Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Strange Weather & A Bitter Pillar of A Pattern in Lafayette


Indiana is known for its strange weather that c
hanges every few minutes and last night that was certainly the case and it also changed drastically every few miles. Folks that were driving on state road 28 from Tippecanoe County into Clinton County went from starlit skies to heavy bands of snow in an instant. In fact, there were reports of clear roadways giving way to one to two foot snow drifts with visibilities reduced to near zero. The same sort of stories were called in on Highway 24 from Logansport to Monticello. The reason for this wild weather were those very narrow lake-effect snow bands coming off of Lake Michigan. It only takes a slight wind shift for those bands to move and you can go from the all clear to white-out conditions in an instant. It does look like the roughest travel today will be in our northern counties. I did my best in this tough set-up to pinpoint the worst of the roads for you this morning below.

Areas near Medaryville and Francesville could easily see 4 to 6 inches so it looks like Highway 421 in Pulaski County leads the pack for our worst travel weather. The good news is these heavy bands of snow should quickly shift farther north and east early this morning. But we will still have plenty of wind and blowing and drifting snow to contend with until high pressure builds in which will not be until later this afternoon. We have snow to liquid ratios of 30 to 1 which means the snow is extra light and fluffy and it will not take much for it to blow around. Areas near Michigan City could end up with close to two feet of snow before all is said and done!


Speaking of impressive, how about those lights in the night sky last night. A lot of folks saw them when they were walking their dogs. They looked up and did a double take. The big question of the day is could it have been the aurora borealis. Well take a look below at some more great pictures sent in by Laura Mark.

Here is yet another one to help you make your decision on exactly what you are looking at. No you are not looking at UFO's. We can rule that one out already. I do not see any green men or flying saucers. It does look like beams of light you would normally see at Disney World at night.


Remember here in Indiana we have tons of optical phenomena, including the aurora borealis. But last night we were seeing something different. Here is why. The sun is quieter now than it has been in almost 100 years with very few solar storms or sunspots. Look at how clean it looks on space weather.com!


Usually you have a few black spots or what are called magnetic storms that can cause huge solar flares. This disturbance reaches the earth via an extra strong solar wind causing electrons to ignite like neon signs. But with no sunspots and a much lighter solar wind our chances here in Lafayette of seeing the aurora borealis are almost nil. In this pattern the aurora borealis is only visible at the high latitudes and that was the case last night. What we were seeing here in Lafayette were actually LIGHT PILLARS. LIGHT PILLARS are more commonly found in Canada and Alaska this time of year. If you notice their light takes on the same color as the lights below because they are actually reflections of light from below off of flat and fluttering ice crystals in the atmosphere. These ice crystals are usually found at 30,000 feet in the very cold air. But last night that very cold air was hovering near the ground along with those ice crystals with temperatures only near 10 degrees. This resulted in a beautiful display of light pillars. This can also happen with sunlight and in that case it would be called a sun pillar.

Now if you can hang in there for one more day and night the good news is that this bitter pillar of a pattern to swallow will be a thing of the past. This is the great part about February. Usually our bitter cold outbreaks do not last all that long with the higher sun angle. Those longer days are starting to make a difference. I will have more on this on tonight's newscasts. I look forward to seeing you soon and if you need an uplifting story to help make you feel warmer here is just the one, all the way from SIBERIA!


Hi, Mike.

I thought you might be interested in this. My son, Cole, is doing missionary work in Russia and is currently located in the western edge of Siberia. Here's something he wrote me via email this morning; I've highlighted the weather portions but left some of the other to give you some context.

Needless to say, I am glad we don't get these kinds of temperatures!! (And having a son in Siberia is a good impetus to pray!! LOL)

Lynn Isenbarger
West Lafayette
--

I got on a train to Surgut. It was about a 17-hour trip. It was a good opportunity to catch up on some sleep. When we left Tyumen, it was about -8 C. Upon our arrival to Surgut, we discovered a crisp -39 C. It was very interesting to be in that kind of cold. The thing is, our thermometer was showing -32, and the whole time it was off by 7 degrees. We didn't find that out until the day I left, and as you'll see, we made some dumb decisions based off of that misinformation.

With our thermometer showing -35, meaning -42, we decided to go contact. We actually had a surprising amount of success. After that, we stopped a man who politely informed Elder Mizin that his "nose was about to fall off." We both were a tiny bit frostbitten so we decided to return home and eat, and also decided that we wouldn't be doing that again if we could help it.

The next day was very interesting too, of course. We had a meeting set up in a tiny neighboring town. We had to take a bus an hour outside of Surgut to get there. It was -45 C. When we got off the bus and Elder Mizin pointed to the house we were going to in the distance, my heart sank. It was only about a ten minute walk, but long enough to be colder than I ever thought possible. Especially because it was windy and there weren't any surrounding buildings to break the wind. We got there and the couple had decided they weren't interested anymore.

