Polar vortex outbreak creates 90 degree difference from one end of Texas to the other
Look at the cold plunging from the latest polar vortex incursion:
Notice the difference between Houston and Dallas, or New Orleans and Wichita now take a look at this map. WeatherBell’s Ryan Maue reports that the coldest state in Lower 48 was Iowa, with an average of -1.0°F
Look at the gradient across the front in Texas, note how sharp it is; a 90 degree difference from the southern tip of Texas to the Texas panhandle.
Former AMS president Marshal Shepard remarks:
Marshall Shepherd @DrShepherd2013 2h
Even better depiction of temperature difference with this front..90 deg difference.. Wow via Jared rackley pic.twitter.com/FDRZZvEtGb
See the WUWT Polar Vortex page for more
UPDATE: Greg Carbin of NOAA produced the 24 hour animation of surface temps:
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Old time Texans call this a “Blue Norther”. 2 days ago it was 77 degrees, spring flowers were starting to come out. Yesterday, in East Texas, we got hit with 3 inches of ICE in 3 hours. Looks white like snow, but it is hard as a rock – took me 15 minutes with a pitcher of hot water this morning just to get my truck door thawed out enough so it would open!.
And now this morning it is 19 degrees, with a high of 29 projected for the day. This ice is gonna be here a while.
Pippen Kool says:
March 2, 2014 at 5:58 pm
I like the minus zero in Minot, Canada.
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Minot is in North Dakota. The red dot below and left of the M is the give away.
I say we all crash at “Tom in Florida’s” place until spring. 🙂
In Northern Indiana we’ve only had a few days since New Years when the temperature has gone above 32 deg F. With the current surge of polar air, our high went from 22 to 14; the lows from 10 to -5 deg F. It’s been so cold so long, most people around here really didn’t notice.
Bill Illis says:
March 3, 2014 at 4:54 am
Around the globe:
– 7 stations have broken their daily high record
– 95 stations have broken their daily low record
at least one has broken its all-time lowest recorded temperature. Manistee Michigan which is on Lake Michigan and at -22F, is not much of an all-time low but proximity to the Lake probably impacts that.
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Where I live in the UP of Michigan we set a new low with minus 20 F on Friday. The old low was minus 17 F. The tire low pressure warning light came on in my truck last month and would not go out until the temp got above 20+ for two days.
if you like your polar vortex, you can keep it
In a ‘burb to the north of Dallas saw 14 Deg. F this morning (Monday) … this has been a horrendous winter that began around Thanksgiving 2013! Between the ice and snow and cold, we’ve had events (ice storms, temps in the teens, etc.) that might have been normally spread out over 3 to 5 years in one year! And we have had ‘repeats’ of these events to the tune of a three-peat!
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Pippen Kool says:
March 2, 2014 at 5:58 pm
When the thaw comes it’s going to be flood land in the Midwest.
That would depend on a number of various factors, including depth of the snowpack, rapidity of the warmup, and any rainfall.
One sure thing though is that any flooding will be attributed to “climate change” by the CAGW proponents and their faithful followers.
Thunder bay is the only named place without any temperature in the first picture.
To cold to measure? Or just unbelievable cold?
We ‘solved’ that problem (in a rural Calhoun County, MI township) by putting out ‘straw’ over the ground where the lines ran as winter approached (this preserves ‘ground heat’ in the earth rather than allowing ‘extraction’ from colder air) .. and it works! Of course, one has to actually ‘plan’ this, then execute the plan (acquire the straw, get it out before the first snow fall) …
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This point is mostly myth; the system operators are a LOT more informed on this issue than they were even thirty years ago …
For instance, in this training material check out the section on “geomagnetic disturbances” beginning on slide 6:
http://www.pjm.com/training/~/media/training/core-curriculum/ip-ops-101/ops101-weatheremer.ashx
Note slide 17 which indictes: “Areas of North America of concern due to possible increased GIC (geomagnetic induced current) flow”
Note beginning slide 20 indicates the ‘safety’ procedures they implement upon receiving notice of potential geomagnetic events.
