• Hello, please take a minute to check out our awesome content, contributed by the wonderful members of our community. We hope you'll add your own thoughts and opinions by making a free account!

Wintry February 19-21, 2020 Winter Storm

Pulled from the recent 3KM NAM, the area circles during the heart of the precipitation makes me a sad panda. It gets beaten down over time, but not until the best moisture is leaving the area:

View attachment 35345
Yeh, we will waste 90% of the storm, but I think some back in flurries is certainly likely. And I’ll take it, after dealing with a 36° rain all day Thursday.
 
Webber what do you think I should do stay here at UNC Charlotte or head back and try my luck back in Raleigh (apex to be exact) ... feel like deformation banding could hit Raleigh the best
I would absolutely head to Raleigh, no hesitation lol. Even if there’s mixing, the potential of legit, seriously heavy snow is much higher in the Triangle
 
Even with all the potential mixing, once you flip to all snow, the bands are going to be nuts in the coastal plain as the coastal low cranks up on the back end of the storm

At this point in the winter I’ve reached the point of desperation that I’d be happy with flurries lol. But I am getting a bit excited, if this verifies like the nam shows it’ll be my first big snow storm that I’ve tracked for my area. 3km is showing some signs of intense banding in the 18z run as that coastal cranks, those bands should really put out some impressive rates.
 
snku_acc.us_ma.png

Final total from NAM 3km.
This is more realistic for N AL than the 12km NAM due to likely temperatures, IMO.
 
Here in East Charlotte I’m just skeptical of the dreaded warm nose, however I’m hoping it’s being overdone on the models but that’s almost never the case. I’d love to see upwards of 6 inches but with a warm nose I just don’t know how doable that is.
 
Not yet, I’m riding that fine line of being all snow or mixing with a lot of sleet. I know these mixing zones oftentimes are further north than even the NAM shows but I’m hoping I can stay all snow... and that it’s right with the qpf. I’ve only seen a foot of snow once in my lifetime and that was the December 2010 Christmas storm, would love a repeat here.

I actually live in Zebulon/Middlesex area so I'm right there with you, dude. Super excited about this one.
 
AF56501F-58ED-4D4D-A883-546A3900F719.jpeg
Brad P’s first call forecast, very conservative as always with him. Hoping the deformation band will set up along the 85 corridor which is typically where it occurs in recent memory. Webber, any thoughts on where the deformation band may be located?
 
Van posted his first call map and is going off of the ensembles (SREF. EPS and GEFS)

"Potential Snow Update
First Call on Amounts
Posted 5pm Tue. Feb 18, 2020
Feel free to SHARE

Since last week we have been talking about the possibility of snow near Feb. 20th. As we get closer, we have more and better information to work with. Still, just 48 hours away, the models are not in very good agreement. We have guidance suggesting anything from No Snow in the Piedmont to more than 7 inches. We can't dismiss any of this information at this point. So to come up with a forecast (First Call in this case....I will make 3 including the Final Forecast as we get closer) I look at all models, but put most of my confidence in the Ensemble. The ensemble is multiple runs of the model and this usually gets closer to the actual outcome. The trend I see here is more in eastern NC where moisture should be greater and confidence is higher that it will actual reach those areas. Here in the piedmont, there are solutions that keep the moisture to our south while about 60% show it reaching us. Still, many that show it reaching us, have it very light. Given all of that, I currently have the piedmont seeing near or just under 1". I also have parts of eastern NC seeing more than 3 inches. Stay tuned as new model data arrives, we will hopefully see the models agree more and that will allow us to become more certain in our forecast."

86462538_3046186158747741_1536433131765104640_o.jpg
 
View attachment 35351
Brad P’s first call forecast, very conservative as always with him. Hoping the deformation band will set up along the 85 corridor which is typically where it occurs in recent memory. Webber, any thoughts on where the deformation band may be located?

I generally agree with @snowlover91 that it will be near the US 264 corridor, the Triangle area and points E-NE have the potential to get crushed on the back side of this storm by frontogenetically forced bands in the CCB imho. If we play our cards right in the next 24 hours, this has the potential to be the best setup since Dec 2010 for folks in the north-central coastal plain and far eastern piedmont.
 
Wedge.png

The only chance I'm seeing for the Atlanta area is if that wedge being formed with the CAD is being underdone. It's also retreating really fast so that would need to change too. This just isn't trending in our direction and probably not our storm. We just got a good one though so I'm happy for everyone else that hasn't had anything this winter. I hope our neighbors in the Carolinas get pasted!
 
I generally agree with @snowlover91 that it will be near the US 264 corridor, the Triangle area and points E-NE have the potential to get crushed on the back side of this storm by frontogenetically forced bands in the CCB imho. If we play our cards right in the next 24 hours, this has the potential to be the best setup since Dec 2010 for folks in the north-central coastal plain and far eastern piedmont.
What are your thoughts on areas east of Charlotte?
 
Here’s the thing about frontogenic bands, they normally arrive earlier than forecasted, they normally have intense rates, when it moves in, snow immediately becomes heavy, not light snow for some time to heavy, it becomes heavy quick, and also areas outside the intense frontogenesis can get a nice ol minumum

Feb 2014 did just that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Here in East Charlotte I’m just skeptical of the dreaded warm nose, however I’m hoping it’s being overdone on the models but that’s almost never the case. I’d love to see upwards of 6 inches but with a warm nose I just don’t know how doable that is.
If we continue along the path we’re currently on and knowing biases w/ overrunning and WAA, I personally thinking something in the general ballpark of 2-5” is probably what we’re looking at, the low end may be achievable with sleet only in the Charlotte area
 
Back
Top