Still all rain here in Norman. This thing is just right on the line from going all snow quickly though.

Nice steady snow with BIG snowflakes now here in E OK County

It could be snowing for a very long time today... It is still snowing back in New Mexico where the wrap around is located.

It could be snowing for a very long time today... It is still snowing back in New Mexico where the wrap around is located.

Wow, I've got huge, wet snow flakes outside my window in downtown right now!

tinker is about 90/10 snow with huge wet flakes ..

WRWA went back to light snow and mostly rain now.

What effect will the soil temps have on any accumulating snowfall in the metro? Mesonet shows 4 inch bare soil temps in the mid 40s.

What effect will the soil temps have on any accumulating snowfall in the metro? Mesonet shows 4 inch bare soil temps in the mid 40s.

Depends on how fast it falls. If it is around half an inch or less per hour, the ground temp can keep up for awhile. Any sudden bursts over that and it'll lose out. The ground temps will also keep cooling through the day so at some point it'll start sticking for good.

This storm is riding a fine line, huh?

This storm is riding a fine line, huh?

As expected...well at least by us. :-P

How does it affect streets as opposed to grassy surfaces? Which holds warmer temps longer?

Any reports out of amounts thus far in Amarillo and just north?

Any reports out of amounts thus far in Amarillo and just north?

5-6" appears to be the norm out there. So far 2-3" in Western OK.

Now it's snowing hard at WRWA. Must've taken a breather earlier. No rain, all snow, very large flakes.

It's interesting to see how Dual Pol is handling this. Obviously there is still room to go in tweaking the system. Though I wonder if heavy wet snow throws it off.

http://www.weatherspotlight.com/radar/ktlx_hca1.png

This is the kind of snow where you wish you were at home, in a nice, cozy recliner near a big picture window, with a fresh mug of steaming hot cocoa or coffee, and could just enjoy watching it fall.

We are finally going over to a heavy wet snow in Norman now. Interesting how the radar shows this as "hail", but at least we know what is in that area. :)

5-6" appears to be the norm out there. So far 2-3" in Western OK.

Thanks, AMA still getting snow in the wrap around, this storm is moving nice and slow.



Looks like winds are picking up from the north in W OK.

Looking at radar trends, wouldn't be shocked if this tapers off in about 4-6 hours before wrap around can make it. Precip still extends all the way back towards Childress, so still have to get through all that.

It is snowing heavy here and it's starting to stick here

It is snowing heavy here and it's starting to stick here

Lol... quite possibly the most mysterious post ever on this forum..

Hey everyone, "someguy" says it is snowing "here".


Downtown OKC it is heavy snow and we are flirting with 32 mark. Snow will begin to stick @ these rates.

Snow is sticking to concrete now at WRWA. Already accumulating rapidly on elevated surfaces and vehicles, airplanes, etc.

Looking at radar trends, wouldn't be shocked if this tapers off in about 4-6 hours before wrap around can make it. Precip still extends all the way back towards Childress, so still have to get through all that.


I could see that as well, and this would allow for rapid melting from ground temps if there is a break.

However, I could easily see this wrap around continuing to cycle as it is over the TX panhandle when it enters W OK later today. This could keep it connected to the main precip shield and keep snowfall melting rates lower. Looking @ water vapor imagery, this system has great breathing and the dry slot is not cutting into the low (at this time).

fast but fluffy flakes in Midwest City - sticking to ground but not streets so much yet.

Downtown streets are now covered. Snowing heavily still. If it lets up any, melting will occur on the street I presume. However if the rates continue like they are right now, look out!. Will get a photo uploaded here in a bit.

Hope it snows a bunch :)

Lol... quite possibly the most mysterious post ever on this forum..

Hey everyone, "someguy" says it is snowing "here".


Downtown OKC it is heavy snow and we are flirting with 32 mark. Snow will begin to stick @ these rates.

And that such an observation is made by someone posting under the name "Anonymous" offers its own special brand of irony :) :) :)

It’s all snow now and it’s just starting to accumulate on elevated surfaces with more than a hint of white in NW Norman.
This is great moisture

Sticking to our parking lots over at NE 63rd & Santa Fe. If it keeps up, we're shutting down our office early. :)

Sticking to our parking lots over at NE 63rd & Santa Fe. If it keeps up, we're shutting down our office early. :)

Yep, I think our office is going to close at noon if this keeps up.

We've had 2 delivery drivers come by my job in Midtown in the past hour and both say the roads are starting to get a bit slick.

Precip shield is eroding in SW OK. Some dry air trying to come into south OK.

The wrap around is intensifying north and east of Lubbock - will be interesting to see how this plays out.

fast but fluffy flakes in Midwest City - sticking to ground but not streets so much yet.

wait a minute . . . i feel a poem coming on . . . (well, at least a haiku =):

fast fluffy flakes float
fly free from frozen fetters
find fleeting fortune

(just got back from an errand.
the snow is sticking to the roads.
Channel 9 declares "Winter Armageddon")

Closing the office because snow is sticking to the ground? LOL I had a good laugh last night with Channel 4 was in Woodward and saying the town was 'hunkering down' because they might get 3 inches of snow.

