While we may not see any “real” effects from Hurricane Sandy such as wind or rain, the storm on the East Coast will be playing quite a large role in our weather over about the next week.

Hurricane Sandy Off of the Carolina Coast. 4:00PM on 10/28

It’s been termed “Frankenstorm”, appropriate enough because the storm is hitting extremely close to Halloween.  Even more appropriate because of the storms makeup.  If anyone is familiar with Frankenstein, the monster was created by a bunch of things being put together and then being brought to life.  Similarly, that is what is going on with Sandy.  Normally tropical system weaken as they move northward up the Atlantic Coast, but not this time.  This time Sandy has has some help, and its help is coming from the system that has brought us the cooler air over the last few days.  The three systems (Strong upper level cold pocket, surface cold front, and of course Sandy) will clash together in the Northeast.  Once they clash, the storm will have another energy source.

Ingredients coming together to produce "Frankenstorm"

All of the weather in the mid-latitudes (Our weather) is driven by temperature differences.  Typically the bigger the temperature difference, the stronger the storm.  Hurricanes have a warm core and I mentioned that it will be colliding with a cold pocket.  Once the two collide, they will explode creating a perfect storm if you will. That is why this hurricane is so much different than ones that typically affect the Northeast.

Heavy Rain and Gusts over 75 mph expected as Sandy collides with Upper Lever System on Monday. Higher elevations in WV and PA could pick up FEET of snow.

There is a method to my madness.  I just wanted to lay some of the ground as to what was actually going on out there before we came back home.  In a nutshell the huge storm out East is going to clog the weather pipeline for the next few days.  While the winds may pick up slightly here because the storm is so large, we won’t see anything even remotely close to what the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic is in for.  Thanks to Sandy and its “parts” things will remain quiet and cool in the Upper Midwest.

Posted under just cool, Natural Disaster, Tropical weather, Uncategorized, weather

Using $1 billion in damages as a benchmark for the most extreme weather events, 2011 has clobbered the record for most extreme weather events in a year.

Read all the expensive details here: NOAA: Extreme Weather 2011

It’s important to note we’re at 12 $1 billion+ disasters – and counting.

No major storm systems appear to be heading our way for at least the next week. So we’ve got that going for us…which is nice.

Image courtesy of NOAA

Posted under climate, Drought, Natural Disaster, severe weather, winter

It has a been a year to remember, or forget when it comes to natural disasters.  Hurricane Irene could make 2011 a little harder to forget.  To date there have been 10 natural disasters in the United States that have topped the 1 Billion dollar mark in damages.  That ties a record and that does not include Hurricane Irene, which still has to be analyzed, but when its all said and done, the record will likely fall.  Can you name the ten to hit this year?  If you need help… they are listed below:

1.  Groundhog Day Blizzard: January 29 – February 3, 2011

This will forever be the iconic blizzard for years to come.  36 people were killed as a result of the storm.  Total losses were estimated at $2 dollars.  Remember the picture of the cars stranded on lake shore drive in Chicago?

2. Midwest/Southeast tornadoes April 4-5, 2011

This was pretty much the start of it all when it comes to the tornado outbreaks of this past year.  Strong cold air pushing south from Canada caught up with warm, humid air across the U.S. Southeast to produce severe weather and tornadoes in Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  Forty-six tornadoes were confirmed during this event, and nine lives were lost.  Insured losses were estimated around $1.6 billion with total losses of $2.3 billion.

3.  Southeast/Midwest tornadoes April 8-11, 2011

This one hit closest to home.  A Violent EF-4 tornado ripped through the town of Mapleton, IA, just outside of our viewing area.  This was part of an outbreak that hit Eastern and Central Wisconsin the next day.  Supercells were born in our area and quickly raced toward the east leveling towns.  Thankfully, there were no fatalities reported in this event.  Total losses were around 2.2 billion dollars.

4. Midwest/Southeast tornadoes April 14-16, 2011:

Approximately 160 tornadoes struck portions of the midwestern and southeastern United States, killing 38 people. Insured losses of $1.4 billion were recorded, with total losses over $2 billion.  The most memorable tornadoes hit in North Carolina.  Here’s a picture of a Lowes home improvement store that collapsed.  This was the biggest tornado outbreak of the year to that point.  Little did we know the biggest one in recorded history was 10 days away.

5. Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest tornado outbreak aka “Super Outbreak” – April 25-30, 2011

Up until this tornado outbreak, the 1974 “Super Outbreak” Was the benchmark of all tornado outbreaks.  This event has been called “Super Outbreak 2″ by some… and rightfully so.   305 confirmed tornadoes and 327 deaths. Losses were over $6.6 billion insured, over $9 billion total.  This event broke records some thought would never be broken from the outbreak of ’74.  Since the Enhanced Fujita Scale was created back in 2007, there have only been 2 Ef-5 Tornadoes.  After the dust settled with this event, there were 6.  Below is a radar image from the worst day of the event.

6.Midwest/Southeast tornadoes May 22-27, 2011

One city name and you will instantly be able to call this one.  Joplin, Missouri.  An EF-5 tornado demolished the city.  In its wake , 141 people were killed.  Losses were estimated over $7 billion.

7.  Southern Plains/Southwest drought, heatwave, and wildfires spring-summer 2011

As a result of a severe drought $5 billion dollars in direct losses to agriculture, cattle and structures.

8.  Mississippi River flooding spring-summer 2011

The snow melt from our area and points north from a very snowy winter filled the upper Mississippi and flowed down south.  This caused major flooding in the Tennessee river valley and other points in the southern United States. $2-$4 billion dollars in economic losses with two deaths were associated with the floods.

View from above of the flooding in the south from the Mississippi River

9. Upper Midwest flooding summer 2011

This was another event that happened close to home and was in local news because of the proximity to us and because of how severe the flooding was.  It is estimated that 11,000 people had to evacuate Minot, North Dakota due to rising waters in the Souris River.  Over $2 billion dollars in losses have occurred due to the extreme flooding in these areas.

And again, if we get 10, it will break the record.  Could Hurricane Irene be it?  We will keep you posted!

Posted under Natural Disaster, severe weather, Uncategorized, weather

Bulletin Date: Friday, August 26, 2011 | 9:15:05 AM CDT
Source: Salvation Army, National Headquarters Xenophon Strategies
Media Relations Matt Meenan
(703) 647-4799  (202) 289-4001
mediarelations@usn.salvationarmy.org mmeenan@xenophonstrategies.com

The Salvation Army Responds as First Hurricane Approaches
Staff and Mobile Kitchens Ready to Provide Services Wherever Hurricane Irene Makes Landfall

Alexandria, Virginia (August 26, 2011) – As Hurricane Irene approaches the Southeastern United States as the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season, The Salvation Army is preparing staff, equipment and supplies to serve as needed. In the southern U.S. alone, the Army has more than 270 emergency response vehicles including mobile kitchens, shower trailers, field kitchens, and additional logistics equipment available. The Salvation Army will provide food, drinks and spiritual and emotional care to emergency responders and community members should Irene produce severe storms and damage between Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and the greater Washington, DC area, New York City and New England.

“With the threat of Hurricane Irene bearing down on the continental U.S., The Salvation Army is taking every precaution necessary to ready equipment and supplies to provide emergency relief services as needed to anyone who may be impacted by the storm,” said Major George Hood, National Community Relations Secretary for The Salvation Army. “The Army has stockpiled warehouse facilities across the southeastern U.S. with food, water and medical supplies for use in a major disaster.”

While the forecast keeps the eye of the storm off the eastern coast of Florida, and into Georgia, the Carolinas and the greater Washington, DC area, New York City and New England there is a significant possibility that as it moves north, Hurricane Irene will produce severe storms with the potential for flooding and numerous tornado warnings. The Salvation Army’s mobile kitchens are strategically placed around Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and the greater Washington, DC area, New York City and New England to support a response along the east coast. If Irene passes without significant damage in Florida, the units will be available to support neighboring states.

“Personnel from the southern tip of Florida through New England are monitoring Irene’s path closely and will be ready to respond to the needs of individuals before and after the storm,” said Major Hood. “But as the storm approaches, we encourage residents throughout the potentially impacted states to prepare themselves and be safe.”

The Salvation Army is asking residents of the entire east coast from Florida to New England, to be prepared with an emergency disaster plan. Critical decisions need to be made ahead of time, before the storm makes landfall. For more information on The Salvation Army’s preparation and response to Hurricane Irene, please visit http://blog.salvationarmyusa.org/, http://www.facebook.com/salvationarmyusa or http://www.twitter.com/salvationarmyus.

