Morgantown, West Virginia to Midland, Texas
Posted by Ryan
Our voyage continues this afternoon, as we head southwest from Morgantown to dusty west Texas. The drive will be three days covering 1534 miles. We will be on interstates quite a bit, and our pace will be about 65.9mph. The daily goal is 527 miles per day. Let's make our way through the heart of the USA, shall we?
DAY ONE
We are expecting a brisk westerly throughout the Ohio Valley tomorrow, but the significant snowfall will have long since shifted out to sea, and the trajectory of the wind will mean lake effect snow will be confined to Michigan, Ontario and western New York. There will be a cold breeze, and the headwind will sap our gas mileage, but there won't be any precipitation. Our day will end in Millersville, Tennessee, which is just north of Nashville.
DAY TWO
High pressure is mercifully building into the southern US. I say this, because people throughout the country are probably sick of cloudy, miserable weather. No misery here as we slice through Tennessee, bisect Arkansas and move into eastern Texas. We will be in the Piney Woods, near New Boston to finish off a pretty easy day of driving (except for Memphis, which is impossible to drive through).
DAY THREE
Our luck is going to end on Friday, as a weak area of low pressure will develop east of the Rockies. AS it moves into the Texas Panhandle, it will begin to draw moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and should begin kicking up showers as we set forth from New Boston. The rain will be heaviest through Dallas, but should cut off by the time we reach Eastland, which is about halfway between Fort Worth and Abilene. After that, it should be pretty easy driving as we make our way to Midland.
Dodging a snowy bullet
Posted by Ryan
The last two days have been fairly rough for the eastern Seaboard. Snow and ice strafed the major metropolitan areas on the coast and even provided some icy, snowy problems as far inland as Pittsburgh. In Cleveland, however, ice was avoided, and they only saw a trace of snow from Sunday evening into Monday morning. The National Weather Service did the best job with this forecast, mostly because they had the lowest temperatures. Those temperatures were so cold, by the way, because the whole system avoided Cleveland. But yes, congratulations, NWS, you had the top spot.
Actuals: Sunday, Trace of snow, High 30, Low 19
Monday - Trace of rain/snow, High 35, Low 26
Grade: A
Morgantown, West Virginia
Posted by Anthony
Today we head off to West Virginia, to see what the city of Morgantown has in store for it. Can they finally evade a winter storm for once?!
At 1253am EST, the temperature at Morgantown, WV was 32 degrees under overcast skies. The Eastern US has been pummeled by storm after storm in the last couple of weeks, and the next couple of days won't be any different. Another storm is looking to blow through the Mid-Atlantic, and Morgantown looks to be in line for a couple inches of snow as it shifts on through. Some higher amounts are expected further off to the east, over the mountains and also in the DC/Baltimore area. It's going to be a quick-hitting storm though, as precip should wind down during midday and give people a chance to shovel out their driveways before the sun sets. Afterwards, it'll be a relative calm Tuesday night and most of Wednesday as high pressure briefly moves through. There is a slight chance of some very light snow activity late Wednesday night into Thursday morning as a system passes off to the north, but shouldn't lead to anything accumulating.
Tuesday: Morning snow, trailing off by 1pm. High 32, Low 19.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, some possible flurry activity in late evening. High 27, Low 15.
TWC: Tuesday: Snow showers, totals less than 1 inch. High 29, Low 21.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High 29, Low 17.
AW: Tuesday: Colder, snow in the morning. Snowfall total of 1-2 inches. High 31, Low 20.
Wednesday: Clouds and sun with flurries. High 30, Low 16.
NWS: Tuesday: Snow, mainly before 2pm. 1-3 inches possible. High 30, Low 19.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High 28, Low 14.
WB: Tuesday: Snow, 1-3 inches expected. High 29, Low 21.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High 28, Low 15.
Here we see the precip starting to approach the Morgantown area. From IL to OH that's snow, further south that's rain. Gonna be a messy day!
