Sunday, December 26, 2010 ( 11 a.m.)
Blog Archive to 2007 http://lotsofbarkandbiteinyourforecast.blogspot.com/
Wow! That is all I have to say. December of 1989 will always be remembered for snow and the White Christmas we had but December of 2010 will not be forgotten anytime soon. Christmas and Hanukkah came twice for many this year. All those kids asking for snow this week got a gift from nature that will last a lifetime! We had SNOW this morning in Jacksonville! I put in a chance of a brief snow flurry for us this morning during the morning news and sure enough it came true. It was just odd adding that to my list of weather notes even if it was snowing in Valdosta this morning at 6 a.m. and it did look like that upper-disturbance along the polar jet stream was swinging our way! It just does not happen that often here. In fact, one of our First Coast News videographers told me his 15 year old son saw snow for the first time ever this morning! Yes the arctic boundary or front moved in and you combine that with a vigorous polar jet stream with 140 mph winds overhead and you had plenty of lift to squeeze out some snow! It did not stick or cause any traffic troubles but it was just amazing to see snow in Florida. I have talked to several folks that told me this is the first time they have seen snow here in the Jacksonville area since 1989! It was the first time I have witnessed snowflakes here since March of 1993 when I was an intern at First Coast News. It must have been all the snow talk on this blog and all the snow video I have been showing on the air. Something had to give. Now for all the snow-chasers that want to go see some of this snow it does look like our snow fun is about over with maybe a few crunchy leftover dip and dot snowflakes since the air aloft is so cold! But this should be it. If you are heading to the Jags game wear the hats, gloves, and big coats. We may stay socked in with the clouds with highs struggling to get to the lower 40s. Wind chills will remain in the 30s. Here are some more snow pictures from this morning to enjoy. I will keep adding to this collection for you here on the blog. Please send in your snow story too!
We were talking snow all the way to the beach! This is what Craig O'Neal captured for us in Ponte Vedra. This looks more like a scene from Virginia in the winter than Florida. Folks in Mandarin and the southside also reported a few snowflakes just after 9 a.m. Here is what our very own anchor Corrine Hautala saw!
She is from Arizona so she was pretty excited! Notice the snow almost looks like hail or what is called graupel. This crunchy snow tells us there is a huge drop in temperature from the ground where it is in the middle to upper 30s to a bitter 12 degrees at 5,000 feet. Usually you need it to be 27 degrees or colder at 5,000 feet for snow. We were more than cold enough to say the least and you can feel it when you walk outside. It feels and looks like snow and sure enough it did snow! Lori Dorman also caught some snow on her cape. She lives by the airport and here is what she found.
Now keep in mind there is STICKING SNOW not far from home. If you are traveling along interstate 95 slick spots could develop as close as Savannah, Georgia where there is a wintry mix! Check out our latest futurecast models below. Myrtle Beach could see 1 to 3 inches of snow before it tapers off this afternoon. Washington, D.C. will see about 4 inches to 8 inches near the Chesapeake Bay and then blizzard conditions for areas farther north. This means to check ahead before leaving for the airport today and if you know of friends driving home make sure they know that it looks like some rough driving all the way into the deep south.
In the meantime do you realize this will be our fourth arctic blast of the month. There are some Decembers where we do not have any freezes and folks plant their poinsettias in the ground. Not this year! You can see why! Look how wrapped up this low pressure is as it moves northward. It will have its central pressure dropping to 28.50" which is something you normally would see with a category two hurricane! Winds could whip up to near hurricane force before all is said and done near Cape Cod by later tomorrow even if this monster is not tropical by nature! Here at home this storm will control our weather with a vicious backlash that will last at least through the middle of the week. The atmosphere will be taking its cues from it and the flow around this storm will keep us in those bone-chilling breezes.
Tonight bring in the plants, pets, and protect the pipes. We have a hard freeze warning tonight that goes into effect at 9 p.m. Lows in some of the colder spots and inland locations will be in the lower to middle 20s. The beaches should even see a lows in the upper 20s. A wind chill advisory is also in effect for wind chills plummeting to 10 to 15 above by morning. Yes, December of 2010 will go down as the coldest ever without a doubt.
Not even the Keys and South Florida will be escaping the grips of this arctic outbreak as their wind chills will also drop to near freezing! You see all the advisories lined up including our hard freeze warnings in Florida that are labeled in blue and if you look closely you can see the red on the map from New Jersey northward into New England which are blizzard warnings! Now the positive to all this is that this is a progressive pattern and once this big behemoth of a storm moves on we should warm-up! I still think 70s are a good bet for New Year's Eve! Keep those warm thoughts and oh yes....you thought the snow this morning was unusual....how about last night's rain!!! We had our heaviest downpours since November 4th. Here is our rain-splashed weather window pane at First Coast News to prove it actually happened. I also left some rain totals for your enjoyment to get you through this cold day! Stay warm and keep sending in those snow pictures! Thanks again!
- WAYCROSS .75"
- FOLKSTON .70"
- MACCLENNY .62"
- ORANGE PARK .40"
- MANDARIN .35"
- JACKSONVILLE .30"
- ST.AUGUSTINE .30"
- PONTE VEDRA .25"
- ST.JOHNS .25"
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