Northeast Snowbelt 2005 (Updated!)

You may well be right. From what I'm seeing in my area, the weather seems more to have returned to normal. More like the way it used to be. Last year we had a green Christmas, not unlike a couple of the years previous to it.

It used to be, or seemed, that when December hit the Great Lakes snow started to fall. In fact, I couldn't recall a single green Christmas from my childhood - although there may have been a couple.

For me, it's nice to see winter the way it used to be. We'll see if this year becomes another record setter.

I understand your points, I too, remember the many white christmases. There's just something weird going on here, it seems to have started well before christmas.

Like, Thanksgiving.


Maybe I'm reading into this just a little too much without doing some definative weather history research.. but if you ask my gut, the current flow of cold air shooting down from alaska, acrossed canada and into the NE states so early in the game seems worth noting.

Like I said, I'm no meteorologist. I'm making my assumptions as I dive into the weather research here.. so if you have an argument, please, educate me

[edit on 12/15/2005 by QuietSoul]

Toughest December I have seen up around Maine. Never had the car doors freeze shut this early. Hope we are not in for another Ice Storm

Little colder than normal here in central NY. -10 yesterday morning. Nice and balmy at 19 presently. Believe it or not it actually feels great out right now, relative to what we felt yesterday. So far we've received 33% of the snowfall last season (44 inches / 137 inches last year). I have about three feet packed so far but I ride the snowmobile in the yard. Lake effect is on the way again.

Everyone keeps asking me if I'm tired of the cold yet. After humidity and daily t-storms in Tampa for 30 years, the answer is hell no!

I live over in Germany and here we are experiencing the same thing , we had 30cms of snow where i live , the last time i saw so much snow was in 1991 and the snow was real early , we usually only get it sometime after the new year . Our autum was really warm too, 25 degrees in oktober is not normal

I also think that the weather cycle is changing , we are off by nearly 1,5 months here ( just my estimate) , i expect xmas in a couple of years to be really warm here if this keeps on going pina coladas for xmas isnt too bad

I live in Ontario, Canada and the weather on the eastern shores of Lake Huron has been snowier than usual so far this December.

We've had lots of accumulation on the ground and it's not going away until spring. Our particular problem is lake effect snow. As the wind generally blows from west to east here, the air picks up moisture from the warm lake water and then dumps it far inland. So, when the temps drop and the wind increases, we usually get lots of 'streamers' which can dump feet of snow even on a good day.

But, in recent years, I have not seen this much accumulation before January.

I hear you QS. I work in Solon (Cleveland) and live down by Akron. It has been noticeably colder with more snow this December, but I also can't say it is abnormal. The last couple of years have been warmer and every five years or so we have a cold winter. I hope the whole season isn't like this.

We are getting freezing rain right now, but it looks like the worst of this storm is going to miss us. There is a weather advisory(storm watch) issued, but not storm warning issued for our area. Looks like the East Coast is getting the worst of it.



www.weathernet5.com...

I live in the Shenandoah Valley in Northern Virginia and even here the weather has been off this year. Usually we dont see measurable snowfall till Janurary but so far we've had three or four snowfalls that were more than dustings. As for cold its been cold enough that snow and ice from the last storm is still around, during hunting season it hit 18 F at camp and was quite possibly the coldest I've ever felt it during the season.

Ditto for the East Coast of Canada.

In Halifax, we usually don't see much snow this early either ( if memory serves correctly ). 20-30 years ago would be a different story, but as of the last 5-10 years, I remember us ( family ) always wishing for the 'White Christmas' only to be disappointed Christmas day.

We used to have the odd snow storm in December, sometimes even as early as November, but never seemed to last long or amount to much.

This year I have been hearing of all the other places in the world getting dumped on which made me wonder why we had been spared.... up until this point.
We had our first snow storm last weekend (5-10 "), directly followed by another one ( approx. 5-6" ) with one apparently waiting in the 'wings' supposed to hit Friday night.

Halifax being right on the coast, has always had strange weather and can change rather suddenly, but I concur, this year seems to have started off a little different. Time will tell

In in Toronto and the wind's just started blowing and it's snowing lightly. I'm not looking forward to later, if it's going to be as bad as some say.

Up to this point I don't think we've had more snow than normal, or that it's been colder than normal.

We are getting hammered right now, much worse than forcast, second Friday in a row.

I live in Milwaukee and we have already been nailed 3 -4 times with a good 4-8" of snow. The weather has been downright cold, at the moment we are at 6 degrees Faren. with minor snow falling. Im use to it though, Wisconsin wouldnt be the same without cold nights to snuggle up near the fire. Heres hoping for a White Christmas.

Just to throw out an update, an 'clipper' went through last night that dropped temperatures to around 2' F in my area. Florida hit low 30's..

Where I live, on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, midway between Windsor/Detroit and Manitoulan Island, it has been almost constant snowfall. The piles on either side of my driveway are about 5 feet high and growing quickly.

