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Snow rollers

January 26, 2009 2:46 p.m.

By Paul Huttner

Perfect snow and weather conditions combine to create “snow rollers” in a Vermont field. Photo by Allon G. Wildgust and courtesy of meteorologist Sharon Meyer, WCAX-TV Burlington, VT. Weather has some strange ways of making really cool things. One example is snow rollers. They are fairly rare, but given the right conditions they do occur.…

Too much, too little

January 26, 2009 7:01 a.m.

By Craig Edwards

This graphic posted last week from the Midwest Climate Center shows the soil moisture deviation in the upper Midwest. Notice the two disparities between the very wet region across the Red River Valley and dry conditions around the Twin Cities and Rochester. Currently, the National Weather Service is projecting a ninety percent probability that the…

Balmy Fairbanks

January 23, 2009 4:25 p.m.

By Paul Huttner

It’s nice to know they got a thaw in Alaska this January. A really really BIG thaw! Last week when we shivered in -22 air here in the metro, it was 52 ABOVE in Fairbanks. In fact they had 4 straight days above 44 degrees, while we are begging for a January thaw in these…

January Thaw, running out of time

January 23, 2009 10:01 a.m.

By Craig Edwards

I oberved two different bank thermometers in the west metro yesterday afternoon that recorded a temperature of 33 degrees. The official maximum temperature taken at Twin Cities International Airport was only 28 degrees. Here is some information gathered by Pete Boulay at the State Climate Office regarding the history of January thaws in the Twin…

Lazy hazy days

January 22, 2009 3:09 p.m.

By Paul Huttner

A hazy sky along I-35 near downtown Minneapolis today Well if there are dog days of winter, this must be it. A very nice weather week has been welcome to most of us in the Upper Midwest. While my predictions of a thaw in the metro did not quite materialize, it’s been a great week…

Sunday morning temperatures

January 22, 2009 7:24 a.m.

By Craig Edwards

Graphical forecast prepared by the NWS for temperatures expected early Sunday. Northwest winds chill the air on Friday and nippy temperatures are on tap for the weekend. After today, one more chance to reach the thawing point this month, which comes next Wednesday. CE naturesmessenger.com

Travel agent

January 21, 2009 7:34 a.m.

By Craig Edwards

If the blast of arctic air last week got you thinking about heading south to the Sunshine state, I hope you stayed in touch with the weather folks as well as your travel agent. Today, the low temperature dropped into the middle 20s to lower 30s in the northern half of Florida. Wind Chill Advisories…

Have you hugged your weatherman today?

January 20, 2009 5:00 p.m.

By Paul Huttner

I admit I’m a total weather geek. I probably view at least 40 weather related items a day. Some days it may exceed 100. Radars, satellite loops, surface maps, climate data, computer models, forecast discussions and climate change articles are all on the Weather Lab menu. So the findings of a recent NCAR study didn’t…

Water Vapor Imagery

January 20, 2009 7:08 a.m.

By Craig Edwards

It’s out there to our west. Note the very distinct boundary of the push of milder and drier air that runs north and south through the Dakotas. We may see highs in the lower 60s in Radpid City. Lower 30s are possible as as the South Dakota/Minnesota Border late this afternoon. As Paul noted on…

More like it

January 19, 2009 4:02 p.m.

By Paul Huttner

Upper Midwest snow depth map shows solid snow cover in the Upper Midwest. Note the sharp cutoff to bare ground southwest of a Pierre to Omaha line. 20 is the new 40. At least that’s how it felt today outside the Huttner Weather Lab in full sun and light winds. It’s amazing how 20 degrees…