Monetary donations:
The best way to help nowis to call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769) or go to donate.salvationarmyusa.org/Irene to make a donation by credit card. Checks may be mailed to The Salvation Army Disaster Gift Processing Center, P.O.Box 1959, Atlanta, GA 30301. Donations should be designated: “2011 Hurricane Season” Cell phone users may also text the word STORM to 80888. A one-time donation of $10 will be billed to your mobile phone bill**.

**Messaging and date rates may apply. Donations are collected for The Salvation Army by mobilecause.com. Reply STOP to 80888 to stop. Reply HELP to 80888 for help. For terms, see www.igfn.org/t.

Donations of used Household Goods and Clothing:

Due to the high expense and time demands associated with delivering your gently-used household goods and clothing (gifts-in-kind), The Salvation cannot guarantee that any individual gifts-in-kind donated now will be sent to the disaster area. In time of disaster, our stores fill these needs from existing, pre-sorted stock. By continuing to donate gently-used household goods to your local Salvation Army store, you not only help your community, you help us prepare for future disaster relief needs. To find your nearest drop-off location, please go to www.satruck.org.

Posted under Natural Disaster

Doh!

This morning a small earthquake occurred in west-central Minnesota. Alexandria to be exact. Just when you thought all we had to be concerned about was blizzards, tornadoes, lightning, and locusts…

Here are the deets from the USGS report page Did you feel it? The USGS wants to know…

Posted under Earth Stuff, minnesota, Natural Disaster

A lot of real estate is being covered by this late April storm system around the entire country.  Let’s start right here at home.  We had some light start late last night that eventually turned in to some heavier rain overnight.  By the time the rain was all said and done, over an inch had fallen in most places.

On the the southern side of this storm, we had yet another severe weather outbreak. In a recent post, we talked about how April already broke a record for the most amount of Tornadoes ever recorded .  Today parts of the south were outlooked by the storm prediction center  to be in a “HIGH” risk for severe weather.  To put that into perspective, the day Tornadoes hit Iowa and Wisconsin, we were outlooked in a “MODERATE” risk.  I have only seen a “HIGH” risk issued a couple of times in my life.  Tomorrow the southeast and Tennessee River Valley are under the gun for very strong storms that could also contain violent long tracked tornadoes.  A longed tracked tornado is a tornado that stays on the ground for a very long time and causes immense amounts of damage.  They are usually EF 2′s or higher.  Today, 2 PDS Tornado watches were issued for portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee.  These watches are also extremely rare.  We were in one on April 10th.

Tornadoes were not the only threat from this major low pressure system.  Massive flash flooding occurred last night in multiple states and devastated areas.  Some rivers in Arkansas and Tennessee.  Below is a map of the current warnings.  The bright red are tornado warnings and the rustish color are the flash flood warnings.  The amount of flooding that is going on in the Tennessee River Valley is just incredible.

Posted under flooding, Natural Disaster, severe weather, Tornadoes, weather

Tonight is a big night in the eyes of the “weather geek”.  The 1st of  March marked the official start of severe weather season in the United States.  We all remember from last year the power mother nature can pack when it comes to this type of weather.  June 17th comes to mind with that massive tornado outbreak.  Last year Minnesota broke their record for most tornadoes in one year and beat out every single state for most tornado touchdowns last year with 113 tornado confirmations.

It is important to have skywarn spotters to help give advanced warnings of tornadoes and any other kind of severe weather such as hail, lightning, straight line winds, flooding, etc. The information provided to meteorologists by trained spotters in the field can greatly increase warning times and provide crucial information as we continue to learn about the dynamic atmosphere.

If you are a weather weenie and would like to learn about the weather and more about severe weather spotter training come on out to the Rochester Event Center in Olmsted County at 6:30 to be trained! If you do not live close to Rochester, but are still interested, here is the schedule for a spotter training near you.

Here are some frequently asked questions about skywarn that can help answer some questions before the session.