HUGE fat fluffy flakes (<-- note the alliteration) in Edmond right now. It's sticking. Looks like the inside of a snow globe.

I'm dreaming of a white... mid-February.... (sing along)
:)

Closing the office because snow is sticking to the ground? LOL I had a good laugh last night with Channel 4 was in Woodward and saying the town was 'hunkering down' because they might get 3 inches of snow.

Well, depends on how close the surface temps are getting to 32. You get a pocket of 30-31 degree temps and you're going to get some pretty slick roads very fast, and also areas where a stretch of street might be icy, then wet, then icy again. So while I'd agree its probably an abundance of caution, the fact that the temperatures are just hovering around that 32 mark helps me understand their discretion.

The grass is pretty well white now in NW Norman.
Streets are still just wet.

Closing the office because snow is sticking to the ground? LOL I had a good laugh last night with Channel 4 was in Woodward and saying the town was 'hunkering down' because they might get 3 inches of snow.

Seems like there was a lot of wishful thinking regarding this particular storm. The NWS pretty much called it and that the temps were going to be too warm for most of this snowfall to accumulate (in Central OK) in a manner like it would have in a much colder scenario.

HUGE fat fluffy flakes (<-- note the alliteration) in Edmond right now. It's sticking. Looks like the inside of a snow globe.

I'm dreaming of a white... mid-February.... (sing along)
:)

fenominally fat fluffy flakes (oops . . . too many syllables =)

SNOW???!!! In FEBRUARY??? Why . . . That's unheard of!
First the pope . . . then wrestling out of the Olympics . . . Now THIS!
(maybe we judged the accuracy of The Mayan Calendar a bit too hastily)

Seems like there was a lot of wishful thinking regarding this particular storm. The NWS pretty much called it and that the temps were going to be too warm for most of this snowfall to accumulate (in Central OK) in a manner like it would have in a much colder scenario.

what?

whSeems like there was a lot of wishful thinking regarding this particular storm. The NWS pretty much called it and that the temps were going to be too warm for most of this snowfall to accumulate (in Central OK) in a manner like it would have in a much colder scenario.


The NWS blew it on this one... Are you even in Oklahoma?

The NWS blew it on this one... Are you even in Oklahoma?

this

Seems like there was a lot of wishful thinking regarding this particular storm. The NWS pretty much called it and that the temps were going to be too warm for most of this snowfall to accumulate (in Central OK) in a manner like it would have in a much colder scenario.

True, assuming it's safe that you're not speaking too soon.

Sticking to our parking lots over at NE 63rd & Santa Fe. If it keeps up, we're shutting down our office early. :)


Yep, I think our office is going to close at noon if this keeps up.

Seriously? Seriously???

No wonder people think Oklahoma drivers are such wusses.

Closing the office because snow is sticking to the ground? LOL I had a good laugh last night with Channel 4 was in Woodward and saying the town was 'hunkering down' because they might get 3 inches of snow.

For liability reasons. We have employees driving all over the place, so we have to make that decision.

With all respect to you guys, I was referring to the 10" + "accumulations" some of the models were forecasting for Central OK that were believed. The key word is "accumulations." Not going to happen in a daytime snowfall event with temps at 32-33 degrees. NWS didn't take the bait. Have you checked your radars lately?? Dryer air is trying to punch in from the SW. Once that dry slot moves on in, it's "bye bye' to the snow that's already fallen. Check out the ground temps. Please don't kill the messenger.

NWS radar image from Oklahoma City, OK (Norman) (http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=tlx)
The Storm Total Precipitation Radar on the link shows some very good precipitation totals.
But how accurate would this be?

For liability reasons. We have employees driving all over the place, so we have to make that decision.

Guess I'm just thinking back to when I lived and worked in Nebraska and offices didn't close until there was much more snow on the ground.

Seriously? Seriously???

No wonder people think Oklahoma drivers are such wusses.

Uhmmm...if you're a business owner, and a significant component of your business involves transporting whateverm (people, things, etc) you almost certainly have liability concerns driving the decision. It might be overkill for the private individual, but for a business...don't think it makes them "wusses."

Uhmmm...if you're a business owner, and a significant component of your business involves transporting whateverm (people, things, etc) you almost certainly have liability concerns driving the decision. It might be overkill for the private individual, but for a business...don't think it makes them "wusses."
No, it does.

With all respect to you guys, I was referring to the 10" + "accumulations" some of the models were forecasting for Central OK that were believed. The key word is "accumulations." Not going to happen in a daytime snowfall event with temps at 32-33 degrees. NWS didn't take the bait. Have you checked your radars lately?? Dryer air is trying to punch in from the SW. Once that dry slot moves on in, it's "bye bye' to the snow that's already fallen. Please don't kill the messenger.

I don't think anyone here was expecting 10" of anything. Last forecast I heard, which was about 4pm yesterday in all honesty, said OKC would be doing well to get an inch if anything. Based on that, they underestimated.

I don't think anyone here was expecting 10" of anything. Last forecast I heard, which was about 4pm yesterday in all honesty, said OKC would be doing well to get an inch if anything. Based on that, they underestimated.

