USA: 61% Snow Cover
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NOHRSC snow analysis shows most of the lower 48 sates covered with snow.
It's January, and winter is in firm control in the USA this year. After a series of arctic outbreaks and snow storms, today's analysis from the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center shows 61.4% of the USA is covered in snow. That's up from 53.4% last month.
In the Upper Midwest, 100% of the landscape is covered with snow. That's not a big surprise this time of year, but some of the snow depth being reported is. We have a respectable 11" on the ground at Twin Cities'airport. But the storm track has been delivering the heavy snow in southern Minnesota and Iowa.
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Sioux Falls and Rochester have 20" on the ground. And in Sioux City, Iowa the snow depth was a record 28" on Thursday. That ties the greatest snow depth ever recorded in Sioux Falls in the early 60s.
The deep snow pack and fresh snow cover serves to keep us colder than we would be with bare ground. As much as 90 to 95 percent of the sun's energy is reflected back into space from a fresh snow cover. That's energy that could be available to heat the lower atmosphere over bare ground.
Stay warm this weekend, and enjoy the warm up next week. It looks like temperatures could surge into the upper 30s as early as Tuesday.
PH