It was sad, but I left Surgut behind. Going out to the train station was an interesting experience. I was traveling by myself since I was the only one to come back, and seeing the platform at 1:00am with NO ONE around was an interesting sight. When it gets this cold, the air kind of freezes in a way, it's like there's a fog. It's so cold that you can't see through the air well, or something like that. That and the platform at that time of night was a sight I won't forget.

I spent all day yesterday traveling home. The Palmers picked me up at the train station, and we went back to their apartment and they fed us. It was good.

I also wanted to say that you don't have to worry about snow/cold stuff. It's been freezing, but I'm back in Tyumen and things are warmer here. Plus, even in the -45, I was able to be okay. It's funny to be constantly praying to be warm though!

Love,
Cole


Thanks Cole and Lynn. There have been a few complaints about our rough weather to our weather team over the past week. But after reading this I cannot see how anybody would complain. We can all be thankful for today's high near 12. Yes, it could be a lot worse and now we are getting ready for 40s and 50s in the seven day forecast. We look forward to hearing more of your intriguing stories here on the weather blog. Keep in touch and if we could we would send you some of our warmer weather.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey mike lovin the really light snow!! got off of work at 1130 tonight. worked outside in the weather was very cold but not much snow at the north norfolk southern rail yard. time i hit americas was a dusting. went 2 miles and there was a guy stuck in the ditch not a mile from sr 18. pulled him out of a drift that was all of hood high on his jeep. that road was half blown shut. got home around 1220 pm and have 3.5 inches. would love to see neighbors faces when they drive by my already shoveled drive way!

Anonymous said...

i might add that home is monticello

Anonymous said...

Rochester has not received the lake-effect snow!!!YEA!!!! It was a pleasant drive on south SR 25 this morning. Of course, SR 16 was not in the best conditions, but it was not too bad.

I am now in Royal Center, and I notice that there is measurable snow. In fact, the parking lot was being plowed as I entered the driveway.

F/C

Anonymous said...

We received six inches of the very fluffy white stuff in northern carroll county, just about 3 miles from HWY 24. Husband measured before we went to bed. School is on two hour delay at TL so far haven't seen a plow. Friend was over lives in Cass Co and said where he was at got a skift of snow and that was it. WOW, what a band.

Anonymous said...

heard there was white out conditions last night on way from logan to Monticello. We had alot come down in a short time. Did MI City get alot as well. Mike said couple of feet......at least its fluffy.

Anonymous said...

To Cindy in Benton County, please go ahead with the CoCo thing! Reports can vary from one mile to the next! William and I live about 3 miles apart and almost always have different mesasurements on rain and snow.

We escaped the lake snow after the brief burst yesterday afternoon. The wind has to blow almost directly from the north for us to get lake effect snow--although I HAVE seen six inches of "Partly Cloudy" before! You younger people on here don't realize how good you have it in the forecasts of today. Living in this area all my life I have seen the transition. There was a time when forecasts were printed up in the morning adn used all day long! I have seen it RAIN while radio broadcasts were calling for only *:partly cloudy skies:*. The forecasting of today is wonderful and up to date compared with what we used to have.

Have a great day all :-)

MA in REM

Anonymous said...

Wow! Justin did you see where Valpo got 17 inches new snow and Michigan City got 14??? (CoCo reports)

MA

Anonymous said...

According to WSBT and WNDU in South Bend, areas in Porter County and western LaPorte County were still being hit with snow this morning. Some areas are at 12 inches, and it is still falling.

The lake-effect band has become smaller, but the above mentioned areas are still getting hit.

F/C

Anonymous said...

Growing up when the weather man said we were to get snow, we would go to the store.....some times we went and didn't get anything of weather and others wow, glad to have gone. Learned alot growing up. Now I buy frozen bread and let it rise infront of the fire place, it keeps and doesn't take to long to thaw and rise, if I need it. Use to laugh at my Mom when she said draw water we could lose power and always remembered to stock pile water in bad weather just in case. Got freezing rain in the night, lost power one night and went omg...I forgot to draw water and my husband laughed at me and said see your MOm wasn't wrong all those years, LOL....Now I am grown...I put gallons of water in the basement and first sign of freezin rain, I fill the tub and get things ready...Better safe than sorry. Even have tub now with batteries, candles and blankets and extra goodies that keep for that just in case we need. Living out in the country one has to be prepared. My daughter said she was glad that I am teaching her that. She said people take for granted the things that are easy to get until they don't have them. I am thankful and don't complain when electricity goes out....company doesn't take that long. whether it is 2 hrs are two days, it used to be alot longer.

Anonymous said...

Love your post! When the temps were forecast to be way below zero I tried to warn my grandkids (they have never LIVED in temps like that) about leaving the faucets run, opening the cupboard doors to let heat in, take the car battery inside the house, etc...did they listen??? nah....I kinda chuckled when their pipes froze! Maybe they will listen to an "old lady" now :-) I remember scoffing at things my mother said, and alas, I learned the hard way, too :-)

MA

Anonymous said...

Yes Mary anne I did see that a lot of snow in a lot of the northern parts!

