Tuesday, November 29, 2011

No Snow...


Even when the first talk of snow started on Friday, I felt very confident that Starkville would see no accumulations. And, that's what happened. I saw a few tiny flakes mixed in with some steady light rain around 2am, but other than that, nothing. I was a little surprised so many were going a little crazy about this event, but I understand when you even say the "s" word in the Deep South, people are going to get a little crazy. If this would have been the end of January, different story, but we were still too warm (ground temps way too warm).

I had a feeling the models were overdoing the cold air, as it turned out our WBZ heights hovered around 1,200-1,500 feet. Here is what I said on facebook/twitter... The point about forecast soundings vs. forecast thickness values is really important! Don't get suckered in by the 540 line or the 850mb 0 degree line. You really need to analyze a forecast sounding in detail to even be fairly accurate with winter weather forecasting (model trends/pattern recognition big as well). I'll write a blog post soon on this, as thickness values are almost worthless!


" WBZ heights near a 1,000 feet Tuesday morning "may" lead to a few hours of wet snow. NO accumulations for Starkville! Models are a little cold IMO, and lack of dynamic cooling is an issue. Only a couple hundredths an hour during that time frame. FYI... Always use forecast soundings over forecast thickness values when forecasting winter weather, unless you want to get burned! Thickness values are just an average, not going to account for important details like melting layers, WBZ heights, snow growth region, etc... #Bufkit "


Friday, November 25, 2011

Weather Shoes


These are pretty darn cool! Not a huge fan of the colors, but love the idea. Weather shoes brought to you by Kevin Durant...



Monday, November 21, 2011

2003 Presidents Day II Nor'easter


Here is some fun video I put together from the 2003 Presidents Day II Nor'easter. We (Myself, Justyn Jackson, Andy Wood, Todd Beal, and John Walker) were located near Washington D.C. (Fairfax County, VA). About 18" of snow/sleet at our location, and at the time, this was the 6th greatest snowstorm in Washington D.C. history (recorded). This video is a long time coming, taken during our undergrad days at Mississippi State. Fun times! Enjoy!


© Greg Nordstrom 2003

Friday, November 18, 2011

Tuscaloosa, AL Tornado Video


Here is some incredible footage from the Tuscaloosa, AL tornado on 4/27/11. This was taken from the Alabama One Credit Union security camera...


Thursday, November 17, 2011

Sugar, Sand, Sleet




The finest sleet I have ever seen in my life! It really was like sugar/sand...


Presidents Day Nor'easter - Washington DC (February 16-17th 2003)


© Greg Nordstrom 2003

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Ready To Chase A Nor'easter


Half way through November, no threat in the tropics, and I'm feeling the itch to chase a nor' easter. I really do love snow, even though I hate the cold? Lol! Hurricanes will always be number one in my book, but nor'easters are a fairly close second. I've been in my fair share (1993, 1996, 2003, 2010), all in Northern Virginia (Arlington/Fairfax Counties), but I'm ready for another historic Washington D.C. bomb! I came across some old school video I shot during a historic 2003 nor' easter I'm going to edit here soon. In the mean time, here is some cool video I shot during the back to back nor'easter/blizzard in 2010 (Snowmageddon). Enjoy!






Friday, November 11, 2011

The 1987 Veterans Day Snowstorm Remembered


Here is a great link remembering the 1987 Veterans Day Snowstorm in Washington DC. The biggest November snowstorm (recorded) in Washington DC history!

"Notice that it reached the 60s the day before and the forecast was for highs in the 50s with scattered light rain." Oops!


Thursday, November 10, 2011

November 10th, 2002


9 years ago tonight was the biggest November tornado outbreak in recorded US history. I wrote a detailed blog post last year on the 8th anniversary, and I also hit on topics like Dixie Alley. At the time I originally wrote this, Alabama had more tornadoes in November than any other month of the year. Obviously, that is not the case anymore with the recent huge April tornado outbreaks (April 15th & 27th). Enjoy!



Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Tipton, OK - Mesonet


From Oklahoma Mesonet:

"Our technicians have returned from Tipton and Fort Cobb with amazing stories. We'll post more pictures tomorrow, but here's what our calibration staff have been able to retrieve from the recovered dataloggers:

Tipton recorded a wind gust of 86.4 mph before it was destroyed. The anemometer has yet to be found. The site experienced a pressure drop of 47.16 mb in 1 minute, recording a low of 913.47 mb!

Fort Cobb recorded a wind gust of 91.4 mph before it was driven into the ground. It had a more gradual pressure drop of 14 mb, recording a low of 944.81 mb."


WOW!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

More Tornado Video From Tipton, OK


Here is some more crazy tornado footage from Tipton, OK. This was shot by Chad Cowan. Shows Andy Gabrielson's car that flipped over (Video I posted yesterday).


Monday, November 7, 2011

Crazy Tornado Video!


Sorry I haven't posted in a week, but things have been very busy for me. Short post tonight, as I'm going to link some crazy tornado video from Andy Gabrielson near Tipton, OK today. By the way, there is ZERO connection between today's tornadoes and the recent earthquakes in Oklahoma. NONE!