snow

Looks like you people in the Northeast are
catching it. 2 feet expected in MA. Nothing in
SC except some flurries in the mountains. Snow
along the NC-TN border, which is very
mountainous.

That same low pressure system came over me last
Thursday-Friday, Temps in the upper 30s, hint of
sleet, 1 1/4 inches of rain.

KEH

Yes, we are in the band that is supposed to get the most here in southern NH. it is coming down now as heavy as I have ever seen. I would say visibilty is around 100 yds. I can see a tree that is about 75 yds but can't make out the one beyond. We have probably around ten inches now. It started yesterday around four, but when I came in from my shop at around ten we had only a half inch.

I live in the Albany NY area and the weather geeks really blew the forcast. It is probably time to get back to the basics and use all the computor stuff as a tool and use their heads once and a while. They forcasted 8-12" and as I look out the window, I might see less than 1/2". Weather in this area seems to be all about a pretty face and ratings, not about reality.

Yup. I am in western CT and after the fighting in the stores to clean out the shelves (I hope I didn't hurt anyone)we got a big 2".

Have about 18" on ground now wind gust 70 plus total white out,
knock on wood, power still hanging on upper Cape Cod

We got some freezing rain last night, dusting of snow. Only 1 inch of snow for the months of Dec and Jan. Glad the storm went around me.

Ya I'm lookin at 18"-20" here just North of Boston and snowing steady with wind.
I think I will just feed the stove till this all ends.

64 here yesterday,, calling for the same today NE Wyoming
cnt

Here in Central NY the NOAA website still forecast "up to an inch" when there was about 6" on the ground already at about 5Pm mon. night. It stopped last night at about 6".

I just checked we have gotten about eight inches in the last two hours.

Yep. It's all about building the numbers, which means more money for the broadcast station.

Sounds like winter. Here in South Dakota school would probably be an hour late, with no morning kindergarten.

Of course, when we get a forecast like that it normally just snows a few inches. It's when they forecast a couple of inches that you have to panic. No telling what may happen then, but that's when we normally get the multiple feet of snow.

Basically what happened was they tried to computerize weather forecasting. Back in the 60's and 70's they launched weather balloons that went to predetermined heights and drifted with the wind transmitting back data that was then reviewed by forecasters. Now they tried to take everything the forecasters new and plug it into a computer. Then they are using ground mounted sensors and Doppler radar and feeding that to the computer to come up with a forecast. It isn't working well but has improved over the years. Right about the time they really started forecasting with computers desert storm kicked off. The military had already gone to computerized forecasting. The were several glitches in the programs and they wound up calling guys that had retired back to active duty who knew the old ways so they could conduct flight operations. That's one of the reasons that it took so long to go from 82nd Airborne's deployment to the air war kicking off. Not only did they have to get men and equipment over there they also had to bring back people from retirement for several jobs that they had decided were no longer needed.

The one thing that computerized forecasting doesn't take into effect is that it's mother nature. Man is part of that domain and can think.

Rick

Well, I have to add my rant about the weather. Might bet long....
First thing is they have to MAXIMIZE and exaggerate everything about the weather. Never good enough to say that it is 10 below. They have to add in as much drama to make it a ridiculous wind chill number. Never can say it is hot and humid. Have to have a "misery index." Not good enough to say that the temp will be in the mid 30s. No, they have to try to put a precise number on it like 34 or 36. Implies a level of accuracy that simply does non....no, CANNOT exist in forecasting. There is no such thing as a consistent temperature across a region. It can vary from one house to the next.
When it comes to precipitation, whether it be rain, snow, or otherwise, they get it wrong more than right. What gets me is the way people (sheeple?) panic over a forecast, and seem to forget how wrong the last one was.
Then there are the idiots that have to run out and stock up on milk and bread every time snow is in the forecast. I wonder how much of this ends up spoiled and thrown out?
Then there is the much overused "S" word - STORM. Since when did a quarter of an inch of rain constitute a storm? Or an inch of snow flurries falling gently from the sky under calm winds? Last I remember, a storm meant something more than ordinary precipitation.
Then there is the big production that the TV stations make about the weather. Some bimbo with about the IQ of a turnip pointing to a map, and giving us a lot of doubletalk. Most times when I turn on the tv to get the weather, I end up turning it off and not knowing any more than I did before I turned it on.
I long to see the whole weather bit return to a day of common sense and a bit more accuracy before they lose the little bit of credibility that they have left.

They have hyped the living crud and piddle right out of this storm. Now, they call it the Blizzard of '15. Back in the day, they'd have just called it Tuesday.

Hope you guys come out as good as we here in Ohio did. I got about 5 inches of snow and now just cold. Sun shine here but am tired of the cold. Think I'll go fry some baloney for lunch.

(quoted from post at 08:21:36 01/27/15) Basically what happened was they tried to computerize weather forecasting. Back in the 60's and 70's they launched weather balloons that went to predetermined heights and drifted with the wind transmitting back data that was then reviewed by forecasters. Now they tried to take everything the forecasters new and plug it into a computer. Then they are using ground mounted sensors and Doppler radar and feeding that to the computer to come up with a forecast. It isn't working well but has improved over the years. Right about the time they really started forecasting with computers desert storm kicked off. The military had already gone to computerized forecasting. The were several glitches in the programs and they wound up calling guys that had retired back to active duty who knew the old ways so they could conduct flight operations. That's one of the reasons that it took so long to go from 82nd Airborne's deployment to the air war kicking off. Not only did they have to get men and equipment over there they also had to bring back people from retirement for several jobs that they had decided were no longer needed.

The one thing that computerized forecasting doesn't take into effect is that it's mother nature. Man is part of that domain and can think.

Rick

Click to expand...

Rick, I read later on that another problem that they had was that the computer at CenCom that had all the information for deployment to the Mideast crashed just as they decided to do it, So all the data of what people and units and equipment went where and how had to be all manually reloaded which took a couple weeks.