Friday, February 28, 2014

Current Conditions:
Temperature: 2°F
Feels Like: -13°F
Wind: Southeast @ 10 mph
Humidity: 54%
Pressure: 1018.0 mb ê

Some happy changes have been made to the extended forecast! For the past few days, the extended forecast has had this cold weather lingering until at least next Wednesday. Now, we can expect the mercury to rise starting on Tuesday!  That is looking ahead, however! Today, we are experiencing dominant winds coming out of the southeast due to a low pressure system moving across the Midwest. This low pressure system is leading to overcast skies, temperatures in the mid-teens, and a 100% chance of snow today. We are projected to get 1-3 inches over the course of the afternoon and early evening. Over the weekend, we can expect highs in the single digits (above freezing, at least), the potential for snow, and mild winds of 5-10 mph.

In other parts of the country, California and the southwest is finally getting some rain. This is good and bad. The rain has been a welcomed change to an area that has been pummeled by a lengthy drought. Unfortunately, a combination of dry, hard soil and a continuous rainfall is not a good thing. The potential for mudslides and flooding is significantly high in many areas of Southern California, currently. 

A low pressure trough is currently moving across the Midwest. The cold front is also pushing along with the low pressure system, which will most likely help to contribute our declining, single digit temperatures for the next couple of days.

The subpolar jet is taking a bit more of a horizontal path across the northern portion of the country, allowing for a slight increase in temperature, as it pulls some warmer air along with it from the west coast.

Dominant winds out of the southeast and overcast skies are constant through almost all of Wisconsin and west. A few stations are reporting snowfall currently, as the storm is moving towards us.

Minneapolis, Minnesota is currently reporting a 33.4°C Lifting Index, which means a low likelihood for severe storms. A K-Index Value of -14 also means a low likelihood for nonsevere storms. That being said, we are expecting snowfall as the day progresses.

This map depicts the current precipitation over California and into Nevada and Arizona. This precipitation is leading to flooding, as this dry soil is causing excessive runoff due to impermeability,  as well as the strong potential for mudslides,  where the ground is permeable and very saturated.

This sounding is for San Diego, California, and shows a LI of 4.1°C which means a very high likelihood of storms and activity. The KI of 31 also means that there is a strong likelihood for activity and thunderstorms.