Off and on Snow

Our second blast of winter in just 1 week is well underway as about 2 to 3 inches of snow have spread through the Mahoning Valley this afternoon. For the rest of tonight, we will have to deal with some off and on snow. Some of it will be heavy at times, but at other times it will be rather light. Please do the road crews a favor and stay off the roads tonight if you don’t have to. Many townships have parking bans in effect, so keep your cars off the streets.

A winter weather advisroy  remains in effect through 7pm Wednesday. We should see about 2 to 3 more inches through Wednesday morning, with another 1 to 3 Wednesday and Wednesday night. As Wednesday unfolds, windy conditions will create blowing and drifting snow as well as reduced visibilities during snow showers. Reminder: there is a link to the latest school closings and cancellations on my blogroll for up to the minute changes. If you MUST go out in the storm, be safe and use extra caution. Have a good and safe night everyone!

WINTER STORM WARNING

For the second time in 5 days, a Winter Storm Warning has been issued for Mahoning county. It is in effect from 7am tomorrow through 7pm Wednesday. The details are still a little sketchy about the storm, but it appears that we will see about 1 to 4 inches of snow during the day and evening on Tuesday. There may be a period of decreased snow activity between Tuesday evening and overnight, before the snow picks up again early Wednesday morning. Overnight storm totals of 3 to 6 inches can be expected, with another 1 to 3 inches for the day Wednesday.

There will be two factors that will change from last weekends storm. This storm is a culmination of a storm in the west and a forecasted low pressure that will develop over the east coast. There will probably be somewhat of a dry air intrusion into the two storms sometime later Tuesday, so that should keep snow totals down a little bit. However, the heavier snow will come in spurts and can be pretty powerful when they come through. Another difference is the duration and dynamics. Last storm was over in 12 hours. This storm should last at least two days (although wrap around snow showers are possible Thursday and Friday with very light accumulations if any), and behind it we will see much windier conditions. Expect winds of 20 to 30 mph behind the system on Wednesday, creating blowing and drifting snow. We will keep you updated on the latest. As for your Monday night, we have partly cloudy skies, with a low falling to about 13 degrees.

My Complaint Against the NWS

Let’s rewind to last Thursday night, the forecast called for about 3 to 5 inches of snow to affect Mahoning County. No watches or warnings were issued for the region, just a simple winter weather advisory. However, as the snow continued to fall on Friday, the National Weather Service decided to upgrade to a warning and people woke up on Saturday to over a foot of snow!  People were caught off guard, and many cars were stuck in the snow or were trapped in their driveways.

Tonight, we’re stuck in another dilemma. It’s about 48 hours away from another round of snow, and it could be another big round for the area. But yet again, no watches are in effect as of tonight. I want to know how we can prepare for a snow event, when we are not advised by weather service offices of the pending danger. In the NWS’ defense, we don’t want to say this huge storm is coming – and if nothing happens, then we can’t be considered reliable. A winter storm WATCH means just that: the POTENTIAL for a significant winter storm. Tonight, there is disagreement between models about the pending snowstorm. Depending on the track, we may see another 7 to 10 inches between Tuesday night and Thursday. Or…if it moves a little farther from us, it may only be – say 3 to 5. We shall see what happens, but if it was up to me, I would rather be more prepared for a storm and have it not happen, rather than not expect anything and be caught off guard. Let me know what you think, am I right? Or just wacko!

OOPS!

Part of weather forecasting is learning from your mistakes, and boy was this storm a bucket of mistakes! Just 36 hours ago, it appeared that Northern Ohio would get about 5 inches of snow from a low pressure center moving north from Kentucky. Then, Friday afternoon the storm moves a little farther north than expected and later slows down, putting us in the middle of the full-blown mega snow event. Then overnight it seems as if a lot more moisture was fed into the storm from a new low that formed over the east coast, and really dumped over a foot of snow in most locations of the Mahoning Valley. The snow has been over for hours, and the sound of shovels and snow-blowers and road crews still grace the neighborhoods. This storm will take more than just an hour to dig out from. Snow removal crews have a mess on their hands so please be patient if you have errands to run this afternoon. Also, be respectful and DO NOT BLOW YOUR SNOW INTO THE STREETS!

We have another risk of snow Tuesday into Wednesday, so pay attention to later forecasts. For today, sunny skies should prevail for clean-up efforts in the wake of this storm. Temperatures will reach around 27 degrees. We may see a few flurries or snow showers overnight and Sunday, but nothing that will add up to much.

Boring Month

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately, but we haven’t had too many major weather stories for the month of January. However, as February dawns we know here in Northeast Ohio that we get some of the best winter storms this time of the year. We’ll keep that as a side-note tonight, let’s just say we will have some snow possibilities next weekend. Until later details come up, we’ll stick with tomorrows forecast which calls for beautiful conditions: partly cloudy skies and temperatures near 30! Enjoy!

Freezing Drizzle Overnight

As temperatures drop to near freezing tonight, we will have some scattered patches of drizzle around – and this could lead to a few minor travel problems. Untreated roads and surfaces may attain a small glaze of ice from this freezing drizzle, so just add an extra few minutes for safety tomorrow morning. A winter weather advisory will be in place through 6am to account for this situation. Other than that, we will expect to see just a few snow flurries Tuesday afternoon with highs around 34 degrees.

Clear but VERY COLD!

After such a nice Saturday, we will keep the clear skies overnight and into your Sunday. However, this comes at a price as with clear skies there is no insulation from clouds, therefore we will see some very cold low temperatures tonight. Temperatures will bottom out near zero overnight, but the wind chill shouldn’t be too much a problem because the wind is rather light. We should “warm” nicely to around 24 degrees for our high. The next chance at some snow will be later Monday. Have a great Sunday, and for you YSU people – your last day of break!!!

Winter Weather Advisory!!

We will have our first decent synoptic snow event of the season over the next 36 hours here in the Mahoning Valley. An area of low pressure will work its way eastward from the central plains overnight and into the Ohio Valley later Thursday, spreading a wide area of light to moderate snow over our area. The majority of the snow will be between mid-afternoon on Thursday through the early part of the overnight period, then tapering off Friday morning. Most of the snow won’t be very heavy – but in the short time frame of Thursday afternoon into Friday morning, 2 to 5 inches of snow is expected. This will create a few traffic problems if you’re not careful so please use extra caution tomorrow.

More Scattered Snow

The lake effect snow will continue to be scattered about through the area over the next several days as a strong northwesterly flow continues through the Great Lakes. We can see our range of 1 to up to 3 inches of snow over the next 12 to 24 hours depending on how these bands set up. The traditional snowbelt locations can get up to 5 or 6 inches through this timeframe. Monday will be a bit “warmer” than today as we will SOAR into the middle 20s, if I can use that analogy! Have a great start to the workweek. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.

Light Snow

After a quick shot of a few inches of snow overnight, we will have the chance for some continuing light snow throughout the day. However, don’t expect much more accumulation – maybe up to an inch or so. High temperatures will be in the upper 20s. Most of the week looks to be the same with a few small pulses of energy bringing light snow here and there, but all-in-all, we shouldn’t have too many major problems. Have a great Monday!!!