We are still forecasting a huge storm that will impact Iowa Tuesday night through Christmas Day.
The snow we getting today in northern Iowa is not part of the bigger system that will bring freezing rain, ice and snow over the Christmas holiday.
Tuesday night there will be areas of freezing rain late. Then Wednesday the storm will have freezing rain and light snow in the morning. That will change back to freezing rain and all rain Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday night and Thursday the storm will draw in the cold air from the north and we will have heavy snow with high wind through Christmas Eve Day and Christmas morning.
This storm will leave ice on the surface and then 6" to 8" of snow is expected. This will cause major travel problems.
Travel on Tuesday if you can...and plan on much better conditions Saturday and Sunday.
I'll be updating this storm often...check back and stay tuned.
Ed
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Melting Today...More Snow Chances
Hey! We are in the 30s! This is going to help with many streets and highways that are begging for a melt-down.
More cold air is going to be ushered in by a fast moving cold front. That will give us a chance for show tomorrow afternoon. Friday's snow will amount to an inch or so in the Des Moines Metro. Heavier amounts of snow will fall southeast of Des Moines. Ottumwa could see 2 to 3 inches.
The next round of winter weather will move in Sunday. There is another fast moving clipper that will give us an inch to 3 inches of snow.
Then we have a storm system that will have some folks in the Midwest checking travel plans on the 23rd and 24th. As of today... that storm is tracking to the south. It looks like the brunt of the storm will be felt in extreme southern Iowa and Missouri. We will have to wait and see what the forecast track looks like over the next few days. Keep your head up and stay tuned.
Have a great Thursday night.
Ed
More cold air is going to be ushered in by a fast moving cold front. That will give us a chance for show tomorrow afternoon. Friday's snow will amount to an inch or so in the Des Moines Metro. Heavier amounts of snow will fall southeast of Des Moines. Ottumwa could see 2 to 3 inches.
The next round of winter weather will move in Sunday. There is another fast moving clipper that will give us an inch to 3 inches of snow.
Then we have a storm system that will have some folks in the Midwest checking travel plans on the 23rd and 24th. As of today... that storm is tracking to the south. It looks like the brunt of the storm will be felt in extreme southern Iowa and Missouri. We will have to wait and see what the forecast track looks like over the next few days. Keep your head up and stay tuned.
Have a great Thursday night.
Ed
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
More Snow?
There is a chance for more snow. We are looking at a system late Sunday through Monday. There is a possibility of 1" to 3" of snow.
This could cause some travel concerns for early holiday travelers. We are waiting and watching for updates on that storm. There is a chance for the jet to shoot the storm farther south. That also means colder temperatures.
As of this evening all road conditions have returned to normal driving conditions. It is a much easier commute.
Shout out to the 200 or so Johnston Middle School students I got to meet today. You guys are fantastic.
Have a safe night.
Ed
This could cause some travel concerns for early holiday travelers. We are waiting and watching for updates on that storm. There is a chance for the jet to shoot the storm farther south. That also means colder temperatures.
As of this evening all road conditions have returned to normal driving conditions. It is a much easier commute.
Shout out to the 200 or so Johnston Middle School students I got to meet today. You guys are fantastic.
Have a safe night.
Ed
Thursday, December 10, 2009
December Numbers
Just wanted to check in with the snow numbers for December. They are pretty impressive.
Tuesday and Wednesday we had 15.7 inches of snow. So far this month we have seen over 17 inches of snow. Since October the snow total is over 18 inches!
On the average we see about 8 inches of snow during December.
On average we have about 36 inches of snow each year.
The first day of Winter is a week from Monday...the 21st of December. We are way ahead of schedule.
The all-time snowiest winters in Des Moines top out over 60 inches. In the 1911 to 1912 winter Des Moines saw 72 inches of snow!
It will be warmer this weekend...there will be melting during the day...but anything melted will refreeze overnight.
Have a safe rest of the week.
Ed
Tuesday and Wednesday we had 15.7 inches of snow. So far this month we have seen over 17 inches of snow. Since October the snow total is over 18 inches!
On the average we see about 8 inches of snow during December.
On average we have about 36 inches of snow each year.
The first day of Winter is a week from Monday...the 21st of December. We are way ahead of schedule.
The all-time snowiest winters in Des Moines top out over 60 inches. In the 1911 to 1912 winter Des Moines saw 72 inches of snow!
It will be warmer this weekend...there will be melting during the day...but anything melted will refreeze overnight.
Have a safe rest of the week.
Ed
What a storm! We are still digging out of the 15.7 inches of snow in the Des Moines Metro. That 15.7 inch total was the official measurement from the Des Moines International Airport.
Very cold air is going to hold on to the area through the rest of the week. The snow will continue to keep us cold. The sunshine will reflect off the snow and little, if any, heat will be absorbed.
Many have asked how to measure the snowfall in your area. It is difficult with high wind.
The best way is to find an area that is not affect as much by the wind. Then take several measurements in as large of an area as possible. Take those measurements and add them all together then divide by the number of measurements.
Here is a link to a tutorial. www.cocorahs.org/media/docs/Measuring%20Snow-National-Training%201.1.pdf
We did have a record snow of 10 inches for the 24 hour period Tuesday. The old record for that date was 6 inches. The all-time one day record for a 24 period in December is 17 inches. That happened December 26, 1888.
Roads are improving today...but very slick conditions will make travel a bit sketchy. There is a base level of ice from the very warm temperatures when this storm started. Ice melt will not work until we hit highs in the upper teens and lower 20s. It should be sloppy by Saturday.
Stay safe and warm.