Tornado near Albert Lea, MN on June 17th

Picture from:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yG2HbYQQYOw/TBt8aREJ5cI/AAAAAAAAJu0/zvPYK38Nwos/s1600/!0_2010_0617_AlbertLeaMN-NearAirport_LargeTornado_AlbertLeaTRIBUNE.jpg&imgrefurl=http://groucho-karl-marx.blogspot.com/2010/06/minnesota-tornadoes-kill-at-least-2.html&usg=__ePqnFEirLyhVlDfjtBfO9dM0DAk=&h=467&w=700&sz=36&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=kxIKHbzyuqCeXM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=193&ei=N1J-TaLBCobCqQGi5ZDgBg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dalbert%2Blea%2Btornado%2B2007%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D909%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=585&vpy=103&dur=1638&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=117&ty=92&oei=N1J-TaLBCobCqQGi5ZDgBg&page=1&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0

Posted under Albert Lea, atmospheric phenomenon, climate, flooding, hail, history, June 17, just cool, KTTC, MN Tornado, Natural Disaster, rainfall, rainfall amounts, Rochester, severe weather, snowfall amounts, spring, Travel, Uncategorized, Viewer Pics, weather, winter weather

A major 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck just off shore of the east coast of Japan just before midnight central time last night.  This is occurred in the region commonly known as the ring of fire, due to its numerous active volcanoes and seismic activity.  As if this massive tremor wasn’t enough, the quake generated a devastating tsunami followed.  Wave heights were as high as 30 feet along the coast of Japan.  tsunami warnings were quickly issued for Hawaii and the west coast of the United States.  It only took a few hours for the wave, that was traveling as fast as a jet plane, to hit Hawaii.  A few hours later, waves were seen in Oregon and then eventually California.  The wave as we speak is on its way to South America.  Wave heights in the states were not as big as in Japan, but it doesn’t take a big tsunami wave to create damage.  A reported 8.1 foot wave caused major damage in the harbor of Crescent City, California.

This earthquake was a prime candidate to create a tsunami because of the nature of the quake.  It was a very powerful quake for one AND it was a shallow quake, meaning it wasn’t very deep in the Earth’s crust.  This earthquake happened only 15 miles below the surface of the earth.

The video link  below shows how the earthquake happened and how the tsunami formed shortly after.

Earthquake/Tsunami Video

In the video the boat out at sea really was not  impacted at all.  Tsunami waves are very different from regular waves or tidal waves.  if you were out at sea and a tsunami wave went right below you, chances are you would not even notice.  A tsunami grows to massive heights whenever it gets close to shore because of the sloped terrain leading up to the beach.  The water has all of this momentum from the earthquake and when it runs into the shore, the only place it has to go is up.

Here are some video links that we found to show this horrifying event:

Buildings Shaking From Quake

Tsunami

Tsunami Over Fields

Whirlpool That Formed After EarthquakeHouses On Fire In Tsunami Wave

Posted under history, International, KTTC, Natural Disaster, Travel, Uncategorized

Like we thought,  snow totals out of our latest storm weren’t that impressive, well at least compared to the storms of December.  While southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa did not see the worst of this March storm, major impacts are still being felt over the entire eastern third country.  Check out the watches/warnings this morning  from the National Weather Service: (From 5:33 AM)

The storm is ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS!!  Here is a radar image from the same time showing how much real estate the storm is covered at this time:

Here are the latest storm totals for the day:

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
753 AM CST WED MAR 09 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0700 AM     SNOW             WAUKON                  43.27N  91.47W
03/09/2011  M4.0 INCH        ALLAMAKEE          IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             POSTVILLE               43.09N  91.56W
03/09/2011  M2.4 INCH        ALLAMAKEE          IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

0643 AM     SNOW             HARPERS FERRY 2N        43.22N  91.15W
03/09/2011  M1.0 INCH        ALLAMAKEE          IA   PUBLIC

0643 AM     SNOW             NEW HAMPTON             43.06N  92.31W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        CHICKASAW          IA   PUBLIC

0643 AM     SNOW             EDGEWOOD                42.64N  91.40W
03/09/2011  M3.0 INCH        CLAYTON            IA   PUBLIC

0643 AM     SNOW             CLAYTON CENTER          42.88N  91.32W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        CLAYTON            IA   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             VOLGA 1NE               42.81N  91.52W
03/09/2011  M1.9 INCH        CLAYTON            IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

0643 AM     SNOW             OSTERDOCK               42.73N  91.16W
03/09/2011  M1.0 INCH        CLAYTON            IA   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             FAYETTE                 42.85N  91.82W
03/09/2011  M3.8 INCH        FAYETTE            IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             CHARLES CITY COOP       43.08N  92.67W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        FLOYD              IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

