General Weather Discussion - February 2014

[Plutonic Panda]

Just depressing non-events all around. Another thoroughly disappointing winter.

I agree.

[zookeeper]

Absolutely remember that storm and it was absolutely fall 78. I was in eighth grade, and we'd show up an hour late for school, do three hours of class (maybe) and they'd tell us to line up for the buses to go home. We finally closed for enough days such that we ended up making up one of the snow days on a beautiful Saturday in March, and about half the kids didn't show up.

I remember the snow being so deep and so heavy that the landscape around my middle school as we'd wait for busses was so indescribably and intensely *white* that it made your eyes hurt to look almost anywhere. The reflection of absolute whiteness was almost surreal. Even with the overarching cloudiness, the natural light reflected off that surface and it gave the sky almost a dingy yellow cast to it. It was deep enough where you couldn't even distinguish curbsides, lawns, or sidewalks. It was so cold that it created a nearly walkable surface of ice on my mom's pool - she went out to break it up just to see how thick it was, and it took a leftover brick a few smacks on the surface to finally break through. We were below freezing for multiple days at a time.

Although we've not had anywhere near the volume of snow this time around, this sequence of winter events (storms, snow periods, whatever we want to call it) definitely reminds me of that sequence back then. Can think of maybe one such event since then where parking lots full of plowed, dirty snow took weeks to melt, but that's been a while.

Ditto. I knew the family of someone killed that winter by a drunk driver on New Year's Eve out near Mustang. I was a few years older than you in '78 it sounds like, I was actually working and was just dumbfounded by that particular winter. It felt like living in Buffalo, NY.

[ou48A]

I find that so unbelievable, I wonder if weather records confirm that. Or maybe it only means I wasn't paying enough attention to how cold it got back then.

It's true.... I paid attention to those things back then. And by a lot I mean probably about a dozen nights below zero.... Far north central Oklahoma was a lot colder than OKC in part because the ice / snow pack was deeper with about 5 inches of dense sleet topped off with several light snows. I can remember it being – 28 below in southern Kansas where they had an even deeper ice / snow pack.
As most here know there isn't near as much modification of air as it plunges south when the ground has ice / snow cover and the deeper it is the less modification occurs. Under these conditions when the wind is out of the north the cold air feeds on its self kind of like drought feeds on its self.
Gary England would sometimes call this the snow plains effect.

This is the only time that I am aware of ice fishing in Oklahoma.
I drove down to OKC and Norman that winter just as the streets and sidewalks had cleared off.... We had ice covered residential streets for about another 30 days.

[ou48A]

Right. That unforgettable bad winter really got underway on New Year's Eve when as much as 6 in. of snow fell. I tried going to a New Year's party, but gave up. Couldn't drive anywhere on the street in front of my house. From then on the weather tended to stay cold and cloudy, so the snow never melted off in time for the next snow storm. As I recall, it wasn't until early March until all the snow could get melted. I don't recall that fall standing out for unusually bad winter weather.

I road in a car with 3 friends to a new years party that night in what was the worst sleet storm I have ever seen even to this day.... (about 5 inches) It was cold enough that night that we had to keep scraping off the inside of the car windows. My dad and I put chains on 3 of our vehicles the next day.

[Bunty]

I road in a car with 3 friends to a new years party that night in what was the worst sleet storm I have ever seen even to this day.... (about 5 inches) It was cold enough that night that we had to keep scraping off the inside of the car windows. My dad and I put chains on 3 of our vehicles the next day.

I was in Stillwater at the time, and it was all real heavy, fluffy snow. I'm glad we survived all that global cooling back them. The media talking about global cooling setting in wasn't good for morale.

[PennyQuilts]

Correct, OKC had 3 or 4 significant (4-8 inch) snow storms in a span of about 3 weeks. The roads were bad for 2-3 weeks afterward, and IIRC, we had snow on the ground for about 6 weeks afterward. Seems like it was '77 or '78.

Winter of 77-78. I had a newborn daughter and cabin fever nearly did us in.

[venture]

00Z GFS run only brings and area of generally 1-3" of snow through central OK on Tuesday. Things are still jumping around a bit though, so nothing is set in stone.

