Japan Tsunami debris headed for West Coast!
Coating to 1"+ Monday from the metro south to I-90
2" to 4" totals in northern Iowa
January 28th last measureable snow at MSP Airport (0.4")
+7.3 degrees - temps vs. average at MSP so far in February.
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40 possible in southern Minnesota on Valentine's Day
Arctic Oscillation reversed winter patterns around the globe this winter
Japan tsunami debris may soon hit USA!
This is a little scary, but real.Check out the story from Huffington Post.
"At this very moment, up to 25 million tons of debris--occupying an area roughly the size of California--is a on a collision course for the North American west coast.
The floating wreckage, often called flotsam, is a result of the massively destructive, 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck just off the coast of Japan last March."
Yikes!
Snowy dusting:
MNDOT cam at I-35 & Co Rd. 46 in south metro shows snowy dusting Monday.
Monday featured the first measureable snow in two weeks in parts of the metro and southern Minnesota.
The weak system spawned a few flurries that produced a snowy coating in the metro, with some light accumulations south. As much as 2" to 4" of snow fell on northern Iowa.
SNOW REPORTS LISTED BY AMOUNT
INCHES LOCATION ST COUNTY TIME
------ ----------------------- -- -------------- -------
4.50 ODEBOLT IA SAC 1125 AM
STORM TOTAL
3.00 SSW JEFFERSON IA GREENE 1235 PM
3.00 ROCKWELL CITY IA CALHOUN 1028 AM
3.00 DENISON IA CRAWFORD 1028 AM
3.00 POCAHONTAS IA POCAHONTAS 1028 AM
3.00 EMMETSBURG IA PALO ALTO 0948 AM
STILL SNOWING
2.00 ESTHERVILLE IA EMMET 1044 AM
ABOUT TO INCHES
2.00 SAC CITY IA SAC 0720 AM
LIGHT SNOW STILL FALLING...
1.50 DES MOINES INT AIRPORT IA POLK 1200 PM
AIRPORT MEASURED 1.5 INCHES OF TOTAL SNOWFALL
1.40 3 NW JOHNSTON IA POLK 1200 PM
STORM TOTAL...SNOW HAS ENDED
1.30 3 NE YALE IA GUTHRIE 1045 AM
1.00 PERRY IA DALLAS 1047 AM
0.80 MASSENA IA CASS 0814 AM
SNOW STILL FALLING
0.50 NNE MASON CITY IA CERRO GORDO 1130 AM
FROM KIMT TV STUDIOS
Warm hearts & milder temps on Valentine's Day!
The sun should return Tuesday, and that means milder temps are on the way again.
Highs should push well into the upper 30s, and southern Minnesota will see a shot at 40 degrees Tuesday afternoon.
The sun & milder temps should melt most of the light snow that managed to fall Monday.
Temps should again approach 40 Wednesday, before a slight cooling trend later this week.
Winter 2011-'12: It's all about the Arctic Oscillation
Yes Minnesotans are scratching our collective heads about the "non winter" of 2011-'12.
Where's the snow? How could it possibly be so warm? Why is my ice house sinking? How can we go from "Snomageddon" to "brown lawns" in January?
It turns out the answer may lie in the Arctic Oscillation. (AO) Yes, we love to have some neat little weather geeky term to blame everything on.
Last winter the AO was strongly negative. That phase allows cold air to come south, while the poles remain warmer.
This year the AO stayed strongly positive until late January. When it shifted to negative, bitterly cold air surged into Europe making for one of the worst winter outbreaks in decades.
Take a look at the images below from NOAA.
On the left, is last winter's negative phase, which included Minnesota in "blue territory." Notice how much of the Midwest and eastern USA and Europe is in blue. Meanwhile Greenland and Alaska are in "warmer" reds as the warm air hugged the polar regions.
On the right is this winter through December 15th. You can clearly see "warmer" red areas (including Minnesota, Europe and Russia) early on this winter with the positive AO. Greenland and Alaska ran colder than average during this early winter positive AO phase.
There are many factors that can affect winter patterns around the globe, and it's hard to say which causes which...a little "chicken and egg." This winter there is no doubt that the AO was the major controlling factor to our winter so far.
They say al weather is local, and the best way to illustrate the difference in AO phases between this winter and last winter might be the two photos below.
February 2011: Deep snow at the weather lab. Strongly negative AO
February 2012: Little snow at the weather lab. Strong Positve AO
Tell your neighbor at the ice house next to yours..."It's that darn AO this winter!"
PH