Thanksgiving Clipper to Remember:
So, we expected a Clipper and got a Clipper...and then some. Precipitation broke out across the metro region around 6PM, beginning as very light snow flurries. By 9PM, dry surface air had eroded, and moderate snow began tumbling into the city and surrounding region. By 930, snow accumulation reports began filtering into the Warning Forecast Office at Sterling, Virginia, with meteorologists there recording about 0.4" of snow.
Currently, we have zip snow accumulation on the roadways and concrete surfaces (which have a lower albedo and, hence, absorb more incoming radiation than wood or grass) while about 0.4" of the white stuff has accumulated on my outside table and snow board.
Clipper systems like this are notoriously fast movers, and snowfall usually doesn't last for more than 3-6 hours or so, and this is no exception. Scattered snow showers will linger through the night, after this main large batch of precip scoots east of the city. I still do not expect any snowfall accumulations on the concrete/road surfaces in the general metro region, although as current reports dictate, totals of 1 inch are not out of the question on grassy surfaces.
Major Arctic Blast:
As Clipper's often do, a large and severe swath of arctic air will plunge southward tonight and tomorrow, dropping high temperatures into the low teens in the upper Midwest, and lower 40s closer to home. By Friday, highs have dipped even further into the upper 30s. Lows Thursday and Friday night will dip into the upper teens and lower 20s across the entire region, and wind chills Thursday evening will likely drop off into the lower teens in the metro, and single digits further west.
Jet stream next week. Image from
NCEP/NWS
This cold surge is, however, short lived as the graphic to the right summarizes nicely. Next week, the upper level ribbon of quickly moving air that is the jet stream surges northward into southeastern Canada as a Pacific Jet deepens in the Pacific Northwest, and a trough carves out in the Midwest.
So, expect generally mild temperatures next week (possibly breaking through the 60s next Monday). There is also the potential for some showers and even Thunderstorms during the Monday afternoon and evening timeframe as a cold front approaches the region from the west.
So, we expected a Clipper and got a Clipper...and then some. Precipitation broke out across the metro region around 6PM, beginning as very light snow flurries. By 9PM, dry surface air had eroded, and moderate snow began tumbling into the city and surrounding region. By 930, snow accumulation reports began filtering into the Warning Forecast Office at Sterling, Virginia, with meteorologists there recording about 0.4" of snow.
Currently, we have zip snow accumulation on the roadways and concrete surfaces (which have a lower albedo and, hence, absorb more incoming radiation than wood or grass) while about 0.4" of the white stuff has accumulated on my outside table and snow board.
Clipper systems like this are notoriously fast movers, and snowfall usually doesn't last for more than 3-6 hours or so, and this is no exception. Scattered snow showers will linger through the night, after this main large batch of precip scoots east of the city. I still do not expect any snowfall accumulations on the concrete/road surfaces in the general metro region, although as current reports dictate, totals of 1 inch are not out of the question on grassy surfaces.
Major Arctic Blast:As Clipper's often do, a large and severe swath of arctic air will plunge southward tonight and tomorrow, dropping high temperatures into the low teens in the upper Midwest, and lower 40s closer to home. By Friday, highs have dipped even further into the upper 30s. Lows Thursday and Friday night will dip into the upper teens and lower 20s across the entire region, and wind chills Thursday evening will likely drop off into the lower teens in the metro, and single digits further west.
Jet stream next week. Image from
NCEP/NWS
This cold surge is, however, short lived as the graphic to the right summarizes nicely. Next week, the upper level ribbon of quickly moving air that is the jet stream surges northward into southeastern Canada as a Pacific Jet deepens in the Pacific Northwest, and a trough carves out in the Midwest. So, expect generally mild temperatures next week (possibly breaking through the 60s next Monday). There is also the potential for some showers and even Thunderstorms during the Monday afternoon and evening timeframe as a cold front approaches the region from the west.
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