winds.

This station also recorded 11 days with thunder, either in the vicinity or directly impacting the station.

View the observations here

Temperatures

High: 97° on June 17, 19, 21, 22

Low: 49° on June 5

Mean High (Average): 86.5° (83.6°)

Mean Low (Average): 63.3° (61.8°)

Precipitation

As you can see from the daily observations, the majority of our rain fell during a very active period from June 7 - 17. This year has been the wettest of the past three years by over an inch.

Average June Precipitation: 3.87"

Big Storm...Close Call

2009-06-17T21:58:00.003-05:00

Numerous reports of rotation and a wall cloud were coming out of the storm that hit the Fulton area tonight. We hit a high temperature of 96 today and I recorded a max dew point temp of 78! By around 4:00 p.m., I could see the signature cirrus clouds being blown our direction indicating a large storm brewing to our NW. Surely enough, a HUGE supercell had formed in Northwest Missouri, and was kicking up severe storm warnings with large hail reports.

Before long, another cell formed in northern Boone county and quickly intensified. It had a path headed straight for us, and the clouds ahead of the storm were simply amazing. Here is a shot I took, looking almost due West of the southern part of this storm:

What a beautiful storm it was.

Not long after this picture was taken, as the storm was approaching, reports began to come in of a wall cloud being spotted. As soon as that was reported, the sirens went off. So off to the tornado shelter we went (our neighbors across the street -- we don't have a basement!). The lightning was INTENSE! I wouldn't be surprised if two bolts of lightning hit our subdivision.

At 8:01 p.m., hail began to fall. It was very intermittent, and started as pea to penny sized. After a couple of minutes, the hail grew in size to a max of 1.25" (est).

This picture was taken about 10 minutes after it fell (I waited until the lightning was far enough away), so I'm sure it was a little larger when it fell.

A weather spotter saw a well defined funnel cloud to the north of Fulton, but to my knowledge, no tornadoes were spotted.

After this storm passed, the big supercell that was trailing it broke up, going to our north and to our south.

New Cloud Type; June 14-16 Rainfall

2009-06-17T12:26:00.002-05:00

Have you seen the news? It seems that some wild clouds are capturing the attention of some people. This new cloud type, the Asperatus, may be the newest classification of clouds added into the World Meteorological Organization's International Cloud Atlas since 1951. What's weird to me is that I think I've seen these before. I can remember my first year of college, looking out my dorm window viewing some wicked clouds that seemed to wave at the base...looked like some of the pictures on the news.

Read more here

The National Weather Service in St. Louis posted a breif summary of some rain totals in the area from June 14 - 16. The map shows data from both CoCoRaHS observers and ASOS/AWOS stations.

Map from NWS STL

Check out some of the totals. At this station, we had 2.48", but 13 miles north of us in Auxvasse, there was a reported 6.00"!!

Heavy Rain Expected!

2009-06-14T20:04:00.004-05:00

The 1-3 Day Quantitative Precipitation Forecast says it all for the next three days. Several rounds of thunderstorms are expected through Tuesday bringing with it the threat of heavy rain and some strong to severe storms.

Currently, at the mid-month point, we are sitting at 2.44". With a monthly average of 3.87", we may end up with a surplus this month. I don't mind much because it helps with the water bill, but this area has been hit with some moderate flooding this year, and some flood plains could use a rest I'm sure.

I'll update with any storm/heavy rain reports as they happen.

Hail Pad Image

2009-06-09T06:27:00.003-05:00

Here are three images of the hail pad from yesterday's storm. I didn't notice it before, but when I went out yesterday to retreive it, I noticed that some of my tomato plants suffered some damage from the storm. One plant was split in half (presumably by a hail stone)!

June 8 Morning Storm

2009-06-08T11:58:00.002-05:00

I was surprised to see some yellow on the radar when I got up this morning at 4:30. A large cell was marching ENE across the middle of the state at a quick pace. Some minor hail was expected and brief heavy rain.