Ed
Very cold air is going to hold on to the area through the rest of the week. The snow will continue to keep us cold. The sunshine will reflect off the snow and little, if any, heat will be absorbed.
Many have asked how to measure the snowfall in your area. It is difficult with high wind.
The best way is to find an area that is not affect as much by the wind. Then take several measurements in as large of an area as possible. Take those measurements and add them all together then divide by the number of measurements.
Here is a link to a tutorial. www.cocorahs.org/media/docs/Measuring%20Snow-National-Training%201.1.pdf
We did have a record snow of 10 inches for the 24 hour period Tuesday. The old record for that date was 6 inches. The all-time one day record for a 24 period in December is 17 inches. That happened December 26, 1888.
Roads are improving today...but very slick conditions will make travel a bit sketchy. There is a base level of ice from the very warm temperatures when this storm started. Ice melt will not work until we hit highs in the upper teens and lower 20s. It should be sloppy by Saturday.
Stay safe and warm.
Ed
Monday, October 19, 2009
Chilling October
Hey... it's been a while. Sorry so many have been on the email and special request line on WHOTV.com it has taken a while to get back in a rhythm on the blog site.
Our October has been a cold and rather dreary month. We are way over the average for rainfall... 2.27" of rainfall so far and that compares to 1.58 as an average between Oct. 1 and Oct. 19.
The cold air has been the big shocker. With all the rainfall our clouds have been a constant companion. Those clouds are also the shade to the warmth of the sun.
Here are some of the numbers for the cold October....
Des Moines...Record Cold October
45.8 .... 2009
47.8 .... 1952
49.5 .... 1925
50.2 .... 1959/1977
Usually the temperature records are set by just a degree or maybe a fraction of a degree. The last record was 2 degrees below the old record. This is substantial cooling. We are really watching a much cooler trend that started back in the late 1990s. There is so much talk of global warming or climate change in the news. Here it is really much cooler.
The highs today and tomorrow will be above the average... but there is more rain and cooler temperatures coming our way with a cold front on Wednesday. That front will become stationary and we will see cooler than normal temperatures.
Enjoy the day... get out and get some of those fall chores finished before we hit the next round of rain.
Ed
Our October has been a cold and rather dreary month. We are way over the average for rainfall... 2.27" of rainfall so far and that compares to 1.58 as an average between Oct. 1 and Oct. 19.
The cold air has been the big shocker. With all the rainfall our clouds have been a constant companion. Those clouds are also the shade to the warmth of the sun.
Here are some of the numbers for the cold October....
Des Moines...Record Cold October
45.8 .... 2009
47.8 .... 1952
49.5 .... 1925
50.2 .... 1959/1977
Usually the temperature records are set by just a degree or maybe a fraction of a degree. The last record was 2 degrees below the old record. This is substantial cooling. We are really watching a much cooler trend that started back in the late 1990s. There is so much talk of global warming or climate change in the news. Here it is really much cooler.
The highs today and tomorrow will be above the average... but there is more rain and cooler temperatures coming our way with a cold front on Wednesday. That front will become stationary and we will see cooler than normal temperatures.
Enjoy the day... get out and get some of those fall chores finished before we hit the next round of rain.
Ed
Friday, September 11, 2009
Iowa...9th Coolest Summer on Record. U.S. ... 34th
We have seen some cool temperatures this summer. The July average temperature was 68. That was the coldest July on record for Iowa. The old record was set in the late 1800s.
Here in Iowa we saw the 9th coldest summer on record. Nationally we experienced the 34th coldest.
The regional area of Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota had the 4th coldest summer on record. www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090910_summerstats.html
More great weather for football Friday night and for the game tomorrow in Ames. There is a threat for some rainfall tonight and tomorrow...but the forecast is still showing the western 1/2 of the state with the best chance for showers. I think the front will become stationary over western counties and will give us much less sunshine...but should hold the heavier rainfall in the area around the Missouri River.
We will see a raindrop or two...so bring the umbrella and poncho just to be safe.
It will remain warm through the next 48 hours. Highs should stay in the upper 70s and lower 80s.
Tonight I will be live with the Ramsey Intercept Hunger drive. We will be at the Saydel High School football field with the Ankeny/Iowa Christian Academy football team that will play last year's champions...Lenox.
Bring a non-perishable food item to the game and get a free tee-shirt...while supplies last. The food will go to the Des Moines Area Religious Council's Emergency Food Pantry. Last week we collected over 300 foot items and $30.00. It will help those who need assistance through the winter months.
Have a great weekend...root for your favorite team...we will be there to watch the action.
Here in Iowa we saw the 9th coldest summer on record. Nationally we experienced the 34th coldest.
The regional area of Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota had the 4th coldest summer on record. www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090910_summerstats.html
More great weather for football Friday night and for the game tomorrow in Ames. There is a threat for some rainfall tonight and tomorrow...but the forecast is still showing the western 1/2 of the state with the best chance for showers. I think the front will become stationary over western counties and will give us much less sunshine...but should hold the heavier rainfall in the area around the Missouri River.
We will see a raindrop or two...so bring the umbrella and poncho just to be safe.
It will remain warm through the next 48 hours. Highs should stay in the upper 70s and lower 80s.
Tonight I will be live with the Ramsey Intercept Hunger drive. We will be at the Saydel High School football field with the Ankeny/Iowa Christian Academy football team that will play last year's champions...Lenox.
Bring a non-perishable food item to the game and get a free tee-shirt...while supplies last. The food will go to the Des Moines Area Religious Council's Emergency Food Pantry. Last week we collected over 300 foot items and $30.00. It will help those who need assistance through the winter months.
Have a great weekend...root for your favorite team...we will be there to watch the action.
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