The Great Lakes Cyclone IV
Our neighbors across the street, the owners of the TAS, were raking their front lawn this past Sunday. I stepped out of my front door and mentioned to them that it is to early for raking as I still had snow in my front yard. I also mentioned that a storm was coming and there will soon be snow covering the ground again. Either way, they are ahead of the spring clean up game and it inspired me later that afternoon to finish trimming a tree and picking up random small pieces of trash that some how float into my yard. It was a well deserved clean up after 95 days of winter. Winter officially ended at OSNW3 on Mar 22. It doesn't look like it at the moment with the fresh coating of snow or feel like it with temps dipping into the low teens at night barely making it above freezing for highs the next day. Adding the fact that we are locked into this pattern for another week or more will make it feel like winter even more. However, a warm up is coming. Plan for the second week of April to become very spring like. That week fits into Lezak's Recurring Cycle with the early November, the NYE and the mid February warm up. The OSNW3 backyard precipitation outlook using the LRC through early May can be found here.
(OSNW3 Weather Brief)
(OSNW3 March Observations)
(OSNW3 March 2011 Summary)
(click on graph for the month summary data - it will open a new tab/window)
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The Great Lakes Cyclone IV
This storm was certainly of 'signature' nature here in Oshkosh. A snowfall consisting of large and heavy flakes started falling around noon on Mar 22 accumulating 0.9 inches. The snow then changed over to sleet the rest of the night as 2.2 inches of sleet fell. The falling sleet was coupled with thunderstorms that lasted for hours. Strong east winds pounded our windows with the sleet and creaked the house with each gust. Another 1.5 inches of snow fell on Mar 23 bringing the total at OSNW3 for the storm to 4.6 inches, but most impressive in regards to precipitation was the amount of water equivalent the snow/sleet melted down to at observation time on Mar 23, 1.63 inches! It down poured sleet in the many thunderstorms that rolled through.
(Rain gauge at observation time on Mar 23)
(Snow totals from the NWS GRB, click image for the full summary)
(US Radarloop - click image for loop)
My mother's station WIBN6 in Suamico, WI recorded 14.4 inches for a storm total. Her snow depth is at 22 inches as of Mar 24. I believe the yellow snow blower that is used to blow the trail to the feeder broke an axle and my step father plans to leave it out there until the snow melts. HA.
(Suamico, WI - WIBN6 - Mar 24, 2011)
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Front Of House
We've got the spring fever, but we are yet buried in Old man winter.
(FOH - Mar 24, 2011)
(OSNW3 Weather Brief)
(OSNW3 March Observations)
(OSNW3 March 2011 Summary)
(click on graph for the month summary data - it will open a new tab/window)
----
The Great Lakes Cyclone IV
This storm was certainly of 'signature' nature here in Oshkosh. A snowfall consisting of large and heavy flakes started falling around noon on Mar 22 accumulating 0.9 inches. The snow then changed over to sleet the rest of the night as 2.2 inches of sleet fell. The falling sleet was coupled with thunderstorms that lasted for hours. Strong east winds pounded our windows with the sleet and creaked the house with each gust. Another 1.5 inches of snow fell on Mar 23 bringing the total at OSNW3 for the storm to 4.6 inches, but most impressive in regards to precipitation was the amount of water equivalent the snow/sleet melted down to at observation time on Mar 23, 1.63 inches! It down poured sleet in the many thunderstorms that rolled through.
(Rain gauge at observation time on Mar 23)
(Snow totals from the NWS GRB, click image for the full summary)
(US Radarloop - click image for loop)
My mother's station WIBN6 in Suamico, WI recorded 14.4 inches for a storm total. Her snow depth is at 22 inches as of Mar 24. I believe the yellow snow blower that is used to blow the trail to the feeder broke an axle and my step father plans to leave it out there until the snow melts. HA.
(Suamico, WI - WIBN6 - Mar 24, 2011)
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Front Of House
We've got the spring fever, but we are yet buried in Old man winter.
(FOH - Mar 24, 2011)
where is your hardy for council sign?
ReplyDeleteJustin, hook me up!
ReplyDeleteSpring like the second week of April!!! Sounds good to me, I'll be in the Green Bay area from April 8th-10th, or I may be chasing severe weather in the Plains, either way it will be nice to get out of Duluth for a few days :)
ReplyDeleteTim, all signs of the cycling pattern would suggest it. Get out the freezer and come south!
ReplyDeleteYour extended winter is really something. We are going through a rather wet period here. We're at 1.70" of rain so far; more than double the mean of 0.82". Another inch and we'll beat the record of 2.64". We may go over 2.00" - maybe.
ReplyDeleteSnow is falling at higher elevations making for a nice snowpack. Lake Roosevelt is down by some 30' now anticipating melt off.
@Bob - if I remember right, you are in the Pac NW. If this is the case, there is certainly a very interesting LRC component on the West coast this year regarding the very wet periods. Let me know if you want more info.
ReplyDeleteScott
Scott: Please do send anything you have. OSNW3 and I have talked about the LRC and, though still a little bit of skeptic, I do want to follow the process later this year.
ReplyDeleteYour information will be appreciated.
Bob
Bob, the extension on winter is fun. I was hoping, by my winter duration standards, that winter wouldn't end before the signature storm so winter could last into April, but just enough melting occurred prior to make conditions fit into the formula for ending. The past two days have included LES off of Lake Michigan, something that was far from the minds of Oshkosh folk last year at this time. I was gonna look back into the pattern to shed some light onto your wet conditions of late, but since Scott is primed to pass on some information to you I will just leave it at that! I believe you will enjoy seeing my research of the late 70's following the LRC from those years once I present it. I know that was of your initial skepticism, following it through years before the 1980's. :)
ReplyDeleteOSNW3:
ReplyDeleteJust took my measurements - another 0.29" of rain. We are just about 2.00" for the month here. My walkways and driveway look like a earth worm farm; their all over the place. I've read two different reasons for this action and both sound likely.
Looking forward to hearing from Scott and seeing you 1970's data workup. Enjoy the Wovel...!
Been getting periods of rain, cold, warm, dry... which is fairly cyclic. TN is experiencing "Red Bud Winter". Planted lettuce, Broccoli, and Cauliflower last week. Asparagus and various herbs have already started to grow.
ReplyDeleteSuzieE, I truly enjoy your updates! I can only imagine what spring looks like in TN right now. There are many signs of life around here although they are concentrated away from the ground...
ReplyDeleteBob, still got worms? :)