NWS issued an updated total yesterday evening that predicted 1-4 inches in C. Oklahoma. I think that will be pretty accurate by the end of this event. This storm has turned into "SlushFest 2013" for most of the Metro.

Not to toot our own horns, but...

Re reading this thread [particuluarly pages 4 and 5] will show you that the people posting here had a more cautious and better grasp of the developing situation than what the NWS was leading people to prepare for.


EDIT: The wrap around in the TX pan handle is looking nice and healthy at the moment; will have to watch and see what goes on in SW OK within the next few hours.

No wonder people think Oklahoma drivers are such wusses.

I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles on rough, muddy, snow cloged oil field leases roads. I have forged significant rivers, busted pick up hood deep snow drifts. I have driven in blinding rain, snow, and dust storms while not being able to see past your hood ornament. I have experienced life threating events of several types while driving…..

While out driving there is nothing that bothers me worse than big city drivers who don’t have a clue how to handle a vehicle.
I stay off the OKC area interstates when its slick.
Anymore the insurance company’s and the attorneys have a lot to say about who drives and when.

Big, fluffy, wet snowflakes still coming down pretty heavily here on the eastside of Norman. The grass is pretty white, but the street is only wet, from what I can tell. Though that could quickly change.

I hope it keeps falling for a while. We could use the moisture.

I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles on rough, muddy, snow cloged oil field leases roads. I have forged significant rivers, busted pick up hood deep snow drifts. I have driven in blinding rain, snow, and dust storms while not being able to see past your hood ornament. I have experienced life threating events of several types while driving…..

While out driving there is nothing that bothers me worse than big city drivers who don’t have a clue how to handle a vehicle.
Agreed. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to learn how to drive in the upper midwest, so driving in the snow wasn't normally a problem until it was 6 inches or more. I too hate driving during these times because others do not know how to drive on streets and highways in these conditions. I have the luxury of adjusting my commute to avoid the peak headache times. It doesn't change the fact that Oklahoma drivers are wusses when it comes to any precip, especially wintry precip.

Incidentally, my daughter just texted me to let me know that UCO has cancelled classes for the remainder of the day.

Not to toot our own horns, but...

Re reading this thread [particuluarly pages 4 and 5] will show you that the people posting here had a more cautious and better grasp of the developing situation than what the NWS was leading people to prepare for.


Sorry Anon...I respectfully disagree. You said yourself in post #85 that the models were "underestimating the cool/cold air." They didn't. Temps are 33+, and ground temps are in the 40s. That's why the NWS didn't cry wolf.

Several posts in this thread from last night made it sound like with clear skies, the temps were about to plummet, we were in for a major snowstorm with massive accumulations here in Central OK starting early AM, and basically the forecasters at the NWS were a bunch of idiots. (BTW...our temps here in Norman were still around 40 degrees at 7am this morning!)

How many times has the NWS and the TV meteorologists predicted a major snow storm in C. OK only to see if not happen? Truth be told, the NWS was the ones being more "cautious" by not over blowing the expected snowfall accumulations like has happened in the past. It's also why there was a wait to issue the Winter Storm Watch. Sure, this isn't a "dusting" either, but I'm referring to snowfall accumulations.

See the post from Aaron Tuttle on page 5. NWS went with "scenario 2", which at the end of the day is how it's all playing out.

Agreed. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to learn how to drive in the upper midwest, so driving in the snow wasn't normally a problem until it was 6 inches or more. I too hate driving during these times because others do not know how to drive on streets and highways in these conditions. I have the luxury of adjusting my commute to avoid the peak headache times. It doesn't change the fact that Oklahoma drivers are wusses when it comes to any precip, especially wintry precip.

It’s a matter of having the experience with the confidence and the right vehicle.
There are plenty of paranoid people.
You should never try driving in Dallas in this type of weather if you think we are bad.
But many places do a far better job of snow removal than in Oklahoma including parts of Texas.

Yeesh. Alright already. The main issue with this forecast was freezing levels around 500 to 1500 feet. Surface temps were NEVER expected to go below freezing. The concern then became if snowfall rates were high enough, they would eventually overcome ground melting. It needs to be kept in mind that many snowfall forecast models don't take ground melting in account. The ones at TwisterData I believe do since they normally showed 2-4" over much of the area, even with high QPF amounts. You issue a watch for the potential...the potential was there. Tornado watches always expire without having a single confirmed report during their life span.

Just about every scenario was played out here by several contributors. If you want to lump everyone in as being wrong, and historical hype machine Aaron Tuttle are correct (for once)...then so be it. Everyone is a fan of someone, so there are preferences and people will see things through rose colored glasses. If you want a fan boy debate, do it someone where. Anyways...

Radar trends show the southern end holding tight from Anadarko to Purcell to Coalgate. Looking at the Frederick radar wrap around is filling in some all the way south to Guthrie, TX. Depending on how things play out, this should move mostly ENE and give areas that are going to a light snow/drizzle now another round of snow.

But many places do a far better job of snow removal than in Oklahoma including parts of Texas.
That's certainly true. Even without snow removal, it is possible to safely drive in this weather.