While early autumn snowstorms aren’t uncommon in US weather history, they tend to be quick affairs that melt off quickly in a day or two. This however is a bit different in that we have a significant portion of the northern Midwest plains and northern Rockies are snow covered and it is not quickly dissipating, in fact it is increasing. Since October 10th the coverage has increased from 13.2% of the USA covered by snow.
This map below is from NOAA’s NOHRSC National Snow Analysis page.
Here is the accompanying table and discussion:
October 13, 2009
| Area Covered By Snow: | 19.9% |
| Area Covered Last Month: | 0.0% |
| Snow Depth | |
|---|---|
| Average: | 0.7 in |
| Minimum: | 0.0 in |
| Maximum: | 728.8 in |
| Std. Dev.: | 2.1 in |
| Snow Water Equivalent | |
| Average: | 0.1 in |
| Minimum: | 0.0 in |
| Maximum: | 403.4 in |
| Std. Dev.: | 0.4 in |
By way of comparison, here is the October 13th USA snow cover for the last few years:
2003- .7
2004- .3
2005- 1.7
2006- 3.7
2007- .3
2008-12.7
2009-19.9
What is also interesting is the 6 year trend of snow depth on this date.
2003- 38.2 in
2004-322.6 in
2005-456.9 in
2006-223.2 in
2007-458.1 in
2008-600.6 in
2009-728.8 in
You can watch the snow cover advance in the animation they provide:
Click for animation of the last 72 hours
Weather Summary
A series of potent systems moved across the coterminous U.S. this weekend, and they brought snow to the north and rain to the south. Late last week, heavy rain fell across the south, which continued to aggravate river flooding and keep soils most.
On Friday, up to 1 foot of snow fell at higher elevations in Wyoming, mainly due to upslope flow from a surface low which moved across the Plains. This same system produced up to 1 1/2 feet of snow to mainly Nebraska Friday and Saturday. Lighter amounts – up to 1/2 foot – fell across the southern Dakotas. On Monday, another system produced light snow across the Upper Midwest and western Great Lakes.
Much of the Western snowpack is cold and stable due due to unseasonably cold air temperatures in those areas. Along the southern edge of the snowpack – from southeastern Idaho to southern Wyoming and from southern Nebraska through southern Iowa, warm and melting conditions were present.
A deep, strong offshore system off the West Coast with potent onshore flow will cause widespread heavy rainfall across the northern two-thirds of California. Up to a foot of snow is possible in the high-elevation central Sierra Nevada, but it will be mixed with rain.
The energy of this West Coast system will shift northward and bring moderate rainfall – 1 to 2 inches – to the coastal Northwest and the Cascades on Wednesday and Thursday.
A midlevel trough will develop across the eastern U.S., and a stationary front across the South will be a focus for heavy rainfall through midweek, and this rain will shift to the Middle Atlantic states late this week.
As the West Coast system lifts northward, midlevel ridging will develop progress smartly across the West. Daily maximum temperatures are expected to be above freezing in much of the West by Friday. The ridge will move into the central U.S. by the weekend and bring seasonable temperatures to the Plains and Upper Midwest, causing snowmelt there.
Snow Reports
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h/t to WUWT reader Mike Bryant
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To paraphrase Tommy Lee Jones from Men in Black…
“A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were” causing global warming. “Imagine what you’ll know tomorrow.”
We all have our hockey sticks. This one obviously shows that in 10 years, the entire U.S. will be covered in snow. Ice age, here we come.
if the increase in snow depth keeps increasing year by year, by 2050 the US will see the rebirth of the Laurentide Ice Cap. And it will be all the fault of human caused global warming, of course.
Our main illegal immigration problem will be Canadians fleeing across our northern border. Who’s got a bunk for Steve?
Oh, Anthony is moderating. Anthony Did you like the Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck
Video’s on climate I put up?
REPLY: Haven’t watched yet. -A
Daryl Ritchison: “Most of my area only had a brief snowfall on Friday night (0.5″ to 1″) that quickly melted Saturday morning.”
One man’s dusting is another man’s blizzard. Fortunately, here in north Texas our blizzards melt after a day as well.
Since 2000, I’ve manage snow and ice control operations for a municipality in Wisconsin. Our crews did not plow snow in December through 2003 and had very few plowing operations otherwise.
Since 2004, we have plowed every December, set a record calendar year total in ’07, a record season total for snowfall in ’07/’08 and a new December record in ’08.
I’m also an avid outdoorsman and deer hunter. I recall many deer seasons in the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s that were unbearably warm. In 1998 i harvested my best buck ever and it was 65F that day – end of November. Things have changed significantly since 2004. The seasons now remind me of the seasons of the ’70s when I first started hunting. Brrrrrrrrr.
