Snow and a Plunge

Maybe it is just me but when a holiday falls on a Tuesday it can make for what feels like a long week.  Case in point, it snowed this past weekend.  It felt like it was a week or two ago.  Now that I have some time, here are the results.

In a bit of a twist that saw the morning snow combine with the heavier snow from the coastal low, Berks ended up winning in the snow department in our area.  In fact, the Mount Holly weather service that covers a large region surrounding Philadelphia had no other places report more than Bernville at 6.1 inches.  For the record, that is 21 different counties and about 100 areas reporting.  Macungie, Kutztown and Fleetwood all reported at least five inches as well.  Philadelphia got hosed again.

Now for my few shots I took.  I'd also put my area right around the five inch mark.  Must also commend the two crew maintenance team basically right across the street for a solid job plowing.  Guess it helps to have your own plow for the complex.

Snow totals are updated again.  Still have trouble believing most Reading reports.  If you wonder how Philadelphia got on there it is because they went back and gave two tenths from the small Christmas dusting.  By they way I should also mention that reports are taken at the cities airports as official.  I mention this because the Philly airport is barely within the city and is located in the furthest area south.  The Reading airport isn't even in the city.  It snowed in Philadelphia this weekend, just not at the place that records totals.

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As we welcome a new year it is custom for many to proclaim a resolution to perhaps eat better, exercise more, spend quality family time, read a book or any other activity that will last for a month or two.  Other people jump into very cold bodies of water.  I went with choice number two.

There is nothing quite like the excitement of standing outside on a 36 degree day in your shorts waiting to run into a lake with a bunch of other knuckleheads.  Okay, that might be a lie.  Blue Marsh Lake was the water of choice on New Year's Day.  36 degrees is a guess on the temperature based off the high of the day.  Add in no sun and a nice little breeze and it wasn't 36.  The water temp was probably around 35, again basing this off of other water temperatures.

The crazy crew seconds before the plunge.

Time to freeze.

Let's just say the water was cold.  Not sure why I anticipated warmer.  I would however recommend that if you are feeling a bit tired or sluggish, go take a quick (really quick) dip in a 30 some degree lake.


Pattern looks very quiet for the next two weeks.  No negative NAO to bring storms up the coast and temperatures will moderate enough to make the chance of a system in all likelihood rain.  Only winter storm warnings in the country are along the Texas-Mexico border.  That's usually my sign to relax from the writing for a little.

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Light Event

First let's begin with the Wednesday event.  Looking back on it I think as poorly as the forecast might have perceived to be, I thought what happened was about right.  The only thing I had thought was we might end up with more snow than we did.  The trouble was, and I mentioned it in my post, we were directly in the battle zone, and you can't predict where that line will be.  The only thing you could do was sit back and watch.  And watch I did.

It started snowing around midday.  It became moderate but the winds made it appear as though it wasn't landing.  For once, nobody at work seemed to take any notice to the conditions as everybody kept going about their day.  By a little after three you could see the snow mixing with rain and sleet as I watched the wind billow the snow from the warehouse roof next door.  The mixing was the one thing I did not want as it was the only thing that could lead to bad roads.  I also knew the longer I stayed at work the better chance for all the moisture to turn into plain rain as temps rose slowly.  

When I came out to my car, it looked something like this.  It was basically a frozen box.  

I updated the totals on the right for the three PA locations to incorporate all the events we have had this year.  If you haven't been counting, we have had three accumulating snowfalls so far this "winter." Sorry Philadelphia, you have not been invited to the party.  The 4th snowfall of the season will change that tomorrow.

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It has been on the maps since practically last weekend.  In fact it also has never wavered much in that it said it would be a snowstorm for us everyday.  The only key would be the track.  Obviously we see now that we will indeed get a generous amount tomorrow.

This is one of those perfect systems for me.  It is a daytime event that I can enjoy in whatever capacity I feel.  Maybe go out for a jog or watch from the deck.  It will be light enough that it doesn't become a travel nightmare but enough that it sticks around on the ground for awhile.  Unless you work or have some place to go it's a sit-in-the-house kind of day.

What are we looking at?  I'm surprised by all the random numbers.  This is a pretty easy one to take a stab at for snow totals.  Every place I've seen is between 1 and 5 inches with some places maybe pushing out a bit more.  Every run including tonight increases the precipitation just a tad which is a good thing if you are looking for a little more.  Everybody has an advisory which is good to see.  In fact the entire state has an advisory except for the two counties in northwest PA by the lake.  When I say good to see the advisory I mean it's nice to see they haven't gone all crazy and thrown out watches and warnings (see Cincinnati).

If I was to throw out a guess, and I will, I say Reading and Allentown come in around 3.2 and 3.7 respectively.  For the record that is on the low side according to the advisory posted.  

Enjoy the fresh powder tomorrow.  Photos to follow as I will try to get pictures of all the events this winter.


WRITER'S NOTE:

Maybe it is me, but when looking at the snow totals for our area I keep thinking how small they are.  The truth of the matter is that with the snow that falls tomorrow Allentown and Reading will both be ahead of the average snowfall year to date.  I know seven or eight inches doesn't sound like much especially when that could come from one storm, but there are still three months of winter to go.  The next 10 days will all be cold until the model shows a warmup around January 10th.  All we need are some systems to move through.  It's not looking promising, but anything is something I will take.  There could even be a little light snow or flurries for New Year's Eve and day.   

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Christmas Eve

The brief snow is over.  I was slightly surprised as it was steady enough to stick quickly including on all secondary and main roads.  In the end it unofficially was record by me at about two inches.  Which means for here and many other places it will indeed be a White Christmas.

And some pictures:

All the pictures are somewhat interesting.  The first one taken at the top from my deck also happened to catch my breath which captured the artistic white streak on the top left.  The second one is looking out front with the snow falling, and the third catches the end of the snowfall while looking at the tree coated in the back.

The storm all featured a classic and key component to winter storms.  When it started to snow it was about 36 or 37.  Within an hour in was hovering around 33.  Once that snow starts to moisten the atmosphere the temps can really dip quickly.

Some final notes.  I took a look at the latest run for Wednesday and it pushed the warm air further west which would give us a better chance to see some rain.  If I am home in time tomorrow I can possibly get a post up to include the last model run I will see before the storm comes.

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