Snow-covered cars in a parking lot greet early morning risers in Madison, Wis. as a severe winter storm moves through the upper Midwest Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, John Hart)
The first major plains and Midwest snowstorm is blowing across the country, and
it’s a doozie.
The snow missed us this time in Tulsa, but we got the wind and the cold. We could get our shot at snow on Christmas, but more on that in a moment.
Blizzard warnings are still in effect Thursday morning for parts of Iowa and Wisconsin. More than a foot of snow is forecast for a large swath of the area, with 50 mph winds continuing to blow the snow all over the place once the snow stops.
Thirteen inches was recorded near Ames and the snow continues to pile up in Wisconsin, with some places already recording more than 10 inches.
There was even reported
thundersnow in Iowa. Cool!
The storm broke the longest snowless streak in Milwaukee. The last measurable snowfall there was 288 days ago.
On the south side of the storm, way south, tornadoes
were reported in Alabama.
And here, the storm system was dry (not surprising) and windy! We’re talking gusts above 60 mph in the state. In Tulsa, gusts reached 52 mph with maximum sustained winds at 37 mph. It knocked out power and down trees.
In the Weather World snow contest, one person guessed the first day of snow would be yesterday. And up until last night there was ever-so-slight a chance they would be correct.
But it’s looking like the optimistic kid who guessed we would get snow on Christmas may be right. One student from Jenks Middle School who submitted a guess said the first snow would be on Christmas Day. Another said it would be the next day.
It’s really difficult to tell who will be correct, or if either one will be.
The computer forecasting models have been inconstant to say the least. One run says snow, the next says none. It’s lead forecasters to use cautious language when talking about the Christmas snow possibility.
Here is what the latest forecast discussion said, or screamed: “WHILE THE VARIOUS LONGER RANGE MODELS CONTINUE TO AGREE THAT A SIGNIFICANT UPPER SYSTEM WILL EJECT INTO THE PLAINS EARLY NEXT WEEK...THE POOR RUN-TO-RUN CONSISTENCY MAKES FOR A VERY LOW CONFIDENCE FORECAST...AT LEAST FOR PRECIPITATION TYPE/AMOUNTS AND TIMING.”
The current decision support page says an inch is
possible Tuesday (CHRISTMAS!!!) along and north of Interstate 40, with a half inch south.
The
last time Tulsa had snow fall on Christmas was in 2009, when we got 0.4 inches. The most that’s ever fallen on Christmas was 1.3 inches in 1975.
But we’ll have to really wait and see how the models come together as the storm approaches. It’s too early to say with much certainty now what’s going to happen. And if the past is any indication, snow on Christmas would be quite exceptional.
--Jerry Wofford
