Wacky weather

Started by webny99, December 28, 2017, 01:02:05 PM

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webny99

For example, I work in Webster, NY. We got steady snow all day yesterday. It dumped over six inches and turned the roads white and slippery. I got home to find clear roads and no new snowfall except for a few flurries in the air. I live around 10 miles from work. I have never seen anything so absurd in my life.

Unlike other recent weather threads, this is not to be strictly snow- or winter-related.


vdeane

Lake effect bands are often quite specific about where they hit.  Nothing unusual about that.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

jeffandnicole

Snow lines, and Snow/Rain lines, can be dramatic.  In the area I plow, I've seen nothing at one end of my zone, and a mess at the other end.

Lake Effect snows are very particular this these variables.  Just look at average snowfalls for towns near the Great Lakes, and they can verify considerably.

webny99

Quote from: vdeane on December 28, 2017, 01:22:52 PM
Lake effect bands are often quite specific about where they hit.  Nothing unusual about that.

Of course. However, I have never seen that dramatic a difference between two places I frequent. So this is the first time I can offer anecdotal evidence to prove your statement true.

In my experience, Lake Erie is the most famous of the Great Lakes for producing narrow, intense bands. Lake Ontario snows tend to be more widespread, with more gradual changes in intensity and total accumulation. I find it is rare that only portions of the Rochester area get snow. Total accumulation may differ by an inch or two, but if it's snowing, it will almost always be area-wide. Buffalo, on the other hand, is famous for getting feet of snow in the Southtowns and no accumulation north of the city. Of course, I have no statistics to back this theory up, but I intend to stand by it anyways.



vdeane

I've seen bands like that along I-81.  And Rochester ones can be tight too.  I remember one clinching trip I took where stuff along the parkway had heavy snow while NY 18 was fine.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Brandon

Wacky?  Um, there this thing called winter with lake-effect snow bands, happens every year.  Maybe you've heard of it?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake-effect_snow
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

webny99

Quote from: Brandon on December 28, 2017, 07:18:51 PM
Wacky?  Um, there this thing called winter with lake-effect snow bands, happens every year.  Maybe you've heard of it?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake-effect_snow

What is your standard of "wacky"?

Lake effect snow, which of course I know all about, is certainly one of nature's absurdities, despite the fact that it occurs every year. And that happened to be the most "wacky" weather event I've experienced recently. What did you expect, me to say I was picked up in a tornado and survived?

Also:
Quote from: webny99 on December 28, 2017, 01:02:05 PM
Unlike other recent weather threads, this is not to be strictly snow- or winter-related.

Desert Man

I'm in the CA desert where we're warm...including our mild winters. The highs at 78F/ 25C is pretty good for anywhere during winter. It won't be normal anywhere else between Christmas and New Years day... except southernmost Texas and most of Florida, on the other side of the country.
Get your kicks...on Route 99! Like to turn 66 upside down. The other historic Main street of America.

Hurricane Rex

Thundersnow, anyone? That is pretty rare.
ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

Brandon

Quote from: Hurricane Rex on December 29, 2017, 04:08:01 AM
Thundersnow, anyone? That is pretty rare.

Now that is an event.  It's enough to make Cantore go nuts.  :nod:
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

ET21

Quote from: webny99 on December 28, 2017, 04:22:52 PM
Quote from: vdeane on December 28, 2017, 01:22:52 PM
Lake effect bands are often quite specific about where they hit.  Nothing unusual about that.

Of course. However, I have never seen that dramatic a difference between two places I frequent. So this is the first time I can offer anecdotal evidence to prove your statement true.

In my experience, Lake Erie is the most famous of the Great Lakes for producing narrow, intense bands. Lake Ontario snows tend to be more widespread, with more gradual changes in intensity and total accumulation. I find it is rare that only portions of the Rochester area get snow. Total accumulation may differ by an inch or two, but if it's snowing, it will almost always be area-wide. Buffalo, on the other hand, is famous for getting feet of snow in the Southtowns and no accumulation north of the city. Of course, I have no statistics to back this theory up, but I intend to stand by it anyways.

It's quite common for that to happen with LES bands, especially if you start involving meso-lows. These are small circulations that develop within the instability of the lake water and cold air combo. These could produce snowfall rates of 3"+ per hour if they make it onshore and have been noted to produce waterspouts as well.

Now that is wacky, a waterspout enveloped in snow!!
The local weatherman, trust me I can be 99.9% right!
"Show where you're going, without forgetting where you're from"

Clinched:
IL: I-88, I-180, I-190, I-290, I-294, I-355, IL-390
IN: I-80, I-94
SD: I-190
WI: I-90, I-94
MI: I-94, I-196
MN: I-90

Hurricane Rex

Quote from: Brandon on December 29, 2017, 05:59:11 AM
Quote from: Hurricane Rex on December 29, 2017, 04:08:01 AM
Thundersnow, anyone? That is pretty rare.

Now that is an event.  It's enough to make Cantore go nuts.  :nod:

Oh and the remix version of that I still listen to this day.
ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

webny99

We've had an interesting roller coaster the past few weeks. We dropped below freezing before Christmas and didn't get above freezing until just a few days ago, accumulating over a foot of snow in that time.

Then a rapid warm-up with temps in the 50's on both Thursday and Friday, melting all but the largest snow piles and reminding us what grass looks like.

Now plummeting temperatures and 18 inches of snow last night, such that we went from a foot of snow, to no snow at all, to a fresh 18 inches all within 48 hours  :wow:



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