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Pattern December to Remember

Me too. While it is still possible to score in that pattern, it’s a lot more difficult.
Actually for our area cd we tend to score more snow storms with a negative pna ,because positive pna usually spell suppressed pattern pushes everything towards gulf. But we going need least ao go negative to get some colder air into the mix .
 
I think this might be my favorite snow storm ever, even more than the Carolina Crusher of Jan 2000.

Fwiw, December 11-12 1958 still holds the throne as greatest December storm ever in the coastal plain area near I-95 and parts of the eastern piedmont of NC. While Dec 2010 produced a tiny area of 12"+ amounts east of Raleigh, there was a 50 ish mile swath across the entire state in Dec 1958 that experienced them. Nash County looks like the big winner w/ 19" in Nashville.

(Important aside: I am currently working on updating this map (& others in the winter of 1958-59) w/ some new, additional data I've been able to find since I first did this as an undergrad at NC State several years ago. Should have a new analysis + better looking map in the next several days or so.)
december-11-12-1958-nc-snowmap_orig.png



This storm is another good example of why we love to see high-latitude N Pacific & Pacific-Arctic blocking
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Wouldn't take much to get some of that arctic air to ooze south and get some sort of overrunning event down the road
Yeah it looked like it might have been trying to set something up past 180 with the clipper moving through and a new cold air mass coming but it was starting to dig in the west so maybe not
 
Best thing bout that is still fantasy land …but if it verifies, we will be breaking record high temps for December
And even if this verified to the end, I would think that cold to the NW (1050 high) would eventually barrow southeastward. Joe Bastardi's old point of cold pushing in like syrup, undercutting everything (including the SE ridge). **with la nina and the very cold air that will sit to our NW we may see some of these situations this winter; or we can hope so. 12z GFS hour 384 dew points:
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12Z GEFS isn’t as cold as the 6Z around 12/5-6, but it looks to come in colder around 12/9 and beyond with an impressive +PNA! This actually would line up well with the move of the MJO to phase 7 and headed to 8.
Mean definitely wants to get the pv out of Akgfs-ensemble-all-avg-nhemi-z500_anom-9180800.png
Not a bad run to run changegfs-ensemble-all-avg-nhemi-z500_dprog-9180800.png
 
The good thing is the western snow pack (specifically in higher elevations) will go above normal. This provides crucial water supplies for agricultural areas in the spring. We get a lot of our food from the west.
View attachment 96248
Look at Falls with the silver lining winner down the sideline!
 
This. Long way to go and still in fall. We will get some shots along the way. The roller coaster ride is just beginning!

On another note I’m just begging for some rain. Hate seeing the wildfires here in NC.
I say this every year around this time. Fact is most places in the southeast will rarely see a decent snow before January. Since 2006 I’ve had one December that gave me a 2 inch plus snow event which was in 2010. Last year was only the second time I’ve had even a one inch snow before January. That storm happened on November 30th which was also the only November I’ve ever had a snow storm that produced an inch. Snow is fun to track but no one should think winter is done or doomed based off what’s happening at the very end of November into December.
 
It's not too late for you to change your vote on the thread name...... ?
The name can be interpreted in many ways .. dam I remember December being so warm .. dam I remember December being so cold .. dam I remember December for that late December snow storm … dam I remember December for that wicked severe weather outbreak .. dam i remember … see so many outcomes
 
Looks like we are seeing a repeat of last year with the models again. SER shows it's ugly head in the extended only to have a -NAO show up once we get to the medium range and mute it. Problem is we will likely just see days of cloudy and 40 degree days with that type of pattern. I won't complain because I enjoy that type of weather but until we get the pacific to work for us I expect a lot of 30 and 40 degree days with a lot of CAD sprinkled in for those east of the APPs. Going to need the pacific to work if we want to get true artic air in here and have a chance for winter weather.
 
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