March Weather Summary

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

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

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

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

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

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)

  

(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

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