Blasted by a snow storm in the first half of the month and steady periods of light snow to end the month put this February of 2010 nearly on top of the all time snow record for the month.  All totaled this February had 23.9″ of snow at Toledo Express Airport.

Here is where this February ranks compared to other years and it shows just how close we came to the all time record.

I am still hoping for an early spring…it is March now after all!

The wintry mess is spreading across the area tonight.  Here is the latest thinking on where the snow, rain, freezing rain and sleet will fall and how much. 

Snow accumulations across southern Michigan will be in the 3-6″ range

Snow accumulations across far northern Ohio will be in the 1-3″ range with some ice accumulations

No snow accumulations to the south with mainly rain expected, but a wintry mix for a period can be expected.

A winter storm will impact the area on Monday bringing a variety of weather.  A mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain are all likely on Monday.  However, actual weather conditions will vary significantly with this storm system depending on how far north or south you are within the viewing area.   Here is the latest map of what the predominant precipitation type on Monday:

Lower Michigan:  Mainly a wet heavy snow.  Several inches of accumulation possible.  Sleet or freezing rain may briefly mix in.

Northern Ohio Counties:  A few hours of snow early overnight Sunday, then mixing with sleet and freezing rain for a good portion of the day.  Precipitation may briefly change to rain in the afternoon before changing back over to all snow Monday night.  Snow accumulations will be limited due to the sleet and freezing rain.

Southern Ohio Counties:  Some brief snow, but mainly freezing rain early Monday morning.  Changing over to all rain showers by the afternoon.  No snow accumulations expected.

A rare winter storm brought significant snow to the southern USA, from Texas through the Carolinas.  This recent snowfall has led to a staggering statistic from February 12:  Snow covers at least a part of all 50 States!  (There are patches of snow on the mountains of Hawaii)

Check out the latest snow cover analysis from Saturday, February 13th.  About 67% of the land area of the USA has snow cover.

Just how much snow fell within the city limits of Toledo?  No, not just in your back yard, your neighbors, or even downtown.  I am talking how much snow total, if it could all be put into one big pile!  After one incorrect crack at it, I gave it a try again and I think my calculations are right now.  See the graphic below and my math to support it. 

Okay, the Toledo city limits is 84 square miles, which I calculate to be 206,988,400 square yards.  The recent snowfall was just above 12″ which is 0.33 yards.

Multiply an area by a depth and Poof!  You have a volume…so 206,988,400 square yards multiplied by 0.33 yards equals 85,865,472 cubic yards!

WOW, that means this past storm dropped 85,865,472 cubic yards of snow just within the Toledo city limits.  Unbelievable!  Let me know your thoughts or comments.  cvickers@wtol.com

Here is the latest satellite pictures from above Lake Erie showing the extent of the ice cover that has developed this winter so far.  It is clear that the western basin of the lake, which also happens to be the shallowest part of Lake Erie has the most extensive ice cover. 

Date Taken: January 31st 2010:

Date Taken: January 21st 2010:

At this point last year, the extent of the ice cover was much greater due to a frigid January.  Here is the month to month comparison for the average monthly temperature for the past two January’s:

January 2009:  The average temperature was -7.4 degrees below normal

January 2010: The average temperature was +0.4 degrees above normal

MONDAY EVENING UPDATE:

Our stagnant pattern continues.  After a cloudy day today, more fog will be around tonight.  With temps in the upper 20s, this will create areas of freezing fog where fog persists.

SUNDAY NIGHT POST:

Another round of fog tonight and into Monday morning.  Abundant amounts of moisture are trapped in the lowest layer of the atmosphere near the surface due to warmer temperatures melting snow cover on the ground.  This additional moisture is being trapped close to the ground by a strong temperature inversion at about 1,000 ft. 

The result is dense foggy nights and mornings.  This has curved and limited high temperatures allowing them to only reach the low and middle 30s.  Dense fog and freezing fog advisories are in effect through Monday morning.  Temperatures are expected to remain below freezing allowing the water vapor from the fog  become ice on surfaces that are below freezing.  This includes untreated road surfaces and especially overpasses.  Drive carefully.

Cold weather is expected to persist for the remainder of the weekend.  A strong area of Arctic High pressure is holding across the nations midsection allowing a cold blast from the Arctic to penetrate deep into the eastern half of the United States.  Temperatures for our area will be about 10 degrees below average, but a deep freeze is crippling the Gulf states and Florida in particular.  This deep freeze is expected to possibly damage or kill a significant portion of the citrus crop across the south. 

A significant change in the atmospheric flow will signal a noticeable chance in our weather pattern by the middle of the week.  This deep trough in the jet stream will lift back into Canada and the atmospheric flow will become more zonal.  (Flow from the west to the east)  This will allow for milder Pacific air to return to the region instead of the cold Arctic air that has dominated through the month of January thus far.  This “split flow” in the jet stream will bring milder weather by the middle of the week and is more typical of what we would expect during an El Nino winter.  Under this scenario the northern branch of the jet stream stays north in Canada limiting the Arctic air that invades the United States.  The southern branch of the jet stream will bring active and wet weather back to the southern tier of the country bringing storms to the California coast and across the Gulf Coast and into Florida.  For our area we remain mild and dry with Pacific air in place.

Other atmospheric signals called teleconnections (AO -Arctic Oscillation & NAO – North Atlantic Oscillation)  indicate that the middle and possibly end of January may have temperatures near or above average.

The final day of 2009 will be special for many reasons.  It’s a once in a Blue Moon occurrence–literally.  A blue moon occurs on average once in every 2 0r 3 years.  It is generally regarded as having two full moons in the same calendar month.  This December 2009 is that month. 

Even more interesting, the last time a blue moon occurred on New Year’s Eve was 19 years ago in 1990.  The next time it is expected to occur on New Year’s Eve is 2028. 

We will remain on the warm side of a powerful storm through most of the Christmas holiday.  We will have rain showers, heavy at times through the morning.  It will be very breezy with southeast winds around 20 mph gusting to over 30 mph at times.  High temperatures will be mild reaching nearly 40 degrees. 

The record high for Christmas was 63 degrees set back in 1982.  Ironically, the record low was set the following year of -13 below zero in 1983.   Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!