Day 365: A Tragic End to 2010
Shortly after 5 AM CST this morning, I was awakened by the sound of text messages coming to my cell phone. These text messages were severe thunderstorms warnings for northeast Oklahoma, in the general vicinity of my previous stomping grounds: Northwest Arkansas. I began tracking the storms on my iPhone and began to get concerned that the storms were becoming better organized and that northwest Arkansas would be under the threat for tornadoes. (Yes, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) had a Tornado Watch in effect.)
At 6 AM CST, the National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office in Tulsa Oklahoma issued a Tornado Warning for Adair County, OK and Washington County, AR. Five minutes later a tornado ripped through the border town of Westville, OK moving northeast at between 50 and 60 miles per hour. This tornado then crossed the Oklahoma, Arkansas border and destroyed the small town of Cincinnati, AR around 6:09 AM CST. The tornado continued on to the northeast before weakening just south of Bentonville, AR. After the tornado weakened, debris rained down on parts of northwest Arkansas, including the runways of XNA (Northwest Arkansas Airport). In fact, a sign from the Cincinnati, AR general store was found in the power lines of southwest Bentonville, AR! Preliminary information on this tornado can be found at the NWSFO Tulsa, OK’s information page. I will say that at the time of this writing, the tornado is estimated to have a path length of 21 miles and has been given a preliminary rating of EF-3.
When dawn broke, the full extent of the damage became known. Houses and buildings were destroyed and lives were forever changed; three Cincinnati, AR residents lost their lives.
The complex of thunderstorms responsible for the tornado continued on to the northeast throughout the morning and afternoon, impacting cities such as Fort Leonard Wood and Rolla Missouri. Ultimately, when all said and done, the storms took the lives of at least 3 Missouri residents. During the late afternoon and early evening, another round of thunderstorms developed across Louisiana and moved into central Mississippi which produced a series of tornadoes in and around the Jackson, MS metropolitan area.
What a way to end the year and end my 365 days of weather posts. My heart goes out to the victims and their families tonight.
Day 364: 2010 Ending With a Bang
A couple of strong cyclones are moving across the United States this evenings. The first cyclone (circled in orange below) is has drawn warm, moist air northward in preparation for a second cyclone (circled in yellow below). On the cold side of these cyclones significant snowfall is expected, and severe weather is possible tomorrow on the warm side.
As the second cyclone begins to move into the plains, showers and thunderstorms have developed across portions of Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. As this precipitation moves northward into the colder air, sleet and snow is falling across northwest Kansas and points north and west. Farther east, thunderstorms, some severe, are developing in the warm conveyor belt across western Arkansas. These thunderstorms should continue to develop and expand in coverage during the night.
This makes my second to last post for the 365 project. I guess I should start figuring out what I’m going to do next year! Any suggestions?
Day 363: The Fog Before the Storm
As mentioned last night, after an active weather pattern for the East, it’s the West’s turn for some active weather. A potent short-wave trough has been bringing wintry weather to a large part of the west today, and will continue to do so tomorrow. Late tomorrow into Friday, this trough will move into the north-central United States, bringing with it a myriad of conditions. Snow, sleet, freezing rain, rain, and thunderstorms will all be possible as this trough, and attendant surface cyclone intensifies during the trek through the United States. Ahead of this cyclone, warm, moist air is being advected northward over extremely cold ground temperatures and/or snow cover. This is resulting in widespread dense fog across the northern United States.
Personally, I can attest to some dense fog across portions of the south-central United States as well!
Day 362: Attention Turns to the West
After focusing on the east for much of late November into December, particularly this latest nor’easter/blizzard, attention now turns to the west. Much of the western United States, is under some form of a winter weather advisory, watch, or warning. Once again, this is good news for ski resorts, as well as for the summer water tables.
Day 361: Wet and Dry
The 5-day precipitation forecast from the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center shows quite a bit of precipitation forecast over the western, northern, and eastern United States. The far eastern United States is recovering from a powerful storm, so they’ve had significant precipitation recently. So who is missing out? Western Texas, western Oklahoma, and western Kansas. The lack of precipitation in this area over the last few weeks, combined with the upcoming potential for warming conditions will lead to a significant fire concern in the next few weeks, barring new precipitation.
Day 360: White Christmases & a Nor’Easter
So who enjoyed a White Christmas? Well, the image above (National Snow Analysis) for Christmas Day depicts areas of the country that had snow fall during Christmas day (12AM to 11:59 PM Central Standard Time). As indicated by this product, the heaviest snow fell in the southern Appalachian Mountains across northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and the western Carolinas/Virginia. The image below depicts places where snow was present on the ground during at least part of Christmas Day, which is a much larger area. In fact, slightly over 50% of the area of the United States experienced a White Christmas.
One thing that might stand out in the image above is the lack of snow cover in southern New England, specifically in and around New York City, New York. It’s amazing what difference a day makes. As mentioned last night, portions of this snow barren area was forecast to have a blizzard today, and this appears to have verified. Portions of the New York City, New York area are expecting between 15 and 20 inches of snow from this event, with isolated areas nearing 2 feet.
The radar image below depicts precipitation in and around New York City, New York, which is mainly falling as heavy snow, with occasional sleet pellets mixed in for good measure. Additionally, very strong winds, upwards of 60 miles per hour are occurring in and around Long Island, New York as a sub 980 millibar low is continuing to deepen just southeast of New York City, New York.
Day 359: The Day After Christmas Nor’Easter
A quick look at tonight’s National Weather Service’s (NWS) National Watch/Warning/Advisory graphic shows that much of the east coast of the United States is covered in some form of winter weather product. In fact, New York City northeast toward Boston is covered by a Blizzard Warning!
The culprit is a cyclone developing and intensifying over the Gulf Stream Current. During the day tomorrow this cyclone will rapidly intensify, bringing strong winds and heavy snow to areas along the immediate east cost. The image below is a radar mosaic from this evening depicting the organizing cyclone over the southeastern United States. Travelers should expect major delays tomorrow as flights originating out of the northeast will most likely be delayed and canceled. These delays and cancellations will wreak havoc all across the air traffic grid.
About Patrick
Patrick Marsh is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oklahoma's School of Meteorology. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and Physics (cum laude) from the University of Arkansas in 2005 and a Masters of Science in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma in 2007. In addition to working on his doctorate, Patrick serves as the National Severe Storms Laboratory Liaison to the Hazardous Weather Testbed where his research interests lie in working with operational forecasters, data mining, data visualization, and all things high-impact weather. For more about Patrick's work, check out his complete CV!
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