The storm sped up as it approached our area, and finally hit at 5:30 a.m. We had moderate rain and light wind at the beginning, but then the wind picked up to a recorded gust of 24 mph, and we had hail between 1/4" and 1/2" slamming into the house for about a minute. (Luckily the girls didn't wake up!). I put on my spotter hat and called it in, as well as our rainfall amount. In a period of 30 minutes, we received 1.15" of rain.

I will take a picture of the hail pad and post it soon.

Active weather week ahead!

Shelf Cloud ; Station Comparison Data

2009-06-02T21:16:00.008-05:00

Thunderstorms erupted ahead of a cold front this evening bringing some intense rain to parts of Mid-Missouri. We had partly sunny skies all day, with clouds building more and more as the day progressed. By 5:30 p.m., I could start to hear thunder in the area. We experienced a storm approaching from the SW at 6:00 p.m. As it was approaching, I was able to snap a shot of the accompanying shelf cloud as seen here.

This storm brought a little lightning, and brief heavy rain. We ended up receiving 0.29" in 20 minutes. Columbia reported heavy rain to the tune of one inch in just 30 minutes. They are 20 miles from us.

The storm that passed quickly cooled us off. Tomorrow's high temps shouldn't reach 70. Gotta love Missouri.

More storms and showers expected tonight. There is the threat for these storms to set up in the same area all night bringing with it some flooding. Some areas may have 2-3" when the low pressure system makes its farewell late tomorrow.

MO-CW-1 (Fulton) : MO-PH-5 (Rolla) -- A Comparison

My Dad joined CoCoRaHS in March, 2008. Since then I've had the pleasure of comparing precipitation data between us. Tonight, I filed through both of our reports since January 1 of this year, using categories submitted in my yearly Water Year Report.

Station Locations:

Stations are roughly 65 miles apart

On first glance, it's easy to note that MO-PH-5 has caught around 3.5" more than we have. You can also conclude that they experienced measurable precipitation 1 out of every 3 days. While the snow data does not summarize total snowfall for the season, you can see that MO-PH-5 received considerably more snow than we did...even though we had more "snow" events. I credit that to more available moisture where they are.

May Weather Summary

2009-05-31T23:02:00.006-05:00

May is coming to an end pretty quietly for Missouri. The first half of the month saw some active weather in our area and across the state. At this station, we recorded six days with thunder, all occurring during the first 15 days of the month. We were not impacted by any severe weather, although the threat was upon us a couple times. We did report two storms that contained hail, most of which was less than 0.25". This link will take you to a database of CoCoRaHS hail reports.

The second half of May has been nothing short of beautiful. Aside from a few days with rain near the end of the month, we have had lots of sun, relatively low humidity, and light winds. In fact, during the entire month, we only reported four days with wind gusts at or above 20 mph. (Compared to April's total of nine days).

Daily Observations can be found here

Temperatures

High: 94° on May 22

Low: 37° on May 17

Mean High (Average): 80.9° (74.6°)

Mean Low (Average): 53.8° (52.8°)

Precipitation

We were running on a deficit throughout most of the month because of the quiet weather pattern that set up during the middle of the month. But a tropical system that brought incredible flooding and damage to Florida advanced Northwest bringing us some needed moisture. We ended up getting 2.49" during our last week of the month, bringing us above the average mark by 0.44".

Average May Precipitation: 4.97"

2009-05-28T17:02:00.004-05:00

May is winding down, and the tropical system that brought flooding rain to Florida gave our ground a nice soaking. After yesterday's 1.20" catch, our May total is finally in the black. A couple of days ago, we received 0.88" within a few hours early one morning, and by the time I checked the gauge (around 6 am), the garden had drank up the moisture. There wasn't the usual ponding in it...a testament to how much we needed the rain!

It has been a great week. I am taking a week off before starting my summer job, so I've been spending it by spending some great time with my family, giving my wife a more than deserved break from the girls, and took a day-long fishing trip to Montauk State Park to do some trout fishing yesterday.

What a beautiful drive it was yesterday. Heading down 63, the fog was filling the valleys making for a wonderful morning drive. After the two hour drive, most of the fog had lifted and we enjoyed partly sunny skies most of the day.