0643 AM     SNOW             CHARLES CITY            43.07N  92.68W
03/09/2011  M1.0 INCH        FLOYD              IA   PUBLIC

0643 AM     SNOW             CRESCO                  43.38N  92.12W
03/09/2011  M2.5 INCH        HOWARD             IA   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             CRESCO                  43.37N  92.11W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        HOWARD             IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

0643 AM     SNOW             OSAGE                   43.29N  92.81W
03/09/2011  M4.0 INCH        MITCHELL           IA   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             ST ANSGAR               43.37N  92.83W
03/09/2011  M3.6 INCH        MITCHELL           IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

0643 AM     SNOW             DECORAH                 43.31N  91.79W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        WINNESHIEK         IA   PUBLIC

0643 AM     SNOW             FORT ATKINSON           43.14N  91.94W
03/09/2011  M1.4 INCH        WINNESHIEK         IA   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             DODGE CENTER            44.03N  92.86W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        DODGE              MN   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             SPRING VALLEY 3E        43.68N  92.33W
03/09/2011  M3.5 INCH        FILLMORE           MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             LANESBORO               43.72N  91.97W
03/09/2011  M2.9 INCH        FILLMORE           MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             PETERSON 1S             43.78N  91.82W
03/09/2011  M2.4 INCH        FILLMORE           MN   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             CALEDONIA               43.63N  91.50W
03/09/2011  M4.0 INCH        HOUSTON            MN   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             LA CRESCENT 3SSW        43.81N  91.32W
03/09/2011  M3.6 INCH        HOUSTON            MN   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             RENO 3SW                43.53N  91.33W
03/09/2011  M3.5 INCH        HOUSTON            MN   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             SPRING GROVE 4N         43.61N  91.62W
03/09/2011  M2.4 INCH        HOUSTON            MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             AUSTIN                  43.67N  92.95W
03/09/2011  M3.6 INCH        MOWER              MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             AUSTIN KAAL TV          43.68N  92.95W
03/09/2011  M3.1 INCH        MOWER              MN   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             GRAND MEADOW            43.71N  92.56W
03/09/2011  M2.5 INCH        MOWER              MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             ROCHESTER AP 2NE        43.93N  92.48W
03/09/2011  M2.6 INCH        OLMSTED            MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             ORONOCO                 44.16N  92.54W
03/09/2011  M2.5 INCH        OLMSTED            MN   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             ELGIN 2SSW              44.10N  92.27W
03/09/2011  M1.6 INCH        OLMSTED            MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             ROCHESTER               44.02N  92.48W
03/09/2011  M1.5 INCH        OLMSTED            MN   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             WABASHA                 44.39N  92.05W
03/09/2011  M1.8 INCH        WABASHA            MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             GOODVIEW                44.07N  91.71W
03/09/2011  M1.8 INCH        WINONA             MN   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             MINNESOTA CITY DAM 5    44.16N  91.81W
03/09/2011  M1.0 INCH        WINONA             MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             LA CRESCENT DAM 7       43.87N  91.31W
03/09/2011  M1.0 INCH        WINONA             MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             WINONA DAM 5A           44.09N  91.67W
03/09/2011  M1.0 INCH        WINONA             MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             FRIENDSHIP              43.97N  89.82W
03/09/2011  M5.2 INCH        ADAMS              WI   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             ARKDALE                 44.03N  89.88W
03/09/2011  M5.0 INCH        ADAMS              WI   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             WHITE CREEK             43.84N  89.87W
03/09/2011  M4.0 INCH        ADAMS              WI   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             FRIENDSHIP              43.97N  89.82W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        ADAMS              WI   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             ALMA DAM 4              44.33N  91.92W
03/09/2011  M1.0 INCH        BUFFALO            WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             NEILLSVILLE 3SW         44.53N  90.64W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        CLARK              WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             NEILLSVILLE             44.56N  90.59W
03/09/2011  M0.5 INCH        CLARK              WI   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             SOLDIERS GROVE          43.39N  90.78W
03/09/2011  M3.8 INCH        CRAWFORD           WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             STEUBEN 4SE             43.13N  90.84W
03/09/2011  M3.7 INCH        CRAWFORD           WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             GAYS MILLS              43.32N  90.85W
03/09/2011  M1.0 INCH        CRAWFORD           WI   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             PRAIRIE DU CHIEN        43.05N  91.13W
03/09/2011  M1.0 INCH        CRAWFORD           WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             LANCASTER               42.85N  90.71W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        GRANT              WI   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             TAYLOR                  44.32N  91.12W
03/09/2011  M3.0 INCH        JACKSON            WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             BLACK RIVER FALLS       44.30N  90.85W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        JACKSON            WI   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             NECEDAH                 44.03N  90.07W
03/09/2011  M5.0 INCH        JUNEAU             WI   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             NEW LISBON              43.88N  90.17W
03/09/2011  M4.0 INCH        JUNEAU             WI   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             LA CROSSE WFO           43.82N  91.19W
03/09/2011  M5.2 INCH        LA CROSSE          WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             WEST SALEM 1W           43.90N  91.09W
03/09/2011  M5.0 INCH        LA CROSSE          WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             LA CROSSE ASOS          43.88N  91.26W
03/09/2011  M2.6 INCH        LA CROSSE          WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             HOLMEN 2S               43.93N  91.25W
03/09/2011  M2.4 INCH        LA CROSSE          WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             LA CROSSE 5SSE          43.79N  91.21W
03/09/2011  M1.8 INCH        LA CROSSE          WI   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             FOUR CORNERS            44.07N  90.92W
03/09/2011  M4.3 INCH        MONROE             WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             WARRENS 5WSW            44.10N  90.59W
03/09/2011  M3.2 INCH        MONROE             WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             RICHLAND CENTER 1NW     43.36N  90.42W
03/09/2011  M3.8 INCH        RICHLAND           WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             RICHLAND CENTER         43.32N  90.38W
03/09/2011  M2.6 INCH        RICHLAND           WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             MEDFORD                 45.14N  90.35W
03/09/2011  M0.5 INCH        TAYLOR             WI   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             TREMPEALEAU DAM 6       44.00N  91.44W
03/09/2011  M4.0 INCH        TREMPEALEAU        WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             GALESVILLE 2ENE         44.09N  91.31W
03/09/2011  M2.3 INCH        TREMPEALEAU        WI   PUBLIC

