Late-winter storm summary and pics

A late season winter storm that dumped over 2 feet of snow in Colorado and Oklahoma with blizard conditions added a bit of a wintry sight here in Chicago. While no where near recieving the blow like out west, here in Chicago we saw a bit of everything starting off as rain and ending as snow. Snow totals ranged from 1-2 inches south to as much as 7 inches in the far northern suburbs. Below are some pics from this late season winter storm. Snow at one point was falling at a rate of 2 inches per hour.

Wintry weather this weekend

Dynamics are coming together for a potential snow storm Saturday. The critical thing to monitor is the track of this storm system. If everything verifies the Chicago area willl start off with rain Saturday changing to accumulating snow by Saturday evening. Combine this with strong winds off the lake and conditions could be hazardous. In fact, as of this evening the National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the weekend. Heavy snowfall in the Spring sounds weird, but it has happened. Heres a look at Chicago's past snow storms.

Chicago
March 25-26, 1930...19.2 inches (third biggest snow in Chicago history)
March 25-26, 1970...14.3 inches (ninth biggest snow in Chicago history)
March 30-31, 1926...12.6 inches
April 1-2, 1970.....10.7 inches
March 23-24, 1897...10.0 inches

Rockford
March 30-31, 1926...16.0 inches (second biggest snow in Rockford history)
March 21-22, 1932...15.0 inches (third biggest snow in Rockford history)
March 29, 1972.........10.4 inches

Midwest record flooding; Tornadoes rip South

Below are two videos. The first showing the major flooding situation in North Dakota. The second is the tornado outbreak that ripped throught the south overnight.

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Rain and storms Tuesday

36 hour rainfall totals

8-10 day temperature anomaly

More rain and storms move in tomorrow as a stong and deepening low pressure system continues to move east. Clouds and rain chances will increase into the night and on Tuesday. Rain showers is likely Tuesday morning but storms are more likely by the afternoon hours. It looks as if Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana will be in the general thunderstorm threat with the northernmost threat of severe storms in central Illinois. Already for the year we are at 7.73 inches (0.84 inches more than last year and 2.53 inches above normal). Temps. will stay in the 50s for the rest of the week but mcuh cooler by this weekend. As this month gets ready to end temperatures will be slightly below normal.

Joe Bastardi's 2009 Hurricane Forecast

Long range and hurricane forecaster Joe Bastardi predicts fewer storms and U.S. landfalls this upcoming hurricane season. Check out the video below:

An Undersea Volcano

Check out this undersea volcaon off the coast of Tonga in the Pacific.

A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Friday in the Pacific Ocean, shaking an erupting underwater volcano off Tonga's main island and raising fears of increased lava and ash flows, officials said. The good news is that there were no immediate reports of injury or damage from the quake, which was felt more than 1,875 miles away in New Zealand. A tsunami warning for islands within 625 miles of the epicenter was canceled two hours later.

Welcomed warmth

Tuesday 2m-Temps (WRF)

An area of high pressure that has been over the Chicago area and the Midwest conitnues to slowly slide eastward allowing for a southwest flow pattern to take place starting today lasting through Tuesday. Temps today will be in the mid 50s to near 60 across the Chicago metro. By Monday and Tuesday, this warm spell will peak with a max southwest flow allowing temperatures to climb into the upper 60s/low 70s here in Chicago. St. Louis and Kansas city will see highs Tuesday in the low to mid 70s. Minneapolis on the mid 60s.

Projected highs Tuesday

Minneapolis 66

Chicago 70

St. Louis 77

Kansas City 76

More rain on the way; Flood concerns grow

Another 1-3 inches of rainfall is forecasted to fall by late Tuesday. Our second storm system in two days has moved into the area. Heavy rain is expected to fall overnight and continue thru the day on Tuesday. The threat for severe storms is possible along and south of I-80.

How wet has 2009 been?

It doesn't rain in southern California, but I can tell you where it is raining and that is here in Chicago. March has come in like a roaring lion. Already this month 2.55" has fallen. At O'Hare on Saturday record rainfall occurred of 1.67" (in a 24hr period) breaking the old record of 1.41" set back in 1990. A general 2'4" fell across the area. For the year we sit at 7.10" (0.95" more at this time than last year which happened to be the wettest year).

Rainfall thur 3.9.09

2009 *2008 2007
7.10" 6.15" 4.86"

* Wettest year on record

Saturday's rainfall totals
4.20" Whiting, IN
3.50" Chesterton, IN
3.40" Lisle, IL
3.35" Oak Brook, IL
3.26" Midway Airport
3.09" Crest Hill, IL
2.94" Evanston, IL
1.63" Aurora, IL

Record Lows

A list of the cities:
Lynchburg, VA 5 degrees (new daily and monthly record)
Richmond, VA 12 degrees (old record 14 deg in 1925)
Baltimore, MD 11 degrees (old record 12 deg in 1925)
Atlantic City, NJ 10 degrees (tied record 10 deg in 1950)


Due to the latest snowfall, a very cold airmass in place, and clear skies last night many areas in the Northeast recorded record lows this morning with temperatures in the single digits and low teens. Above is a map showing the actual lows across the country this morning as well as the cities that cracked the mark. The other is a visible satellite shot of the snow cover in the Northeast. Also to note is the cloud cover over the Atlantic from very cold air over warm waters.

A Closer Look

Here is a closer look at some of the East coast snowstorm totals.

Deep South-East Coast Snowstorm

After a rare March snow in the south and a powerful East coast snowstorm that paralyzed several locales, here are some of the snowstorm totals and history of the storm track.

16.0" Kennett, MO
14.5" Commack, NY
14.0" Old Saybrook, CT
13.5" Colts Neck, NJ
13.0" Bayville, NJ
13.0" New Ipswich, NH
13.0" Port Republic, MD
12.7" Upton, NY
12.5" Royalston, MA
12.5" Jackson, TN
12.1" Plainview, NY
11.5" Ellendale, TN
11.3" Atlantic City, NJ
10.5" Marcella, NJ
10.0" Flat Springs, NC
10.0" Snowville, VA
9.5" Troy, VA
9.3" Philadelphia, PA
9.0" Roanoke, VA
8.5" Ocean City, NJ
8.5" Arlington, VA
8.0" New York City, NY
8.0" Gideon, MO