All anecdotal. But I don’t care. Something has changed.
Disaster!
Albedo up and so more energy to be trapped by deadly carbon dioxide.
This video says it all!
Here’s the link on recent TV news admitting global cooling.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/lou-dobbs-al-gore-not-evil-just-wrong-global-warming-debate.html
Glenn Beck’s One Minute Response to Recent Global Cooling News 10-13-09
Law of unintended consequences strikes again:
“Wood making comeback as fuel source”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-10-13-wood-power_N.htm
“Across the USA, power plants are turning to wood to make electricity. The move is spurred by state mandates to encourage renewable power and by bills moving through Congress that require more renewable electricity nationwide.”
“Some environmentalists fear that the rise of wood power could devastate forests. “
Funny they don’t use a “snow depth anomaly”… they use it about everywhere else… even their models contain a fair amount of anomalies.
Let me think which average they would use to calculate the anomaly… yeah, the average snow coverage during the last ice age… look people, we never had such little snow since recorded human history… and they would be right!
I`m from Romania , and i’m amazed ! We should make sth for this world . 🙁
Early snow in Mediterranean country of Montenegro.
http://www.pobjeda.co.me/slike/vijesti/1255476420.jpg
Have they flipped F and C at LAKE MORAINE, CO.
13 October 2009 another new record. I know they understand and predict and protect and everything but can they keep their records straight.
Sorry forgot the link
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/records/index.php?ts=daily&elem=lomx&month=10&day=13&year=2009&sts%5B%5D=CO&submitted=Get+Records#recs
I have not yet seen the following comment on that alarming snow graph, and no thread on WUWT would complete without it, so if I may…
Ahem. “It’s worse than we thought!”
rbateman (10:59:31) : If you don’t know how it works (cooler climate associated with Deep Solar Minimum) then you don’t know when it started working.
This is expected! Ocean heat content drop causing early frost and snow is expected due to Deep Solar Minimum. The same happened in the beginning of the previous century when Titanic hit an ice berg. To me this is obvious, and I am struggling to understand why a brilliant scientist like Dr. Svalgaard is still sitting on the fence and says that any connection between solar activity and clouds is not proved [yet].
However, we all know that many scientist have another point of view – and as natures own grand experiment – Deep Solar Minimum is steadily getting deeper and deeper:
http://spaceweather.com/ 14.oct.2009
“Long after many forecasters thought solar minimum would be finished, the quiet is not only continuing, but actually deepening” ,
we may finally be able to determine whether solar minimum may cause cold weather and climate. I do not know if Friis-Christensen, Svensmark and Kirkby are following WUWT, however, if you do, I have one advice to you:
The thermal mass of the oceans is huge, and any increased cloud cover will have negligible instant effect on the heat content in the oceans – it takes many years to alter the temperature of the oceans. However, a prolonged increased cloud cover for more than 3-6 years may have a dramatic effect on the heat content in the oceans, and the resulting global ocean and atmosphere temperature will then start to drop like a rock.
Any input regarding this advice will be very much appreciated.
Dave D (09:16:24) :
“Looks like I’ll be winning all my bets that this winter will be colder and with more snowfall than the last 2 “cold” winters, despite El Nino”
Not despite – more likely because of. This is a real weak el Nino, and a weak Nino means 75 % probability for a cold winter in North America.
Simon says
“Global warming alarmists take 1 step backwards”
Simon says
“Global Cooling alarmists take 1 step forewards”
Early start in sweden to…
Tallbloke:
here in Canuckistan, we just went through the coldest Thanksgiving that I ahve ever seen. Winnipeg Manitoba broke a snowfall record that has held since 1872 and a good portion of the wine grape crop was hit by sub zero temperatures in the Okanagan Valley of BC. Welcome to winter…it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Forecast for this weekend here in N.E. MS is for low’s in the upper 30’s. About 10-15 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year. Probably snow again this year also. Got a few inches last winter. Not unheard of, but unusual for sure.
Simon (12:31:30) :
Oh! Simon is dancing a waltz! 🙂
Saturday, Denver broke it’s record low by 8 degrees F. I-25 was closed to Wyoming, and portions of I-80 were closed in Wyoming. On Oct 10th?
But hey! It’s only weather, not climate.
Joe Bastardi reaffirmed his Winter Outlook today with a little more detail. Didn’t see it linked in here, but I may have missed it.
http://www.accuweather.com/news-weather-features.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&date=2009-10-14_12:55&month=10&year=2009