These are some pictures sent in by my sister, who lives just NW of Philadelphia.  The first picture shows the yard around 8 am Wednesday, as about 2″ of snow was accumulating (on top of some snow pack from previous snow).  The second picture is from 8 am Thursday, after the storm was done.  Final totals in that area were 12-14″, and a lot of the snow was the heavy, watery kind.  The last picture is also from this morning.  Although the snow stopped around 2 am, side roads were not touched until around 11 am.

A band of heavy snow, combined with thundersnow, produced snowfall rates around 3″ an hour at times.

-Mike Stone

In the reports below, E=estimated  M=measured, and  items like  6 S PERRYSBURG means the location is 6 miles south of Perrysburg

0712 PM     TSTM WND DMG     WATERVILLE
TREES DOWN ACROSS ROAD

0714 PM     1.75″ HAIL             WATERVILLE
1.5 INCH RAIN PER HOUR

0723 PM     TSTM WND DMG     6 S PERRYSBURG
BARN DESTROYED

0724 PM     TSTM WND DMG     WATERVILLE
TREE DOWN AND WIRES DOWN

0725 PM     TSTM WND DMG     6 S PERRYSBURG
MULTIPLE BARNS DESTROYED IN DOWLING TOWNSHIP.
MULTIPLE  HOMES DAMAGED. LARGE TREES DOWN.

0730 PM     TSTM WND DMG     ROSSFORD
DOWNED TREES

0734 PM     TSTM WND DMG     GRAND RAPIDS
TREE DOWN

0734 PM     TSTM WND DMG     WATERVILLE
BUILDING DEBRIS BLOWN INTO THE ROAD

0736 PM     1″ HAIL             6 S BOWLING GREEN
TELEPHONE POLES SNAPPED

0741 PM     1″ HAIL             1 SE WOODVILLE

0744 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 S PERRYSBURG
LARGE TREE DOWN

0745 PM     1.5″ HAIL             GIBSONBURG

0746 PM     TSTM WND DMG     MILLBURY
TREE DOWN

0748 PM     TSTM WND DMG     MILLBURY
TREE DOWN ON A HOUSE

0749 PM     TSTM WND DMG     TOLEDO
TREE DOWN ON A HOUSE

0750 PM     TSTM WND DMG     PERRYSBURG
POWER POLES DOWN 1 MI S US20/THOMPSON RD

0753 PM     1.75″ HAIL             FREMONT
E1.75 INCH

0757 PM     3/4″ HAIL             GIBSONBURG

0811 PM     TSTM WND DMG     OAK HARBOR
TREE DOWN

0815 PM     1.25″ HAIL             HURON

0815 PM     1″ HAIL             SANDUSKY
ESTIMATED 50 TO 60 MPH WINDS.

0825 PM     1″ HAIL             VERMILION

0828 PM     2″ HAIL             SANDUSKY

0830 PM     TSTM WND DMG     HURON
MOBILE HOMES DAMAGED…CAR PORTS DOWN
POWER POLES DOWN.

0842 PM     DOWNBURST        CASTALIA
POWER POLES DOWN NEAR ST RTE 101 AND GARDNER ROAD

0920 PM     1″ HAIL             2 W DUNKIRK

0956 PM     TSTM WND DMG     ADA
TREES DOWN.

0650 PM     TSTM WND DMG   1 NE JEWELL/DEFIANCE CTY
VERY LARGE TREE SNAPPED AND ONTO A HOUSE NEAR THE
INTERSECTION OF US 24 AND FLORY RD. SLIDING DOORS ON A
POLE BARN SUFFERED DAMAGE AS WELL.

0649 PM     TSTM WND DMG     AYERSVILLE/DEFIANCE CTY
POWER LINES DOWNED ON PAINTER RD. THREE HOUSES ALSO HAD
TREES FALL ONTO THEM WITH NO OBSERVABLE DAMAGE TO THE
STRUCTURES.

0650 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 ESE TEXAS        HENRY COUNTY
TWO CAMPERS WERE ROLLED OVER AT THE WAGNER
CAMPGROUNDS…WEST OF GRAND RAPIDS. A BOAT ON A TRAILER
WAS PUSHED INTO THE BACK OF A PICKUP TRUCK.

0658 PM     2.5″ HAIL             3 S HOLGATE
ALSO ESTIMATED WIND GUSTS UP TO 75 MPH.

0712 PM     TSTM WND DMG     4 NNE BELMORE
1 MILE EAST OF DESHLER. TREES DOWN ACROSS CSX TRACKS
NEAR COUNTY ROAD 2.

0846 PM     TSTM WND GST     1 S ELIDA
M62 MPH

0859 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 SE LIMA
ESTIMATED 70-75 MPH GUSTS…MULTIPLE POWER LINES DOWN.