0700 AM     SNOW             OSSEO                   44.58N  91.22W
03/09/2011  M1.7 INCH        TREMPEALEAU        WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             BLAIR 2NW               44.31N  91.27W
03/09/2011  M1.5 INCH        TREMPEALEAU        WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             VIROQUA                 43.55N  90.90W
03/09/2011  M4.8 INCH        VERNON             WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM     SNOW             LA FARGE                43.57N  90.64W
03/09/2011  M3.1 INCH        VERNON             WI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0745 AM     SNOW             STODDARD 2NE            43.69N  91.18W
03/09/2011  M2.6 INCH        VERNON             WI   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             VIROQUA                 43.58N  90.88W
03/09/2011  M2.0 INCH        VERNON             WI   PUBLIC

0745 AM     SNOW             DE SOTO                 43.43N  91.20W
03/09/2011  M1.5 INCH        VERNON             WI   PUBLIC
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Posted under atmospheric phenomenon, flooding, just cool, KTTC, minnesota, Natural Disaster, rainfall, Rochester, severe weather, snowfall amounts, spring, Travel, weather, winter, winter weather

A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service in La Crosse.  This is in effect from 6PM tonight until 6PM Wednesday.

The winter storm we have been talking about will impact the area late this evening through Wednesday afternoon.  We are thinking totals should be in the 3-6 inch range for this event.  The biggest issue with this storm is not the actual snowfall amounts, but the timing.  The heaviest snow looks to fall right before the early morning commute to work.  Travel will most likely be very hazardous during these hours.  Another issue with this storm is how much moisture is associated with it.  The snow that falls will be very wet and very heavy.  This will make shoveling difficult and potentially dangerous for the elderly or people with heart problems.  This is the time for the young and the strong to step up and help in the snow removing efforts.

This storm also adds to the concern with spring flooding.  Any new snow greatly increases flooding chances in southeastern Minnesota  for the upcoming spring.

Posted under flooding, KTTC, minnesota, Natural Disaster, Rochester, snowfall amounts, spring, Travel, weather, winter, winter weather