Season and U.S. Snow
February 8th, 2013 at 8:16 pm by Bill Steffen under Bill's Blog, Weather
Click on the image to enlarge. This was national snowcover on Friday. 34.1% of the U. S. had a snow cover, with an average depth of 4.8″. Something interesting…back on 1/1, U.S. snow cover peaked at 66.6% the highest areal extent in at least 10 years. At that time, there was no snow over much of our area, including Muskegon. To have that much snow cover across the U.S., you need a lot of cold air. Here sits Muskegon downwind from a big and relatively warm lake, and…no snow! Now that national snow cover has shrunk back to reality…the snow is piling up in Muskegon.
Snowfall update: Muskegon: 11.2″ from the recent storm, 64.8″ for the season. Average thru Feb. 8 for Muskegon is 69.4″, so Muskegon has been catching up. At this point last year Muskegon had 39.5″. Grand Rapids: 7.2″ from the recent storm, 42.9″ for the season. Average up to Feb. 8 for G.R. is 54.7″, so we’re 11.8″ below average. We had 32.2″ of snow to this point last year. For Lansing, just 3.6″ from the Thurs. storm, bringing them to 17.5″ for the season. Average to Feb. 8 is 34.1″, so Lansing has had only 51% of normal snowfall.
Here’s snowfall for the coming week from the GFS – we are out of the main snow storm track with one storm moving from Nebraska to Lake Superior and another from Oklahoma to New England. Any snow they get in the Plains is much appreciated in an overall dry pattern.
ha im first!!!
Good idea about cleaning off the roof Bill, the snow could be very heavy and moist for Sunday night!
Sweet, Bill! Muskegon seems to have a climate where it either refuses to snow or it refuses to stop snowing. I have been enjoying these past couple of weeks. Although shoveling is exhausting, I find it peaceful and a GREAT workout.
What did Bill say, he knows all the what puns?
Bill, any word on the 70ish weather in the February 20 timeframe?
In Florida maybe. I’m guessing 50 would be generous.
Here’s the 264-hour GFS: http://mag.ncep.noaa.gov/Image.php?model=gfs&area=namer¶m=1000_500_thick&cycle=00&image=gfs%2F00%2Fgfs_namer_264_1000_500_thick.gif – maybe SE Florida – if the GFS is right (and it’s the GFS (wink)…we may not get past a high of 25…low 20s and snow showers. The FIM: http://fim.noaa.gov/FIMscp/displayMap.cgi?keys=fim:&runtime=2013020812&plot_type=3hap_sfc&fcst=282&time_inc=360&num_times=57&model=fim&ptitle=Experimental%20FIM%20Model%20Fields&maxFcstLen=336&fcstStrLen=-1&domain=236&adtfn=0&wjet=1 might give us low 30s with a chc. of flurries and a NNW wind. Yup…70ish in SE Florida.
WOW BILL MORE COLD AND SNOW COMING!! WE WILLL HAVE SNOW PILES 2 MAY AROUND TOWN THIS YEAR!!! INDYY…
I’d be cool with that. Love the snow for my kid!!
For the first time we are escaping the Michigan winter in sunny Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It brings me great joy!!
Yeah, but we all know the GFS is never right. I’m sure Brad/Kevin’s in house model will dominate it. It’s the new normal, remember?
LOL and if this the new normal bring it on! I see a lot of COLD and SNOW for at least the next 3 to 4 weeks! ENJOY WINTER people!!!
A week ago, my model gave us a 40ish% chance of upper 60s around February 20, but it has since backed off. I’m finding its accuracy is pretty good in the 10-13 days out range.
His “model”??? LOL I never knew a bottle of “Jack Daniel’s” was a weather tool. LMAO!
She is a model, not a meteorologist.
Anybody Else Notice that if ya ENLARGE The Map, and ZOOM IN on West Michigan, YOU CAN SEE INDY WAVING, From The YARD of BRICKS !!!! SPRITE in HAND, of Course ! LOLOL… Just having Some at your expense INDY….
. 
add. FUN *
Jack sparks rockyrockford Df INDY and Bill ohhhh Sawtzzee 2 are about the only bloggers that NO HOW TO HAVE FUN ON HERE!! INDYY.
ROCK ON INDY – a lot of COLD and SNOW is in our future!!!!
Oh, there are a few more you could add to that list
SPEAKING OF FUN…..!!!!!!! CUE: Beach Boys – Fun Fun Fun – YouTube
► 2:21► 2:21
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgS_Wf5i38k
Lololol…
Hilarious post, Jack! Funny thing about it is if you look very close at that map, it does look like someone is waving. INDY: Is that REALLY YOU?
Updated my weather data site, hundreds of links to current weather data.
http://supercellweather.com/current.htm
can I post your link to my weather page? http://ancient-dreams.com/Weather.php
sure go ahead.
thanks – it is posted
great job – a lot of work went into your site
Thanks, Mike!
Thank- You Mike G. ,!
BEAUTIFUL blue-sky, one-degree morning here at Gun Lake!! Despite what Indy thinks – *I* am going to have fun all day
There’s a LOT of us here who know how to enjoy winter to the max!
Oh yeah! Enjoy the beautiful day, Deb!
You too, Matt!
1. It will be a glorious day out on the trails!
2. The CPC 6-14 day outlook shows a lot of COLD and SNOW for West MI!
3. The recent SNOWSTROM was FANTASTIC! 15 inches up in Northern Kent County!
4. WINTER is by far the best season that MI has to offer!
5. Get outside and ENJOY!!!
6. We may have a late arriving SPRING and I love it!
7. ROCK n ROLL will never die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do like ALL the seasons – but today is “Winter Perfection”!!