By mid-day, some storms began to rise, and my attention shifted from the crystal clear water to these white towers building above me. The convection was awesome...to think how far away the clouds tops are from my vantage point and to see such fast movement attests to the power of these storms. We only got a few showers from the cells around us, but heard lots of thunder. We headed to the truck when they got too close for comfort!

Something took me by surprise before we got to the park. We started noticing a few trees knocked down in yards and fields, and more and more...and even more as we got closer to the park. Evidently these trees were knocked over by straightline winds from the May 8 storms that rocked southern Missouri. There were 210 high wind reports, 47 tornadoes, and 107 hail reports that day. Here is the link to the SPC Report Page

I'll have a May wrap-up next week. Looks like the weather might get more active for the beginning of June.

Daily Station Data Now Posted

2009-05-22T15:24:00.002-05:00

I have added my spreadsheet of daily observations to the list of links on the right sidebar. Find it under Daily Observations. So far I have March and April recorded.

Boy, you can feel the moisture increase as it advances in from the SE as the subtropical moisture begins to advect our way. Chris had some amazing stats on the CoCoRaHS blog today about the amount of rain some parts of Florida has received this week!

Yesterday broke our streak of cloudless skies by greeting us with some fair weather cumulus clouds. It was a beautiful day to say the least. The clouds are growing taller today, and some isolated showers and storms are occurring in the area...mainly north of here.

Dry and Warm Week Ahead

2009-05-18T07:39:00.002-05:00

In my previous post, I promised some storm pictures. My camera is being temperamental, so I can't get them on the computer at this time.

Temps in the 30s
Sunday morning was a chilly start! At this station, we recorded a low temperature of 37°! While we weren't close to beating the record low of 33°, it sure made the day feel a lot like fall again! The cold front squeezed out most of the moisture in the air, and the breeze had a refreshing crisp feeling to it.

We received 1.12" of rain with this last storm system, bringing our May total to 2.92".
We're 2.05" under the monthly average, and with this dry weather pattern setting up, I'm not sure if we'll get it all in before the month's out.

This week is going to be beautiful, with a sunny/mostly sunny sky and highs in the 70 and 80s. It's our last week of school, and I am sure ready to get the chance to spend more time outside.

5/15 Storms

2009-05-16T15:19:00.002-05:00

Yesterday brought warm and muggy conditions to mid-Missouri. During the beginning of the day we had more sun than clouds, but thunderstorms far to our northeast blew some cirrostratus clouds our way. Even with the high-overcast afternoon, the May sun was strong enough to warm us into the upper 80s.

As the cold front approached, strong and severe storms were formed and dropped a TON of rain. I took some pictures (and a couple of videos) with our camera. The clouds were wicked looking! As the initial storm approached us, it had a light green color to it...research has been done into this and has concluded that a color like that is indicative of hail in the storm.

We did get some small hail (larger than rice, smaller than pea) that lasted about 30 seconds then quit. When all was said and done, we ended up with 1.12".

I'll post more about the storm, along with pictures on Monday (and the video if I can get it figured out...it is MPEG 4 format if anyone has insight!).

Dry and beautiful weather this weekend!

Tornado Watch

2009-05-15T13:23:00.003-05:00

A tornado watch has been issued for central and northern Missouri until 8:00 p.m. Storms are expected to form and push into the area by late afternoon followed by a strong line of storms ahead of the advancing cold front.

Radar and Watch area as of 1:16 p.m.

I feel more confident of the severe weather panning out today as the cloud shield has stayed more to our north than it did on Wednesday, providing with much more sunshine and atmospheric instability. Currently the temperature is 5-6 degrees warmer than it was, and it feels plain muggy outside.

I'll update as I get the opportunity to.

Storms Last Night

2009-05-14T07:47:00.002-05:00

It was a busy day for meteorologists yesterday. There was much talk about a severe weather outbreak much of the day, and with each model analysis the confidence grew stronger and stronger.

Although the severe weather did pan out for northern Missouri, the central part of the state was spared from the worst weather. By nightfall, storms began to push east across mid-MO as the cold front drifted to the SE. We experienced lightning and some moderate rain as the main event rolled through, but that was it.