Diurnal Decides
Posted by Anthony
The rain moved in and out of Salinas pretty much right on schedule, making way for a relatively decent afternoon. Temperatures did peek into the low 50s, which surprised most forecasts. Temperatures crashed pretty hard that night too, making it to freezing before the clock flipped past midnight. The NWS and Weatherbug tied for the win.
Saturday: 0.18 inches of precip in morning rain. High 53, Low 32.
Sunday: High 49, Low 30.
Forecast Grade: B
Cleveland, Ohio to Akron, Ohio
Posted by Ryan
Ah yes, the periodic extremely short road trip. It takes less than an hour to get from Cleveland to Akron, and we will be moving at a pace of about 51.5mph over less than 40 miles. The travel time will be significantly impacted by stoplights. Let's get this over with.
I would be a little bit worried about some snow showers throughout this drive. A weak low coming through the Great Lakes now is going to move into Canada, and by tomorrow morning, there will be a bit of a northwesterly component off of Lake Erie. As we head south, snow will become less and less likely, but still can't be ruled out in Akron.
Akron, Ohio
Posted by Ryan
It's our second forecast in a row for the northeastern part of Ohio. How will the weather look with an extra day to look at?
At 1154AM, ET, Akron was reporting overcast skies with a temperature of 24 degrees. A weak area of low pressure thanks to an upper level trough is moving through the Great Lakes and touching off some lake effect snow throughout Michigan. Meanwhile, a surge of warm air lifting out of the Gulf of Mexico is producing heavier snow bands trough central Ohio as well as points to the east. Expect snow to fill in across the Akron area as the day continues.
The more substantial air from the south isn't expected to reach Akron, but the clipper induced, lake enhanced snow will fill in this afternoon into tomorrow morning in the Akron area. A dry slot will move in with a westerly flow in northeastern Ohio. The cold front associated with the clipper will be mostly inactive as it is robbed of moisture by the disturbance to the southeast, but it may bring some additional clouds to the Akron area on Tuesday afternoon.
Tomorrow - Early snow, High 34, Low 24
Tuesday - Mostly cloudy, High 28, Low 19
TWC: Tomorrow - Cloudy High 35, Low 25
Tuesday - Few Snow Showers High 25, Low 21
AW: Tomorrow - Breezy; snow, sleet and rain at times in the morning followed by a flurry in the afternoon High 36, Low 24
Tuesday - Periods of clouds and sunshine High 30, Low 19
NWS: Tomorrow - A chance of rain, snow, and freezing drizzle before 9am, then a slight chance of snow between 9am and noon. Mostly cloudy, high 35, Low 23
Tuesday - Partly sunny High 24, Low 16
WB: Tomorrow - Mostly cloudy with a chance of light snow in the morning...then partly sunny in the afternoon High 37, Low 24
Tuesday - Partly sunny. High 26, Low 19
Snow storms so rarely avoid Ohio, so this is a pleasant surprise. You can see how Akron is getting squeezed by the snow, however.
Cleveland, Ohio
Posted by Ryan
This entire weekend will be a study in the climate of northeastern Ohio. The only question is... can you handle it?
At 151PM, ET, Cleveland was reporting a temperature of 24 degrees with a light flow off of Lake Erie. Generally, speaking, this is a ripe environment for snow off the Lake, and there is snow across the region, it simply isn't being reported at this time at Cleveland. Northwesterly winds are expected to continue as the weekend continues.
A vigorous jet is demarcating a strong temperature gradient, at which Cleveland lies on the cold side. As the jet begins to arc through the Ohio Valley, it will begin to release some warm moist air presently being suppressed along the Gulf Coast and in the southeast. It will act as a vast dissociated warm front until proper phasing takes place. The bulk of the moisture will slide southeast of Cleveland until tomorrow evening, when some wet flakes will join the increasingly tolerable temperatures. As warm air moves in aloft, sleet and freezing rain will be possible before sunrise in the Cleveland area before a developing low over the Great Lakes can help introduce a dry slot over northern Ohio. This will mean a return to clear skies, but also some wind and chilly temperatures.
