One for Three

Finally some success.  With a second snowfall in three days it appeared this one would be easier to predict.  It was.  Most of the entire area fell in the two to five inch range as the fast moving storm system came in this morning and left a little after lunch.

Hopefully you didn't follow this minor storm on the national 24 hour channel designed to cover weather.  They gave this storm the same name as they gave the one from Sunday.  If it sounds confusing it's because it is.  If you can't figure out what they are doing don't worry as neither can they.

Snow started around the 6 a.m. mark and quickly started to accumulate for the morning drive.  You know it's going to be a pain when you start out on the first road and traffic is going 15 mph.  Like I said before the worst time to be out is at the initial onset of the snow.  The roads quickly get covered in a thin layer that compacts as cars continue to drive over the coating causing roads to instantly become more like ice.  Also the plows are just getting ready to get out to start treating the roads now covered.  Needless to say it was slow going as the timing hit at an unfortunate time.

I must say I was very pleased to notice all drivers around me throughout the commute were very cautious and kept plenty of distance.  The speed was constantly between 15 and 25 without anybody looking to pass or following too closely for conditions.  Slow, simple and safe drive.  Normally the area around route 73 in Blandon is busy on a normal day, but I can honestly say even when traffic has been redirected because of an accident I've never seen as long of a line of traffic in that area.  Can't imagine how long it took people heading south. 

Quick shot of snow that has a good chance of sticking around for awhile with temperatures struggling to get to 30.  As of last check Philadelphia did not get enough to reach a foot but now have double digits.  Allentown checked in at a solid 4.7 and Reading doesn't ever do anything so I will find the best number I can.

As always (this year) here is a map of local totals.  Be mindful that these totals are compiled by the NWS from people reporting snow totals who are either trained spotters, public reports or weather offices.  Basically it's not always going to be completely accurate and some reports were taken before the storm was over.  Example:  Notice the .5 near Reading which was taken at 7 this morning

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The Week Ahead:

Locally our focus shifts to the storm system on Saturday.  Thankfully this one is on a weekend for those of us who don't need to head out anywhere.  No way to call this one yet.  We once again are set to be in a battle zone right now between snow, ice and rain.  The one good thing for those who like a snowstorm is cold air will dominate the rest of the week so getting that air to move out is going to be a challenge.  All I'm hinting at is even if the warm air wins out in the end, we could see a steady snowfall at the beginning.

Between now and then we are quiet outside of the unusually cold air.  Sounds like a running pattern so far.  We had one in November and now another in December.  However, the winds are sweeping across the lakes from tonight into Thursday giving the normal areas chances at huge snows.  I will try to get a similar map as the one above for the areas that get hit over the next 48 hours or so.  Snow totals in the plateau region of New York should hit 40 inches.  My goal is to show how drastic a few miles can be when it comes to lake effect.

Look for the lake effect snow totals and an update on the Saturday storm in a post Thursday night.