It sure is beautiful out there. THIS is what a Michigan winter looks like
A sunny cold AM here with a temp of 15° right now. We are getting into the time of year when you have a nice sunny day (like today) you will get some snow melt even when the temps are below freezing. The next week or so looks to be around average for this time of year, with good chance of rain on Sunday and maybe some snow late Monday. Then another chance of rain and or snow late in the week. While there will be a good bit of snow melt with the rain and warm temps we now have enought snow that a lot will remain.
SlimJim
I sure hope some snow remains!! Last year, we had NO snow and no ice for our Winterfest – without the snowmobilers, the attendance was about half what it normally is? And somehow, the Swimsuit Fashion Show (outdoors) and the Polar Bear Dip just aren’t as much fun if there’s not ice and snow?
Hey Bill looking at the GFS 6z looks like the east coast would get almost a exact replica of this storm in a few weeks. What are the chances that verifies?
.01%
Both euro, gfs and canadian show a bad *** snowstorm hitting the northeast in about 12 days and some areas out there could have close 6 or more feet of snow on the ground with this current storm and the one coming. Wonder what that will do to the roof structure of some of those older building out there. I just got done with my roof shoveling and got about 4 feet off from the gutters so it can drain better. I’m hearing about 3/4 to an inch rain in most areas that will be wonderous for the roofs.
LETS HOPE THE MODELS MOVE THIS STORM RIGHT TOWARDS MI! With the storm 12 days out, it could end up anywhere and for that matter not happen at all! Here is hoping it smacks W MI with 2 feet of SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!! BRING IT ON!!
6 feet of snow in one storm? That would be historic….and very doubtful.
Awesome day outside before my snow melts. Every time we get snow, we get rain or warmer temps right away it seems.
Next week looks like one of those late winter, up and down weeks! We go from 40 to 20 to 40 and to 20!
By the end of next week we will be transitioning into a very active pattern, with a lot of cold air and plenty of chances for SNOWSTORMS! COLD and SNOW rules. Let’s keep winter rolling for many, many more weeks!!!!!!!!!! I am heading out to trails – latter people!!!
Rocky, the party is over.
Drier, zonal flow will rule.
Tuesday we will only have a few inches of snow on the ground.
You cant talk any sense into “rj”.
If you really believe that you will be 100% WRONG AGAIN!!!!
It is drop dead gorgeous out there today – sooooo great to see the sun two days in a row. I have to laugh at snow fall amounts sometimes – here in Plainfield Twsp I got around 15″.
I don’t know about the drier zonal flow but most models show a very strong MJO coming for a couple weeks and that could pose a significant stormier pattern coming. Its rubber banding from one side to another on this map but its the GFS, but the euro ensemble shows it very strong. http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/MJO/foregfs.shtml
Nice day out. I had a low of 3 above. Sunny and 31 now.
Thanks for the breakdown Bill. I love these kinds of comparisons.
Looks like a warmer week ahead with we’ll above average temps in March! I’m ready for spring!!
Btw earthquake in California
Now your talking!
Bring on spring & heat!
Lol, you guys…….
It looks slightly milder than normal this week…not a huge thaw or big rainstorm. Yes, the snow is going to melt and compact some. That is usually what it does after it snows. it will snow again this year.
I’m just hoping for one more decent synoptic snow event before Winter ends.
By decent I mean, another 6-12 inch snow fall closer to the 12 inch.
Looks like we do get a bit milder but then cooler for Monday with some snow!
What does the Thursday event look like? Rain or Snow?
THE FAMOUS JEM MODEL….. Is Experincing Some Issues at The Present TIME !!!! For JEM Model ( long Range Foercast ).. Coming or CUEING…. SOOOOONNN……. stay Cued !!!!!!! ; – )
Come on JEM model! When will we see another big SNOWSTORM? I think by the week of 2-18-13 we could rolling in the SNOW again!!!!!!!!
Dan your nuts.
I agree. One more snow storm would be great, then maybe I will be ready for spring, but please no 80s in March. You see what happened last year. Our farmers do not need to go through that again. Anyway the odds of that happening again is very small.
I agree…with Dan…
For those of you that actually think winter is winding down and SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER – you are in for RUDE AWAKENING. We have a ton of COLD and SNOW COMING!! We have a lot more SNOWSTORMS on the horizon. We will see one more Arctic outbreak and at least two more decent SNOWSTORMS!! BRING IT ON!!Keep the COLD and SNOW rolling!!!!
Lay off the booze rj. You had your winter. Now its our turn.
Some locations in CT had near 40″ of snow, and there were reports of up to 6″ per hour snow fall rates. That is amazing.
That is why the snow doesn’t melt there until May sometimes…. I was in the Berkshires several years ago on vacation and when we got there, I found patches of snow and piles laying around.
Concrete snow lasts MUCH longer, especially 40 inches of it!
STAY CUED Rocky, Thee JEM Model, COULD Be UP AND RUNNING, Tomorrow or Monday ?? ITS Still, RECOVERING,From THEEEEE LAST ” BULLS~ EYE !!! Lololo….. IN THE Mean TTTTIIIIIIIMMMMMEEEE CUE : Bob Seger – Old Time Rock n Roll – The Distance Tour … – YouTube
► 5:34► 5:34
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQswfILThsY
Party…ON..
Dont much care to read the front page about the blizzard in New England. So here I am…….How about Bob Segar, Fire Lake!!!!
SKOT….. CUE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmf2jiyYKqQ. Check out The Guest Artist….Eagles CUEING Soon….PEACE.
NEXT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfTiw8qZI6U. ENJOY
AND Here is MY CUE….2. The M.I. Supreme Court…In Regards 2 The MMJ….RULING…SPIN : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YywFjQzatlQ.
. SOON….HOPEFULLY…..PEACE….. 