It's Gonna Get Ugly

Not only will things turn ugly outside but dangerous as well.  With predictions of a half an inch of ice, power outages, downed trees and perhaps even structural damage are all possible overnight into tomorrow morning.

It's very unusual for our area to see Ice Storm Warnings yet for all the areas shaded in dark purple, that is precisely what will be dealt with throughout the next 15-18 hours.  If I was forced to make a call, I'd still think that portions to the north of Allentown and areas say north of I-78 toward norther NJ are in prime spot for more significant icing.




This storm is truly one of a kind.  It has affected virtually every state from the central portion of the country to the east coast in one way or another.  Even now there are 8 states with blizzard warnings, 10 with wind chill warnings and 3 with tornado watches.

To the right are the temperatures from 7:45 p.m. provided by the Weather Channel.  Mind you, every state from North Dakota to Texas also has a wind chill warning.  And just to get a feel for how far south this cold air goes, San Antonio's predicted wind chill tonight is 0.  There is also snow in their forecast later in the week.  What a way to kick start a new month.  I think the hole Phil is popping out of tomorrow is covered in snow and ice.  How about we let the furry guy sleep for awhile and just assume there is a lot of winter left.




If you ever get some free time and are interested in maps or any weather information, I recommend the NOAA website.  I wouldn't go crazy as there is an abundance of information, but it is all available to the public to use at their discretion.  Many of my more basic maps I get from them such as this one.

          This map shows the percentages for receiving, in this case ice, at least .25 inch.  The red circle is more than a 70% chance and green is at least a 40% chance. 

With the above map in mind, I must feel the need to give my Icy Roads Driving Tip of the Day.

1. Step One: Take your car keys and place them in a safe and secure area and leave them there until the roads are once again safe enough for traveling.

There you have it.  I hope to have electric tomorrow morning to keep on posting and updating the blog since it is fairly safe to say work will not be an option.  Dare we look into the next system that is coming up from the south this weekend?  Something to save for Thursday I suppose.