Only a few miles inland, it's much better, as the precipitation I'm getting is what's called 'lake effect snow'. Looking further east, I spent the past weekend in Toronto, directly across Ontario on the western side of Lake Ontario, and they have just a lttle accumulation so far.

So far, I think the heavy snows are in areas such as mine, where open water plays a part.

The snow belt, since Dec 20, has been melting at an alarming rate. The rivers are full, the grass is green and a few summer birds have made an unusual return. Truly freaky. Tomorrow, the temps are going to be the warmest in a month.

What's going on...did spring start on the winter solstice?

(doubt it...but it sure feels like it)

I was up working on a roof the other day or two and the temperature here in South Carolina has been in the 60's. It's supposed to cool off closer to normal this weekend and then return above normal back into the 60's next week according to the forecast. We've had thunderstorms and heavy rain the other day as well. I've seen many areas with tornado watches and some tornadoes hit farther south and/or west. I need a dry spell followed by some heavy rain to see if my patches worked. Guess I'll see if mother nature keeps cooperating with me. It usually starts warming up here by March so if it's going to be a cold winter, time is running out at least here in the South. I've seen where Dallas, Texas has been in the 80's and 70's. I consider this very good news as far as my heating bill is concerned.

It's beginning to warm up in Kentucky. We are having more 50-60 degree days now than winter days. There were two tornadoes that touched down in my hometown two nights ago. They left behind a lot of destruction. It seems like spring is trying to happen ALOT early here. Which is why I think this explains the unusually cold weather in the North so early. I think what you saw at the end of Fall was actually your winter.

Could be wrong. But, i'm convinced the season's are a changing.

Gonna throw out some major obversations that I find somewhat disturbing when placed together. I came up with these ideas after poking a little deeper into the recent weather warmup and bird migration.

Ive been pouring over weather radar pictures and following the weather through the end of the hurricane season.

Here's my most recent update and hopefully new discussion position.. we'll see if this theory has any weight

Behold thy chambers of mind.. at times inaccurate, its routes are deep, narrow and sophisticated.


I missed my push here. At first I was thinking this winter was going to be a deep freeze. But the further I looked, and noting the current trends and 'clues' I realize now I was completely going at this the wrong way maybe..

But I still noted the unusual cold spell we had from Thanksgiving and stopping on Christmas Eve. The weather has been warm since Christmas day actually. It went from 10-20 degree F' average climate to a low 35, high 45-55, degree average and has been warming up considerably in some areas (re: current texas drought). I never really stopped following the weather when the hurricane season ended. I have this gut feeling something extreme on the "other side" of the tropical weather is going to be severe this year. I havent found it yet, but one thing I'm pretty sure of.. these temperatures arent going to stay here, and the cold is going to come regardless of how warm things get (ground, water temp) and when this happens, will we be ready? (Nature, salt reserves, resources, poor misguided animals).

A few of us have been following the weather very seriously since the last hurricane season ended. I'm looking for these people to step out here in this thread. Do some digging like you did during the hurricane tracking.

This may be all a rapid warmup (re: early spring) but it could also be mother nature about to unleash a furry of storms (both winter and upcoming summer) at us. Let's see if we can put some of our research into this together and make some kind of solid conclusion.

I'm honestly boggled that atleast a few scienctists havnt made these obversations. The birds are misdirected (or early) and the winter has been severely erractic to some extremes. It was in the midhigh 50's here today. The sun was out, things dried up, and I havent seen a prettier day since last May of last year. Cept it dropped from mid 50's to low 30's (due to the lake temp) overnight.

It's almost like Winter is still here, but losing the battle to stick around. But with the lake being cold (went from 70% frozen to 35` F in 1 month.. thats alot of water to warm mind you) and the ground still somewhat cold, winter could leash its ugly head forward with a hell of a storm front if the jet stream changes direction and starts pulling cold from the north down again.

You want my opinions on this.. from recent obversations, it looks like nature is setting itself up to lash out one of the worst winter storms America has ever seen.

If a cold front moves in during this rapid cool down, (which almost always happens when the jet stream changes its direction), mixed in with a warm ground and lake, we're going to see one huge storm with massive ice and tons of snow.

But, again.. I may be completely wrong here. Prove me wrong.. thats what this thread is about.. hypothetical obversation theories.

QuietSoul

I need to read through this thread more closely, but my immediate reaction is that it seems ALL weather patterns have shifted somehow further north... I have no clue if that is true or makes sense, but I'll consider it further when I have time.

Great thread!

EDIT: QuietSoul, DCDusion posted this in another thread.

Originally posted by DCFusion
Was just checking out the National Weather Service website and they have a description of what they believe the weather will be like over the next few weeks. The following line caught my attention though:

Full articlehere

This warming, of more than 30 degrees C in the last few days, is usually followed by a negative AO pattern due to the warmth, and hence above normal heights, seeping down into the upper troposphere. If this were to verify, then the eastern part of the country would revert to below normal temperatures, and possible above normal snowfall. It is too early, however, to predict with much confidence which solution will verify.

Maybe this is the calm before the storm.

I think this supports your theory... no?

[edit on 13-1-2006 by loam]