So what happened? I wish I knew...My best guess would have to do with the limited sunshine during the day. Most of the forecasters were saying that we would have a good 6-8 hours of sunshine, but the clouds hung tight all day in our area keeping the temperatures at bay.

As I stated above, there was some bad weather in northern Missouri. Colorado storm chaser Tony Laumbaugh and a crew chased in the area. He followed the storm and was able to be there for the tornadoes around Kirksville. Read his posts from the storm.

Ozark Flooding -- Ami's Blog!!

2009-05-11T08:17:00.001-05:00

Short post today.

Flood pictures from Ami's new blog!

Bookmark it!

Have a great day!

A Stormy Night

2009-05-08T15:17:00.004-05:00

A cold front moved southeast through the area overnight. Yesterday started out overcast, but the clouds all but cleared out and provided some good daytime heating, effectively cooking the atmosphere making conditions prime for thunderstorm development. By 4:00 p.m. two supercell storms formed in northeast MO and slowly made their way southeast. These two storms started off strong, spawning large hail reports and one tornado report in Daviess in NW Missouri. As the storms marched forward, they didn't let up, bringing numerous hail reports along the way. Finally, at 11:15 p.m., they reached our area.

Check out this impressive storm. You can see from the storm reports the path this storm took on its long journey. It was a well-organized supercell!

The strongest of the storm clipped us as it passed just to the south of this station. One spotter 3 miles south of Fulton reported 72 mph wind and 1/2" of rain in 15 minutes. We received only 0.36", lots of lightning, and for a time period of about 10 seconds we got rice-sized hail at 11:24. It occurred along with the heaviest rain. We didn't have any strong wind to report.

As the storm approached us, we were greeted with a spectacular lightning display! I got out our digital camera and tried my best to snap some pictures of the show. At times, the lightning would begin at the base of the clouds and sprawl out upwards and began as a "sunset orange" color. Here are some pics I was able to get. Most of them were very fuzzy, so they don't do the lightning justice. It was simply amazing.

Click Here For the Pictures

The Morning After

As I left for work this morning, the sky was mostly clear with some high clouds left over from the night's storms. Before the next complex of storms rolled through the area, we were able to enjoy another beautiful sunrise. I'll never get tired of these.

Today's complex of storms brought some moderate rain to the area and some lightning, but nothing severe. Read Chris' CoCoRaHS blog for more on the storm that affected Southwest Missouri this morning.

April Weather Summary

2009-05-01T06:43:00.002-05:00

April began by bringing some cold, rainy days...even two days with a trace of recorded snowfall! The temperatures weren't impressive -- below average at best -- and only surfacing above the average mark for only a brief moment or two. There was talk and fears of a damaging freeze reminiscent of the 2007 freeze event, but thankfully that threat subsided and only minor damage (if any) was reported.

Then how quickly the weather changed as warmer, more moist air began to dominate the area, and the entire midwest. In no time at all, we were up into the 80s, and this station we hit 90 for a brief moment. Overall, we ended up with slightly above average temperatures for the month.

Temperatures

High: 90°

Low: 29°

Mean High/Average: 67.5° / 65.9°

Mean Low/Average: 43.5° / 42.9°

Precipitation

It took some time to get the water works going, but a below-average April sky opened up late in the game and dumped some nice totals during the last week of the month. 62% of this fell in the last five days!

Thanks to OSNW3, I now have access to some midwest climate data! The average precipitation is data from the NWS coop station # 233079 in Fulton.

Average April Precip: 3.96"

We didn't have any severe events in April impact the area. In fact, in Missouri there were only 70 severe weather reports. I updated my previous post on April Storm Data to reflect this data.

April 2009 Days with Thunder: 3

Heavy Rain to End April

2009-04-28T10:42:00.005-05:00

Last night was the first time we had a nice "spring" storm. The cold front that has been draped over the central plains for the past 5 days or so finally got a little push and made its way slowly through Missouri. We experienced some rain throughout the day, some moderate, but it came to an end by the afternoon.