I did not see any new snow this time around! Mike you are right lets!just enjoy our high of 14* degrees and be happy with it! We do have the 40s and 50s moving in soon really tomorrow so we all can look forward to that!

I know I will if we don't get more snow then make it warm! Although we do still have that chance for more snow later on this month!

Justin.

Anonymous said...

MA, I grew up the same way you did! I prepare myself for any emergency and have tried to pass this on to my 3 boys but no such luck!!! They still panic and go out to store for whatever it is they need. I tried! LOL

Anonymous said...

Hey Mary Anne also up around Valparaiso they had a total new snowfall from last night of 23.5" inches!!!!! WOW Making there final total with the old snow already on the ground of 24.5" inches.....

Then going a few miles south the highest snowfall I could find in Jasper county was only 3.1" inches and with the old snow total of 7.5" inches. This was in Whetrield, In Jasper county.....

And you came in with a Trace adding on the old snowfall you have 3.5" inches!

Justin.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mary Anne if you don't mind me asking do you have your own weather station set up or something? I thought I seen mike say something about that in older posts?

Only if you don't mind! You dont have to reply! ;)

Justin.

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon all! Looks like it was a fun day for blogging:) Amazing snow fall amounts WOW!

Just a light dusting on my car this morning. I kept wakeing during the night to look outside..

Looking foward to warmer temps, but NOT for thunderstorms..That is when I am really glued to the blog!

Teri in Laf.

Anonymous said...

Oh and I too have extra blankets flash lights, water ect in the basement, even a wx radio in case the tornado sirens sound..I have to go outside to get to my basement, Scary at times..I live in an old house, so my basement is more like a crawl space.

Teri

Anonymous said...

I heard that NOrth Judson received 18 inches of lake-effect snow. That is so amazing, as it is located quuite a distance from the lake. In fact, many areas between it and the lake received less snow.

I am heading through Starke and LaPorte County this weekend. I can't wait to see the snow piles. Last week, there was quite a bit of snow.

F/C

Anonymous said...

What a lovely letter from Cole..thanks so much for sharing..God Bless! We do take so much for granted!

Anonymous said...

I am really looking forward to warm weather. I know we are just around the corner until Spring but I just hate the transition from warm to cold, cold to warm.. Hurry up warm weather and stay here!!!

Richard

Anonymous said...

MA/Rem
I checked out the website http://www.cocorahs.org/ and I am going to contact Purdue and fined out when they have their next training. I went through the site and it is the way to go for measuring rain and snow. This system beats just the average rain gage and ruler. It was nice to know that if you go through the training the rain gauge is free. If you take the training online you have to purchasr the rain gauge. Thank you for the posting of the site.

Richard

Anonymous said...

Hey Richard, your photos of the eagels are beautiful, I saw on the news tonight.

Mary Anne gave me info about CoCo reports about a year ago. Is an awesome program. I had checked into it but did not have the chance to make the meeting. Will do so this year!

From what Justin posts, his location, is only about 3 miles from me.. Things have been compelety different from his location to mine.. At times he would report no rain, while it was pouring where I am....or the other way around.

Teri

Anonymous said...

First of all I want to thank Mike for posting my pics for everyone to enjoy. Thank You MIKE!!!!


Thank You Teri for the compliments. I have several more that are even better photos. I live with my camera this time of year and then in the summer the camera goes in the boat on the great Wabash River.

Thanks Again
Richard

Anonymous said...

I sent an e-mail to Purdue to see if they would be interested in doing a CoCoRahs class. I will post information when I get a reply. I will also e-mail Mike with information so he can post it on the blog.

Richard

Anonymous said...

Justin,
Where did you get your CoCoRahs training at? Or did you do the online class?

Richard

Anonymous said...

Richard! I am glad you checked CoCo out! Good for you!

Man is it cold here! 4* above zero. I have a feeling you have all moved to the next blog, LOL..see you there!

Anonymous said...

Anxiously awaiting the update!

Chris in Tipton

Anonymous said...

Rachard I did do the online class! But here is a link for some up coming classes.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=ind&storyid=12429&source=0

I got this from the NWS.

See if this helps you out!

Oh And I to seen your picture of TV great shot!

Justin.

Anonymous said...

Justin,
Ty for the link I will check it out!! I honestly hopes Purdue will do something, if not I will find the nearest class. Thanks for the comment on the picture. Wish you all could see my picture archives.

Richard

Anonymous said...

Justin saw the 3 meeting places... Need to carpool to them! ;) I will check with the Williamsport Learning Center and see if they can get something also. They are open to new things and pretty much prevail with peoples request.

Anonymous said...

No Problem! Hope you find what you are looking for!

If nothing else you can do it on line just go to the CoCo site and search!

Justin.

Anonymous said...

Justin
I read the slide show on there and it seems pretty simple. I will indeed go buy the specications of equipment that CoCoRahs wants used and go from there if no classes can be held close.

Thanks! Richard

Anonymous said...

Sure anytime! ;)

Justin.