rdale
EF5
With rulers being so cheap these days - there is no reason for a spotter to be estimating unless winds are blowing things around so much that you can't find a good spot to measure.
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With rulers being so cheap these days - there is no reason for a spotter to be estimating unless winds are blowing things around so much that you can't find a good spot to measure.
Although I would agree that all you should need is a ruler to measure snow, it is actually very difficult to properly measure the stuff. The biggest problem is finding a representative spot to take a measurement. What with the density of buildings, trees, cars etc in any urban area, and with the winds that usually accompany many snows, as well as dealing with previous snow pack, finding a truly representative area can be impossible. For example, I live in a small apartment building amongst many others in a suburban neighborhood. After the "EPIC blizzard" early in December, I attempted to go outside and measure the snowfall. I simply couldn't. I couldn't find an area that had a "representative" amount of snow on the ground. There were areas where grass was showing and areas 3 feet from there with a 3 foot drift. There were very few areas of flat, smooth snow, and with the winds and cold, I didn't get a chance to stay out long enough to hunt down a location to get an accurate measurement. I would think this would be the case for almost anyone living in/near anything other than a rural area.
rdale
EF5
That's with a big wind though... Most snowstorms aren't blizzards. At least until Global Warming kicks in
I'll agree most spotter reports are not measured correctly. I just find it strange that so many trained spotters don't use a ruler at any point in the process...
Chris Heater
EF3
We had 6" of snow here in Urbana, IL. I HAD to drive my sister to Danville (big mistake) for a doctor's appointment at the VA. Made it there ok, but on the way back not so much. Right after we got on I-74 westbound I hit black ice in the only clear lane and lost control. Did a full 360 degree spin on the interstate, went off the road in a deep ditch and did ANOTHER 360 spin before coming to a rest 100ft or so from a guardrail. Went to the hospital with my sister since both of our neck's were bothering us. Got some whiplash but other than that we're fine. Have to wait to get my truck until conditions improve since towing services have been suspended.
Gotta tell ya...after driving for nearly two years this is a first. Last time i'll make the mistake cause i'll admit I was driving a bit too fast (45-50mph). The ticket will remind me to be more careful next time :-(
Gotta tell ya...after driving for nearly two years this is a first. Last time i'll make the mistake cause i'll admit I was driving a bit too fast (45-50mph). The ticket will remind me to be more careful next time :-(
Adam Lucio
EF5
Only about 4" here in the city, a big let down but the lake effect machine is about to get underway so we'll see what this brings us. Lake effect snow is more fascinating than system snow. The big fluffy flakes can come down at insane rates.
Skip Talbot
EF5
Hope you're OK, Chris, and glad it wasn't worse. That's two accidents in two days by ST members due to slick roads and winter weather. This is why I hate winter weather, and consider chasing it more dangerous than chasing warm season thunderstorms. You're just so much more likely to get stuck, stranded, or lose control of your vehicle.
Just west of Chicago here we've gotten about 4 inches before the snow tapered off at about noon. NWS is sticking to their guns that Chicagoland will still see 8-12 inches by tomorrow morning. Its all going to depend on how much of an eastern component the wind has overnight as it blows across Lake Michigan as that's going to kick up our lake effect snow. If the winds stay predominantly northerly, northern Indiana will be getting all the snow (and they can keep it).
Jeff Miller
EF5
Sioux City Report:
6.6" of snow fell with this winter system. This brings the total snow depth to 30". However, with the high winds, this is not a constant. Some areas i can see grass, others have gigantic drifts.
The blowing and drifting have been some of the worst I have seen. Where I work are floor to ceiling windows about 8 feet high from top to bottom. I can only literally see out the top 8" of it - and you need a chair to stand up on to do so. The rest is a large snowdrift, the bottom of which is the color of an extremely severe storm's forward flank.
Roads are treacherous. Drifting and blowing snow has been ongoing all day long. The combined weight of the previous 2 winter storms with 6" of new snow is causing roofs to weigh down and in some cases collapse. I know of two specific instances of bowing or collapsed roofs due to snow weight.
The forecast total of 6.6" is right about what was expected in our area for total snowfall. The greatest impacts are this snow AND the Christmas Blizzard snow wreaking havoc. Combined with strong winds and extreme cold, this winter is becoming a most memorable one.
6.6" of snow fell with this winter system. This brings the total snow depth to 30". However, with the high winds, this is not a constant. Some areas i can see grass, others have gigantic drifts.
The blowing and drifting have been some of the worst I have seen. Where I work are floor to ceiling windows about 8 feet high from top to bottom. I can only literally see out the top 8" of it - and you need a chair to stand up on to do so. The rest is a large snowdrift, the bottom of which is the color of an extremely severe storm's forward flank.
Roads are treacherous. Drifting and blowing snow has been ongoing all day long. The combined weight of the previous 2 winter storms with 6" of new snow is causing roofs to weigh down and in some cases collapse. I know of two specific instances of bowing or collapsed roofs due to snow weight.
The forecast total of 6.6" is right about what was expected in our area for total snowfall. The greatest impacts are this snow AND the Christmas Blizzard snow wreaking havoc. Combined with strong winds and extreme cold, this winter is becoming a most memorable one.
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MatthewCarman
Pocahontas, Iowa recieved 8" of snow. Fort Dodge saw 7" of snow and Des Moines saw 5.7" of snow so their forecast verified. East central Iowa also saw 6-8" of snow.
Travel is not advised across the entire western half of the state and central Iowa. Some roads are being shut down do to drifting snow according to a local news station and there was a wind gust to 40 MPH. I start going back to college Monday and I am hoping we don't have any more winter storms this year.
