Once in a Blue Moon

As another snowy December came to a close, the lunar cycle displayed it's second full moon of the month. For the first time in almost 20 years, there was a "Blue Moon" on New Year's Eve. While 2010 begins, forecasts call for a dry and temperate pattern to evolve for the region, we'll see. (OSNW3 January Observations)

(OSNW3 January 2010 Summary)

(click on graph for the month summary data - it will open a new tab/window)

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December Climate Summary
OSNW3 recorded 15 days with accumulating snowfall this December (Days With Measurable Snow). Over half of the entire months snow fell in two of those days, however (Dec 8-9). The month ended with a total of 19.1" of snow, which is the 12th highest monthly total since 1893, and for the fourth consecutive year here at OSNW3, December has topped the average monthly precipitation average (Annual Precipitation). Temperatures wavered as the month progressed, but when it was all said and done, the monthly mean temp was just 0.2° above the average.

(OSNW3 December 2009 Summary)

(click on graph for the month summary data - it will open a new tab/window)

(OSNW3 Precipitation - 2009)




(OSNW3 Misc Climate Happenings)
December was the cloudiest month of a year in what was the cloudiest of the last three years here at OSNW3, Days with Sun. We recorded 0 t-storms at OSNW3 in December which finalizes our yearly total at 16. For more daily climate information about December at OSNW3, click here.

(December 2009 Radar Loop)
About a week ago WxWatcher inquired about radar loops to share in his classroom. There are a few good ones that currently exist on the OSNW3 website, however I felt it necessary to loop the entire month of December as it became one to remember around the nation. Plenty of good storms to analyze and remember. Choose a link below and enjoy!

.wmv version, 14MB, download
.avi version, 86MB, download

I would recommend right clicking and saving the .avi and using QuickTime to view it.

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Weekly Snowfall
It has been an active 12 days as accumulating snow has fallen on 7 of them. During the days of Dec 27-31 the observations were taken care of by Sarah Kriha and Jeff Bollier. I appreciate their hard work and dedication, and they will be gifted a pound of Provel cheese!

(Dec 21, 2009 - 0.1")


(Dec 22, 2009 - 0.2")


(Dec 24, 2009 - 1.6")


(Dec 26, 2009 - 0.2")


(Dec 27/30/31, 2009 - 1.2"/0.1"/0.6")


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Front Of House
Happy New Year!

(FOH - Jan 1, 2010)

Comments

  1. OSNW3, Nice report. 600 Mi south we have been blessed mainly w/rain in Dec. Though yesterday we all were excited over a very brief snow flurry. Last night, our low temp was 12 degrees F .... good thing my cats have an extra heavy coat this year.

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  2. Hey thanks SuzieE! Your cats predicted the cool-down with their extra heavy coats, right?! Looks like the NWS has snow in your forecast late this week...

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  3. You are a plethora of weather facts! I love visiting and seeing how much you know.

    HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Stay warm. Well, try to anyhow.

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  4. Am hoping for one good snow this year....A brief snow flurry this AM puts us at about 4 "snows". Snows for the Aug Fog - Snow prediction can be just flurries to an all out blizzard...according to my mom who grew up in WV.

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  5. Reading your Dec. report brought me right back to last winter - it's like suumer never happened! As always, another great report.

    Bob

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  6. Dewdrop, thanks but I don't know much, I just relay what the data tells me. You want me to send some mittens and hats down?! :)

    SuzieE, I am hoping you get a good snow. I am hoping I get another good snow this year too. What's the "Aug Fog"?!

    Howdy Bob. Thanks, I appreciate the kind words. Looks like your Dec '08 was almost identical to ours in '09. I want to Wovel.

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  7. Mom told me of a folklore where the number fogs in August is a prediction of the number of "snows" for the winter. This comes from WV.

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  8. Thanks for all the data relay, OSNW3. I look forward to getting some time to dig through it.

    Glad you enjoyed your stay in this neck of the woods. Thanks for bringing snow with you...but..you can take the cold air back north now. Please!

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  9. SuzieE, that is awesome. What was the final count for Fogs this August in WV? I like folklore...

    WxWatcher, I was digging into the images you used in your storm recap. The Unisys site overwhelmed me at first I will admit. However, with a second glance it is not as intimidating. What products do you recommend from them? Man, I love visiting the Lou. I couldn't live there, ever, but it's a great place to hang for a while. My brother in-law gave us a 5lb block of Provel. Enough said. :)

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  10. I like using unisys weather for its analysis maps and forecast models. It is where I get my archived surface maps from as well. Do you know of other sites that offer archived surface maps?

    5 lbs, eh? Have fun with that!

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  11. WxWatcher, I don't know of any other than the Daily Weather Maps from the NCEP, HPC. I believe the surface maps they provide are only once a day at 7am.

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  12. OSNW3, sorry I confused you but the folklore comes from WV...probably originates from my great great ... grandma....mom, who grewup in WV, told me about the folklore when I was a kid growing up in WV about 30 years ago...we are testing the folklore in TN. In TN, our number of fogs last August was about 12.
    I am excited to see how close we come to that number!

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  13. SuzieE, thanks for the clarification! How's the snow today?!

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  14. OSNW3, I owe you big time...that December loop is awesome!

    My favorite is the Christmas snowstorm. Boy, once it hit Arkansas, it just turned on a dime to the north and just spun for a while over Iowa. Very cool.

    Again, many thanks for putting in the time to do this. My kids will really enjoy watching it, and I can cover some important information about precip type, air mass movement, and fronts. This batch of kids have an energetic thirst for weather. It's very exciting.

    On another note, you sure are right about this cold snap affecting us differently. Looking at your first week of January...your low temperatures are beating some of my daytime highs! My mean temperature is currently at 9.8°.

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