At 6:30 the line of storms started to approach the area bringing with it heavy rain and lightning. AT 7:15, a beautiful shelf cloud came through...I didn't have my camera, so no picture. The upward lift and resulting condensation was awesome to watch as it passed over the house. The winds were doing some wicked things within the cloud.

5 Day Total / April Total So Far

1.99" / 4.28".....At MO-CW-1: 1.7 Mi. SSE Fulton
2.93" / 5.61".....At MO-CW-5: 0.3 Mi. ESE Auxvasse

As mentioned before, this front has been draped over the nation's mid section for 5 days or so (not sure when it started), bringing with it some drenching rain for some, and even some snow for others.

Here is the current 7 day precip total for Missouri:

The front is not over impacting the state. It will begin to lift northward again tomorrow and impact our area with a warm front, bringing more chances for rain and storms through Friday. I will update then with a total precip for this event, and post the April Water Report.

April Storm Data

2009-04-25T15:01:00.006-05:00

I've been spending some time this week finding data on storms that occur in Missouri during April. It seems that this month is quite a transitional month with hard freezes, tornadoes, hail, and snow all occuring during the past 9 years.

---------------------------------------------

First, I checked back into my CoCoRaHS data since 4/07. I haven't been keeping track of days with thunder until this year, so my data consists of comparisons with my comments and those of other observers in Callaway and Boone counties.

Days with Thunder -- At MO-CW-1

- 2007: 4
- 2008: 7
- 2009: 1 (so far)

It is easy to see that 2008 was an active year. I don't remember it being especially stormy, but apparently it was compared to this year. I've only heard thunder once this month so far, and it was from a small cell that passed to our north one night a couple of weeks ago.

2007 was the year of the damaging freeze through the nation's mid-section, and Missouri was not spared from it. The National Weather Service compiled a comprehensive study into the meteorological conditions, and agricultural and horticultural impacts. If you've got some time to read the 52 page study, brew some coffee, sit down and enjoy.

Here's the Link

---------------------------------------------

I was interested to find any data on severe weather events in Missouri that normally occur in April. That prompted me to dig into the NWS site for data, and I am amazed by the amount of information that they provide for the public. I seem to find something new every time I look around their site. All data comes from the Storm Prediction Center.

Number of Severe Weather Reports in Missouri (Tornado, High Wind, Hail)

For more information, including locations and divisions of each severe weather event, click on the links provided.

- 2000: 165
- 2001: 296
- 2002: 196
- 2003: 350
- 2004: 70
- 2005: 170
- 2006: 484
- 2007: 197
- 2008: 163
- 2009: 70

What an amazing contrast between 2004 and 2006! The predominant severe weather report seems to be hail. It should be noted that the hail criteria has changed this year to 1", in contrast with the previous size of .75". This will cause this year's severe hail reports to decline somewhat, but it seems as April, 2009 looks to be similar to 2004 with the reports predominantly located in southern Missouri. Of course, history shows us that one severe outbreak can increase this year's number, even double it!

Weekend Update

2009-04-18T13:21:00.003-05:00

After a cool start to the week, the sun came out and we got to enjoy some beautiful April weather. I think Missouri is one of the most beautiful places to live in the spring. The dogwoods are sprinkling the otherwise bare forest with its white flowers (signaling the time for prime Crappie fishing), and I love the purple hue that the redbud trees give to the forest edge by the highway on my way to and from work each day. I finally got out into the garden with my daughter to plant her first "garden" consisting of strawberries and marigolds. She's becoming so much like her daddy (she can even recognize and say anemometer now) ;o)

We're getting a good soaking rain at the moment, and are expected to during the weekend. Kind of a bummer because I still have LOTS to do outside in the yard, but it'll give the grass and garden some good rain to drink up. It's a nice light rain...very relaxing.

We are preparing, as is the rest of the middle of the nation, for quite a warm up next week!! Here's the Climate Prediction Center's 6-10 day outlook for temperature. After all the rain/snow that the mid-section is getting this weekend, the lawnmowers will be humming by Thursday, that's for sure!