Tomorrow - Increasing clouds with some snow late, High 33, Low 17
Monday - Wintry mix early becoming rain, then clearing by mid afternoon, High 39, Low 27
TWC: Tomorrow - PM Snow Showers High 31, Low 24
Monday - Snow Shower High 38, Low 29
AW: Tomorrow - Cloudy and cold; some afternoon snow with little or no accumulation High 31, Low 14
Monday - Mostly cloudy with a couple of snow showers (ice overnight) High 36, Low 25
NWS: Tomorrow - A chance of snow, mainly after 5pm. Mostly cloudy High 32, Low 18
Monday - A chance of rain and sleet before noon. Mostly cloudy (snow and sleet early) High 37, Low 26
WB: Tomorrow - Partly sunny in the morning...then cloudy with a chance of snow in the afternoon. High 32, Low 18
Monday - Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain and sleet. High 37, Low 31
Where available, this is a non standard day, with midnight lows on Monday. Radar shows that the snow isn't terribly heavy across Cleveland.
Salinas, California
Posted by Anthony
Today we head to an area where thankfully, the temperature will be ABOVE zero. That's always nice, right? Show us what ya got Salinas!
At 953pm PST, the temperature at Salinas, CA was 48 degrees with light rain falling. An area of low pressure is pushing into the Western US and is expected to bring lots of rain and higher elevation snows to the Sierra Nevada. Some areas are expected to get 1-3 feet above 6-7 thousand feet! With much of the Central and Eastern US getting lots of snow last couple games, I'm sure the ski resorts in CA and NV will be happy with this storm moving in. Most of the rain should shift through Salinas during the morning, then trail off to just a few spotty midday showers as the system pushes off towards SoCal and into NV. There might be a couple peeks of sun even during the afternoon, but I wouldn't bet on it. As the system barrels inland, high pressure drops in from the Pacific Northwest, making for a dry but cool end to the weekend.
Saturday: High 49, Low 37.
Sunday: High 50, Low 31.
TWC: Saturday: Morning rain. High 49, Low 36.
Sunday: Sunny. High 49, Low 30.
AW: Saturday: Periods of rain in morning, turning colder. High 47, Low 33.
Sunday: Mostly sunny and cold. High 44, Low 29.
NWS: Saturday: Morning rain showers. High 48, Low 32.
Sunday: Morning frost, then sunny. High 48, Low 30.
WB: Saturday: Chance of morning rain showers. High 50, Low 31.
Sunday: Sunny. High 50, Low 29.
Here we see some of the heavier rain showers move in over the region. This should be a quick-hitting system, then make way for a decent Sunday.
Drizzle Fizzles
Posted by Anthony
It was overcast skies and foggy skies Wednesday night into Thursday morning, but it wasn't enough to churn out some drizzle out of the clouds in Dover. The evening rain showers didn't develop quite as expected as well, making for an overall dry forecast that most of us missed. Temperature-wise, everybody was pretty close, but Accuweather and the Weather Channel come out in a 1st place tie.
Wednesday: High 55, Low 37.
Thursday: High 63, Low 48.
Forecast Grade: A
The Week Ahead 12/8/13-12/14/13
Posted by Ryan
We have a busy week ahead. The weather will be uncooperative and we have a lot of forecasts on the schedule. Let's take a peek.
Sunday - Akron, Ohio; Road Trip from Cleveland, Ohio to Akron
Monday - Morgantown, West Virginia
Tuesday - Road Trip from Morgantown to Midland, Texas
Wednesday - Dothan, Alabama
Thursday - Appleton, Wisconsin
Friday - Road Trip from Appleton, Wisconsin to Goldsboro, North Carolina
Saturday - Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Road Trip from Goldsboro to Baton Rouge