[SoonerQueen]

I am very tired of arctic front's and snow. This weather is killing me. I'm so ready for spring.

[Anonymous.]

May get clipped by passing snow showers later today as another weak system moves by mostly to the south.

South of I40 looks to be best bet for any of this snow. But it could creep up, just have to watch radar trends..


On to next week. This is what we have so far, a lot of inconsistency:

NAM puts main snow north of OK.
GFS puts main snow in eastern OK and into N AR.
GEM puts main snow through center of OK.

[LakeEffect]

May get clipped by passing snow showers later today as another weak system moves by mostly to the south.

South of I40 looks to be best bet for any of this snow. But it could creep up, just have to watch radar trends..


On to next week. This is what we have so far, a lot of inconsistency:

NAM puts main snow north of OK.
GFS puts main snow in eastern OK and into N AR.
GEM puts main snow through center of OK.

How reliable is the GEM?

[ou48A]

Baseball season supposedly starts at OU a week from today in Norman.
We’re going to need a major snow melting warm up.

[OKCRT]

What approximate time does the snow move into the metro area today,if it does in fact move in? Anyone have a clue?

[venture]

Baseball season supposedly starts at OU a week from today in Norman.
We’re going to need a major snow melting warm up.

Major snow melting warm up? The can come out right now and the snow will melt. It's not like we have to get into the 50s to melt what is out there right now. LOL

What approximate time does the snow move into the metro area today,if it does in fact move in? Anyone have a clue?

Most of the accumulating snow is going to stay over SE OK. There really isn't going to be much to really worry about over us today.

[Anonymous.]

What approximate time does the snow move into the metro area today,if it does in fact move in? Anyone have a clue?

HRRR shows narrow band of light snow along 44 corridor coming up around 4-5pm, but per current radar trends it looks like it either won't happen or will be south of I44. Either way it should not cause major problems.

SE OK could actually get some accumulating snow.

[venture]

12Z GFS eliminates much of the potential for any precip here in Central OK next week. We'll see if we get a "snap back" in the models as we get with in 72 hours.

[bandnerd]

Any updates worth mentioning?

[venture]

12Z NAM has maybe 1-2 inches now for the area early next week. 12Z GFS did have a southerly solution a few runs ago and then when really dry and now it has a northerly solution. Still generally 1-3" across the area. Hopefully by tonight we have a good idea as things start to shape up.

[Anonymous.]

NAM coming back on board with a narrow, but decently heavy snow band across OK, mainly along I-40 corridor.

GFS is about the same last few runs, but keeps flopping on where it wants to put the band.

GEM has been sticking with the band through C OK for the last couple days, but moving it slightly further north and south. Right now GEM has it just north of I-40 corridor.

[coov23]

No weather updates today?

[venture]

No weather updates today?

There really isn't much to update. Right now the models continues to have a very minimal impact on much of Central OK with the next system coming through. Maybe a dusting to an inch of snow looks to be it over the next couple of days.

[coov23]

There really isn't much to update. Right now the models continues to have a very minimal impact on much of Central OK with the next system coming through. Maybe a dusting to an inch of snow looks to be it over the next couple of days.

I thought I read today that OKC would see ice?

[venture]

18Z Models are coming together some now. Looks like 2 waves of precip. First is going to be North of I-40 and probably north of the metro area overall. 1-3" of snow in most cases in a bad over Northern OK to EC OK. Then Wave 2 comes up from the SW and will bring another round of light snow from SW to SE OK - again, missing most of the metro area. A general 1-2" with that wave as it passes through.

Right now looks like OKC proper and much of the metro area will have maybe some flurries or scattered light snow but next to no accumulation worth anything. It then appears we'll be locked back into a dry spell for the next couple of weeks. Some chances for some precip in those two weeks, but for now trends have kept it all east. Temps will start to warm later this week and fire danger will also increase.

[Bunty]

Hi temps are supposed to be well into the 60s on Sat. and Sun.

[bandnerd]

Bring on the sun! I wish that didn't mean fire danger, but dang...I'm getting depressed from all the grayness outside :/ I'm ready to see my daffodils and hyacinths break ground.

[catch22]

Trying to non rev out on Tuesday. Let's hope this completely misses Oklahoma.