Gulf Low Brings Another Winter Blast

February 2011 Blizzard, courtesy: NASA

Click on the image above twice for a high resolution picture.

Calling it one of the largest storms since the 1950s, NASA turned its cameras toward the Midwestern States Tuesday to capture a winter storm stretching across 30 states. Chicago and Oklahoma City were two of the hardest hit cities. Chicago came to a standstill with its 3rd highest snowfall on record, 20. 2″ of snow fell during the blizzard. Blizzard warnings are issued when winds are expected to reach 35 miles per hour. That is one of the reasons this storm was so dangerous. The other reason was ice on the roadways. Warmer air in the upper atmosphere can support other types of wintry precipitation, such as sleet or freezing rain. Freezing rain is rain that freezes on contact with the surface or roadways.

If you want more information on sleet versus freezing rain, read my previous blog entry on wintry precipitation.

A lot of excitement here in New Orleans, Louisiana, as sleet began falling shortly before noon in our viewing area. The mighty Midwest storm yesterday was a rain and wind event for us, with a line of heavy thunderstorms crossing  before the arctic cold front blasted us with freezing temperatures overnight.

Stormy Setup for New Year’s Eve

Gulf Low Develops, Image: Unisys Weather

Happy Holidays Everyone! I hope you enjoyed your Christmas. It was a stormy Christmas across the Midwest. The weather has finally quieted this Sunday.

Look at the computer model forecast for the storm setup this Thursday. Another low pressure system will develop in the Gulf of Mexico. Tuesday, coastal Texas will be doused with heavy rain. The thunderstorms will then move to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. On Thursday, Georgia and the Carolinas will be feeling the brunt of the storm.

What happens next is a long way off, but the East Coast may be preparing for a stormy New Year’s Eve.

Low Develops off East Coast, Image: Unisys Weather

Currently, the main thunderstorm activity will be off the coast, but by Friday and Saturday, the low tries to redevelop just off the coast of New Jersey, and it could be another snowmaker for parts of the Northeast next weekend.

-Dawn Brown

Brief Break, Then More Heavy Rain for South

Radar, Southern Texas, Image: NOAA (Image is OLD!!!)

Click for the latest radar imagery of Southern Texas.

Brownsville, Harlingen, and Corpus Christi are feeling the effects of the next Gulf low developing along the Southern Texas coast. This storm will make a path toward Houston and then New Orleans over the next several days, dumping rain on saturated soils.

Thursday's Computer Model Forecast, Image: Unisys Weather

Thursday Night Model Forecast, Image: Unisys Weather

The images above represent computer model forecast for Thursday and Thursday night. As you can see, the Texas coastline gets drenched as a low pressure system over the Gulf of Mexico develops. That low then tracks west, bringing heavy rain to the central Gulf, and possibly heavy rain to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama once again.

A storm tracking across the Cascades and then the Rocky Mountains is forecast to dump heavy snow.

-Dawn Brown