01/12/09 FCST: IA/MN
A dangerous winter storm will bring blizzard conditions and several inches of snow to portions of Minnesota and Iowa on Monday. Gusty northwest winds will follow the accumulating snow and cause drifting, while ushering in a reinforcing shot of arctic air. In eastern IA, areas of northern Linn Co, and Benton Co, received as much as 9 inches of snow from Friday through Saturday; and drifting will result in particularly poor travel conditions in those areas Monday evening. Snowfall totals for Friday’s system were poorly forecast due to the unusually localized nature of the heavy precipitation. A few nearly stationary bands of snowfall persisted over the same areas for an extended period.
Looking ahead, the active pattern will continue with storm systems affecting the area both Wednesday morning and Friday, with more cold air following each. The coldest morning will be Friday, when lows will bottom out below -20F in eastern MN and eastern IA. Following are forecasts for specific locations in Minnesota and Iowa for Monday’s event.
Twin Cities, MN:
Snow will begin at 9:30 AM Monday, and accumulate to 3.6 inches before ending by early evening.
St. Cloud, MN:
Snow will begin at 8 AM Monday, and accumulate to 3.1 inches before ending by early evening.
Duluth, MN:
Snow will begin at 8 AM Monday, and accumulate to 1.9 inches before ending by early evening.
Cedar Rapids, IA (Eastern IA Airport):
Snow will begin at 10 AM Monday, and accumulate to 3.7 inches before ending by mid evening. Winds will switch to the northwest and increase during the evening with gusts as high as 35 mph after 7 PM.
Iowa City, IA:
Snow will begin at 10 AM Monday, and accumulate to 3.2 inches before ending by mid evening. Winds will switch to the northwest and increase during the evening with gusts as high as 36 mph after 8 PM.
North Linn Co., IA (Paris and Coggon):
Snow will begin at 10 AM Monday, and accumulate to 4.3 inches before ending by mid evening. Winds will switch to the northwest and increase during the evening with gusts as high as 34 mph after 7 PM.
Marengo, IA:
Snow will begin at 9 AM Monday, and accumulate to 3.3 inches before ending by mid evening. Winds will switch to the northwest and increase during the evening with gusts as high as 36 mph after 7 PM.
Union, IA:
Snow will begin at 8 AM Monday, and accumulate to 3.5 inches before ending by early evening. Winds will switch to the northwest and increase during the evening with gusts as high as 41 mph after 6 PM.
Synopsis:
At 00Z a 160kt H3 streak was surging SWD through British Columbia and Alberta, with an attendant H5/H7 SHRTWV approaching the WRN Dakotas. At the SFC, a ridge bisected MN from SW to NE, with return flow established ahead of low pressured centered over the ND/MT/Saskatchewan border area. Looking upstream, weak and mostly elevated returns were already noted on KMVX, KFSD, KABR, KMBX, and KBIS radar sites at 03Z; and precipitation was reaching the ground along and W of US-281 in SD/ND. Moderate isentropic upglide was noted over ERN ND along 290-300K SFCs.
Discussion:
A STG clipper system will race across the upper-Midwest over the next 24 hours. Moisture is limited with the NWRLY flow regime; however, snow/liquid ratios will be unseasonably high due to the cold AMS. MDLs have now come into agreement with the SFC/H85 features and are responding to the increasingly sharp snowpack gradient ACRS ERN IA. Trends also suggest a slower progression by a few hours. A closed H85 circulation should track over DVN at 00Z with the SFC reflection about 80mi further S.
Between 18Z and 00Z, an omega bulls-eye of -7ub/S will track from NERN IA into SRN WI/NRN IL, with frontogenetic forcing concentrated in the H9/H75 layer. Recent MDL trends are increasingly bullish with QPF along the US-30/US-20 corridor in ERN IA, which makes perfect sense given an increasingly SLY track over the SRN edge of the snowpack. Snow to water ratios will range from 12:1 S of I-80 in CNTRL IA, to more then 25:1 in CNTRL and NRN MN. Following the passage of the SFC/H85 low; STG downward mixing of a 40kt H925 LLJ will result in gusty conditions especially in areas SW of a FSD to CID line.
- Bill
10:15 PM CST, 01/11/09