It's interesting to note that we haven't experienced any days with thunder thus far in April. I am anxious to see what the rest of the month will bring. If I get some time this week, I'll dig back to the comments on the CoCoRaHS website to see how many storms we have had in the past two Aprils.

April Showers

2009-04-13T14:57:00.007-05:00

Okay, I'm not one who normally complains about the weather. I can usually see the good in any type of weather, no matter the season. But I feel like we're stuck in a rut, a broken record of sorts with the cold and rainy conditions.

...but being the eternal optimist that I am, I know that our lower-than-average temperatures will give way to an upswing of warmer weather, and even an average day will feel like paradise! Here are the numbers for April so far:

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This Data For April 1 - 12 Only

Mean Average vs. Actual High: 63°/59°
Mean Average vs. Actual Low: 40°/34°

Precip: 2009 / 2008 / 2007

1.64" / 2.98" / 2.68

Days With Measurable Rain: 2009 / 2008 / 2007

5 / 8 / 5

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So far, even though the temperatures have been below average, we have not had the rain we normally do during the first half of April. We have had only 39% of our normal rainfall for the month. It makes me wonder if there is a correlation between an area having below-average temperatures and below-average precipitation. That would be a fun study.

Update on Freeze

2009-04-07T09:34:00.003-05:00

It seems that we have been spared from a damaging freeze. I was anxious to wake up this morning and check the weather station. To my surprise, the lowest temperature recorded was 33°. There was a little frost on my car, but I wouldn't say that it was a heavy frost by any means.

Here's a roundup of the low temps last night in the area:

St. Louis - 33°
Columbia - 28°
Jeff City - 31°
Chesterfield - 33°
St. Charles - 33°
Farmington - 32°

It is a beautiful day outside witout a cloud in the sky. This morning's sunrise was amazing...truly a gift that I will never get tired of.

Freeze Warning Tonight

2009-04-06T13:00:00.003-05:00

Today's weather story on the NWS St. Louis site resembles a mid-January story. A strong low pressure system passed through Missouri yesterday, and pulled some cold air behind it. We had our second bout of snow showers this spring last night. Nothing stuck to the ground, so officially I reported a trace for today's report.

A freeze warning has been issued for our area southern Missouri. A teacher I work with is expecting to loose her Apricot and Peach crop over the next two nights. Thankfully, her apples have not bloomed yet, so there is no danger with them yet.

Freeze Warning as stated from NWS STL:

AN UNSEASONABLY COLD AIRMASS WILL DOMINATE THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY REGION UNTIL MID WEEK. AFTER ONE BOUT OF TEMPERATURES FALLING BELOW FREEZING THIS MORNING...LOOK FOR LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 20S FOR SEVERAL HOURS ON MONDAY NIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY WHICH MAY CAUSE A MORE WIDESPREAD HARD OR KILLING FREEZE ON TENDER VEGETATION.

THE COLD AIRMASS WILL BEGIN TO SLOWLY PULL AWAY FROM THE AREA ON TUESDAY NIGHT...BUT SKIES ARE EXPECTED TO BE CLEAR AND THE WINDS WILL BE RELATIVELY LIGHT. LOWS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO BE IN THE LOWER 30S...SO THE FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT.

March Water Report

2009-03-31T15:09:00.005-05:00

March is over, and in typical Missouri style, it didn't leave without giving us a nice mixed bag of weather. Temperatures ranged from the 80s to the teens. We had only three days with thunder, which was surprising. This is the first month I've kept track of it, and I thought there would be more.

Temperatures

High: 84°

Low: 17°

Mean High/Average: 63.6°/55.1°

Mean Low/Average: 35.1°/33°

Precipitation

I assembled a table that compares this year's March precip with the past two:

Lift Off!

I came home, and noticed that the back patio was a bit different...our 6' patio table was gone!! We had some wind, but the max gust (that the station reported) was 26 mph. The table was upside down (it has a glass top, too), and 10 feet away from it's original spot! My best guess is that the wind blew against the house in just the right way and caused a gust to lift under the table and take it away! Scared my wife to death! (wish I could have seen it ;o)