BTW, “PJM” is the ‘power system operator’ (historically) in charge of power system ‘dispatch’ (generation and transmission) in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland area.
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In the southern hemisphere is already blockade creates a vortex over the South America.
http://oi60.tinypic.com/hrla9j.jpg
http://oi59.tinypic.com/8xivsw.jpg
I remind the geomagnetic field.
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/WMM/data/WMM2010/WMM2010_F_MERC.pdf
Perhaps as this is a science blog, we should all know how to spell Celsius, named after a Swedish astronomer, Anders Celsius.
Overnight lows around -10F last night (Monday, March 3) in the Kansas City area. This is about 40 degree below the seasonal average.
Take a peek at the Skew-T diagram here (obtained via a balloon or Radiosonde):
http://weather.rap.ucar.edu/upper/fwd.gif
I’ll admit I’m a little rusty at interpreting these diagrams, but, it looks like the temp climbs to about 16C at the 750 mb level …
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bobbyv says:
March 3, 2014 at 6:54 am
if you like your polar vortex, you can keep it
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Will the polar vortex save us on average $2500.00 too?
Jason Calley says:
March 3, 2014 at 5:35 am
@ur momisugly Tom in Florida “Meanwhile, just another day in paradise.”
Just a quick tip from an old man. Once you find a place that you really like, never talk well of it. Once word gets around about how nice it is, you will be deluged by people moving there and it will change very quickly — and not for the better. Only praise where you live when you are talking with your neighbors or with your nearest and dearest friends.
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Not to worry, industrial/manufacturing jobs are scarce and wages are low (but then so are prices which is why it is a great place to retire.). In addition, with the majority of people being older, the population needs to be replenished constantly in order to keep the economics of the area viable.
Eliza, those look like model outputs (i.e. “predictions”) from the “GFS” model, as the webpage states: “The latest GFS forecast issued by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction is presented in seven panels. See Image Titles for Initial and Valid Times” and no surface temperatures are shown, only temps for the 859 mb (height) level …
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Yes, this is a hard winter. But I have seen far worse. In St. Louis, the winters (beginning in) 1976-1982 were unbelievable.
Eliza says March 3, 2014 at 2:27 am
Actually here in the middle of South America its pretty cold as well LOL
It starts with blocking.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/blocking/real_time_sh/500gz_anomalies_sh.gif
I have a weather data question:
Is there an official weather metric tracking snowcover? Specifically, does the NWS track the number of days the ground is covered in snow for the winter season? Does it track the number of consecutive days with snowcover?
If you are going to post links that are not safe for work at least have the decency to post NSFW.
Anthony,
I met my wife in December of 1983. Its a date that I must remember if I’m to keep the peace in the house. What is interesting about that time frame is the local weather here in Dallas, Texas that winter. I have lived in the area for most of my 57 years. To attest, I have lived north of Dallas about 25 miles for the last 45 years. What’s special about this time? In the winter of 1983/84, a lake north of Dallas froze over for the first time in its history. We had brutally cold weather for about 2 weeks. The lake was built and completed in 1956. The lake is named Lake Lewisville. So I thought I would go have some fun and get on the ice. A big mistake. At the shore line the ice was at least 2″ thick and I wanted to see if I could break the ice. Low and behold, I took a large rock, walked on the ice and slipped. I had the rock in my hand and when I landed on the ice, the rock crushed my hand. So, here is a weather phenomenon that I will never forget as the memory was indelibly pounded into me. Pun intended! Not to worry, I grew up to be an airline pilot and what I observe now is incredible. The last ten years I have seen more snow coverage of the 48 contiguous states than the previous years of flying. But here we are 30 years later and the cold is back with a vengeance. Please send us some sunshine!
Say…. Tom in Florida, didn’t Hooters come from your neck of the woods by chance?