Foggy Minnesota as West Coast storm cranks up
Winds of change are blowing along the Pacific Coast. Those winds will soon reach Minnesota.
For now Minnesota is caught in a foggy meteorological No Man's Land as massive storms swirl on both coasts.
West Coast storm comes ashore
The massive West Coast storm is moving ashore from Seattle to San Francisco and beyond. Here's NOAA's West Coast IR Rainbow enhanced satellite shot. A giant swirl of low pressure northwest of Vancouver Island is sucking a moisture rich sub-tropical firehose eastward along the coast.
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Radars are lighting up as waves of heavy rain slam ashore. Here's the view from Weather Underground as the lead waves hit as of Wednesday evening.
The West Coast news channels are abuzz with team coverage on the giant storm moving ashore. The West Coast weather Twitteratti pings with the latest angle on the intense storm as the Pineapple Express brings high winds and heavy rains ashore.
The heavy rainfall totals will quickly drive rivers in northern California to flood stage. Here's the National Weather Service hydrograph for the Russian River north of the Bay Area which is forecast to rapidly approach major flood stage in the next 48 hours.
Minnesota transitions to milder December
The 9th coldest November on record has lingered like an early December hangover. But now the November snow machine has shut down.
-3.1 degrees temps vs. average for the first nine days of December at MSP Airport
9.3" snowfall in November at MSP
0.1" snowfall so far in December at MSP
6.3" December snowfall to date last year at this time
The character of our cold December start is about to change in Minnesota. As the moist milder air begins to interact with what passes for snow cover in Minnesota, it all gets started with a murky, frozen Minnesota-style London fog.
We may see more frosty scenes Thursday morning across parts of Minnesota as near ideal hoarfrost conditions decorates the December landscape.
Thaw kicks in
Our thaw takes hold slowly Thursday afternoon, then kicks in full force Friday as more consistent southerly winds begin to overcome the snow-fog interaction.
The longer range outlook suggests high temperatures hovering around the freezing mark through Christmas, which is about 5 to 8 degrees milder than late December averages. A couple of incoming systems may offer some light snow chances. It's going to be touch and go, but don't give up on a slightly white Christmas just yet.
Seeley in Duluth Friday
If you're going to be anywhere near Duluth Friday, check out University of Minnesota climate specialist Dr. Mark Seeley as he speaks at University of Minnesota Duluth via the Large Lakes Observatory. Nobody gives a better, more relevant and comprehensive talk on Minnesota's climate trends. Mark will be focusing on climate adaptation trends in Minnesota. His talk is free and open to the public.