Travel is not advised across the entire western half of the state and central Iowa. Some roads are being shut down do to drifting snow according to a local news station and there was a wind gust to 40 MPH. I start going back to college Monday and I am hoping we don't have any more winter storms this year.
beaudodson
EF5
First snow down here!
1.3" here at my place. 1-2" in Paducah. Snow ratio was higher than usual around here. About 1:15.
Not a lot - nothing like up north of here with the lake effect snow, but still nice to see some snow finally.
Photos from today
http://weatherobservatory.com/wp/?p=119
1.3" here at my place. 1-2" in Paducah. Snow ratio was higher than usual around here. About 1:15.
Not a lot - nothing like up north of here with the lake effect snow, but still nice to see some snow finally.
Photos from today
http://weatherobservatory.com/wp/?p=119
jshields
as someone mentioned before i believe, we ended up with about 5 inches of snow yesterday here in omaha. probably over half of it came down in two separate intense bursts where a small localized area of heavy snow basically "blew up" right over west omaha and then moved east. the first one was on my way to work in the morning which totally caught me by surprise as i had checked the radar before i left, and the second was around 4p that produced some of the biggest flakes i have seen in a long time!! unfortunately each heavy area of snow was so small that it only lasted about 30 mins before lightening up again to light snow, but rates were easily 2" to probably 3"/ hr!
snow depth here is about 22" and we're up to 44" already for the year! already this year we've had snowstorms of 5", 7", 12", and 15"!! school has been cancelled here the last 2 days and no school again tomorrow, that'll be 6 snow days already for the kids. it's just amazing to see the piles and drifts of snow around town, most secondary streets are only plowed to about 1 1/2 lanes, if that, bc of nowhere to put the snow. i can't imagine what its like out in the country. in town today, travel was strongly not recommended on the interstate system due to lots of black ice forming from the extreme cold and blowing snow across the roads. there were so many accidents that police stopped responding to non injury accidents! next week it might get above freezing, and i almost dont want it to bc i don't want all the huge piles to melt
but after 25 below zero tomorrow night i'm sure i'll be ready!
snow depth here is about 22" and we're up to 44" already for the year! already this year we've had snowstorms of 5", 7", 12", and 15"!! school has been cancelled here the last 2 days and no school again tomorrow, that'll be 6 snow days already for the kids. it's just amazing to see the piles and drifts of snow around town, most secondary streets are only plowed to about 1 1/2 lanes, if that, bc of nowhere to put the snow. i can't imagine what its like out in the country. in town today, travel was strongly not recommended on the interstate system due to lots of black ice forming from the extreme cold and blowing snow across the roads. there were so many accidents that police stopped responding to non injury accidents! next week it might get above freezing, and i almost dont want it to bc i don't want all the huge piles to melt
but after 25 below zero tomorrow night i'm sure i'll be ready!
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Robert Dewey
EF5
We got 3 inches here... exactly what I was expecting (I said 2-3 inches). Looks like most of SE MI verified the 3-6 inch WWA that was in effect.
Michael O'Keeffe
You can add another ST member to the list. I was taking a friend home last night and on the way back there was a car in a ditch with a tow truck and cop blocking the road. I decided to turn around but due to the snow packed roads I couldn't tell where the side of the road started and ended and my right tire went off the side of the road and I ended up in the ditch next to the car that was already stuck. Luckily the tow truck was already there to get me out of the ditch but it still cost me 100 bucks.
cstrunk
EF3
I was in Chicago Thursday morning when my friends and I decided to head back to Iowa. The going was slow and fairly treacherous, especially on Highway 20 in Illinois where it is two lanes only. We made it to my friend's house in northeast Iowa yesterday afternoon. The main roads were in pretty good shape, but the winds had just started picking up. I knew there would be more wind if we kept going to Ames, and driving at night would not be much fun.
Well one of the guys with us said he really needed to get back to work for Friday, so we decided to make the trip to Ames. The trip on Highway 20 was pretty much smooth sailing during the remaining daylight, with areas of reduced visibility, but nothing terrible. As night fell, things got a lot worse. On the last 15-20 miles of the highway before I-35, we experienced complete whiteout conditions. We drove down the middle of the westbound two lanes, trying to keep the dashed white lines in view and moving along at about 25-30 mph. The right lane was beginning to fill up in drifts. Several times, we lost sight of all of the lines on the highway (only due to visibility, not snow covering the road). My friend was driving and almost went into the ditch, but luckily he was able to correct himself and get back on the road before he got stuck. We finally made it to I-35 southbound to Ames, which was a cakewalk compared to what we had just been through.
Definitely not going to try something that stupid again if I can help it. We got lucky.
Well one of the guys with us said he really needed to get back to work for Friday, so we decided to make the trip to Ames. The trip on Highway 20 was pretty much smooth sailing during the remaining daylight, with areas of reduced visibility, but nothing terrible. As night fell, things got a lot worse. On the last 15-20 miles of the highway before I-35, we experienced complete whiteout conditions. We drove down the middle of the westbound two lanes, trying to keep the dashed white lines in view and moving along at about 25-30 mph. The right lane was beginning to fill up in drifts. Several times, we lost sight of all of the lines on the highway (only due to visibility, not snow covering the road). My friend was driving and almost went into the ditch, but luckily he was able to correct himself and get back on the road before he got stuck. We finally made it to I-35 southbound to Ames, which was a cakewalk compared to what we had just been through.
Definitely not going to try something that stupid again if I can help it. We got lucky.
Danny Neal
EF5
Close to 8 inches (7.9) here in Romeoville from the storm.
JSeivert
Hi folks. First post from Kenosha, WI here. About 9" total, the last 5-6 was lake effect stuff overnight. Nice and fluffy.
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