CoCoRaHS "Grand Slam"

If CoCoRaHS had a "Grand Slam", I imagine it would consist of observing "rain, hail, and snow" in one 24 hour period.  That's just what we experienced at MO-CW-1 yesterday, March 2nd.  Fueled by the same storm system that caused over 90 tornadoes East of Missouri later in the day, a cold front pushed strong and severe storms through our area around 6:00 am.  We were suddenly woken up by a prolonged hail storm (lasted about 5 minutes) that completely covered the ground with nickel to quarter-sized hail.  The hail remained on the ground for about 3 hours afterwards, with some help from rapidly dropping temperatures throughout the day.  By day's end, the wrap-around moisture met us just as the air temperature was cool enough to support snow, and we ended up with a trace from the large flakes that fell mixed in with rain.  I hadn't given it much thought before, but I can't remember a time that I saw "rain, hail, and snow" in one day.   

3.2" February 13 Snow

Finally, a substantial amount has fallen in the Show-Me State.  Most of Missouri has been blessed with a comfortable blanket of snow, and with temperatures only in the upper 20s/low 30s, it makes for great weather to get out and enjoy it.
The snow fell through most of the daylight hours yesterday, with periods of moderate to heavy snow in the afternoon.  Below is a picture from the farm in Rolla caught around 4:00.  Rolla ended up with around 4"

With temperatures climbing to the 40s and 50s later this week (the norm for winter '11-'12), our snow won't last.  Flowers will start poking through next month!

Another 1.1" and Thoughts on Winter 11-12

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

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

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????

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

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/