0900 PM     TSTM WND GST     3 NE YODER
M58 MPH

0652 PM     TSTM WND DMG     ADRIAN
A TREE FELL ONTO A DODGE PICKUP TRUCK ON SOUTH MAIN
STREET. A LARGE BRANCH ALSO BLOCKED ONE SOUTHBOUND LANE
OF MAIN STREET.

0655 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 NE ADRIAN
NUMEROUS TREES…LARGE BRANCHES…AND POWER LINES
REPORTED DOWN.

0650 PM     TSTM WND DMG     ADRIAN
TWO 3 FOOT DIAMETER OAK TREES REPORTED DOWN ON BROAD ST
AND CHESTNUT ST

Not much change to the post below — currently watching the first wave of storms track through and north of the area.  There should be a bit of a lull midday and early PM before another round of storms erupts late this afternoon into this evening.

Storms later today should be a bit more widespread than they were Wednesday.  The is a moderate risk of severe weather across NW Ohio, and a slight risk across lower Michigan.  The reason for this is that a warm front will sit almost on the state line by late day.  Areas near and south of the front will turn very unstable.

Severe threat is for large hail and strong winds.  We may even have a tornado watch issued before evening.  All of the storms, whether severe or not, will contain heavy rainfall.  Repeated storms could create drainage problems.

All of the weather team is now on Facebook!

Robert’s Page

Mike’s Page

Chris’s Page

Tara’s Page

Unlike the slushy snow from Sunday night’s storm, this snow event will feature the drier, fluffier snow.  Winds today will be 15-25 mph with some gusts exceeding 30 mph.  These northwesterly winds will blow and drift the snow a lot.

Winds will relax a bit tonight to the 8-18 mph range, and then 5-15 mph Saturday.

In addition to reduced visibility (and getting pelted with snow while you are outside), the winds will cause cleared areas to get covered again by the drifted snow.  Plus, it will not be fun if you are trying to use a snow blower while walking in a northerly direction.

We always welcome snowfall reports.  Please check out our previous post on how to take an accurate snow measurement.  With all of the blowing and drifting, it will be quite difficult to get a perfect measurement.

We spring ahead one hour to Eastern Daylight Time on March 14th this year.  We switch the clocks back to standard time on November 7th.

Sunrise & sunset:

6:51 am / 6:40 pm  — March 13

7:49 am / 7:41 pm  — March 14

Spring (the vernal equinox) occurs on March 20 at 1:32 pm.

Freshly updated snow stats from this morning at Toledo Express Airport:

                                                      
Tuesday         1.1″       Current snow depth:  7″                    

Month           16.4″   —   11.5″  above normal

Winter          31.4″   —    4.6″  above normal

Snow totals across eastern and southern counties are much higher.

Local snow totals for the season are a little above normal.  The recent snow events have allowed us to make up the deficit we had built up the past couple of months.

However, some of the winter totals in other parts of the USA are just staggering.  Some places are running 60 to 70 inches ABOVE normal.

45″     Columbus OH  (24 inches above normal)

35″     Cincinnati (+19″)

64″     Pittsburgh (+37″)

72″     Philadelphia (+60″)

67″     Wilmington, DE (+53″)

50″     Atlantic City, NJ (+41″)

104″   Beckley, WV

80″     Baltimore (+67″)

56″     Washington DC  (+45″)

28″     Richmond, VA  (+18″)

20″     Oklahoma City  (+13″)

16″     Dallas/Fort Worth  (+13″)

1.7″    Birmingham, AL

0.1″   New Orleans

Trace - Tallahassee, FL  * The second time since 2001 that a trace of snow was reported.  The last measurable snow (more than a trace) was 1989.

Under cloudy skies, and intense television lights, Phil saw his shadow.  According to the tradition, this means six more weeks of winter.

I am leaving this post uncategorized, since we don’t have a category for musings from fuzzy animals.

One side effect from this arctic blast of air is the fact it holds very little moisture.  When we speak of humidity, it is relative to temperature.  It represents the percent volume of moisture in the air at that exact temperature.

For instance, a 100% humidity reading in the middle of winter feels a lot different than 100% in the middle of summer.  Warm air can hold a lot more moisture than cold air. 

When you take a very cold airmass, and then heat it up (as you do in your home), you are taking the minor amount of moisture available and throwing it into a warmer enviroment that can hold a lot more moisture.

So, if the air temp outside is 15° and the dew point is zero, if you bring that air inside and heat it to 70°, the humidity is 6%.

Our bodies feel comfortable when the humidity is roughly half of the air temperature indoors.  So, if you have your heat set at 70°, you want to humidity to be roughly 35%.  Humidifiers that work directly into the furnace work most effectively (room humidifiers run the risk of harboring mold, or creating mold on fabrics or carpets). 

Depending on conditions inside your home, you may want it closer to 30% or 40%.  If moisture forms on the walls, then the humdifier is set too high.  But, once the room is humidified well, you will get rid of the static electricity and dry skin/nasal passages/eyes.  Plus, with a higher humidity, the air will feel much warmer to your skin.