Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Arctic Attack... Coldest Night in 15 Years?

6:00 PM Tuesday Update... We literally received thousands upon thousands of pictures.  I tried my hardest to go through all of them.  Below is a video montage that I hope captures the excitement snow-megeddon brought us.  ENJOY!



1:30 PM Tuesday update... As the clouds have cleared out, you can clearly see the snow with the visible satellite imagery.  This is a snapshot from thousands of miles in space. Look at the snow on the ground in northeast Texas into southwest Arkansas.  The little black holes in that white area are lakes.  You can see the snow in eastern Arkansas as well and the rivers running through that area of the state look black.  The white river is visible as it runs towards the Mississippi.  There are also snow fields in northern Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri.  This is important because our winds are coming from that direction.  This will help keep temperatures cold as long as there is a northerly component to the wind going over those snow fields.  Most of what you see in MS, AL, and TN are clouds.  I thought this was interesting and wanted to share it with you.

Visible Satellite imagery Tuesday

We're about to plunge into an even deeper freeze throughout the state and it's possible to reach levels not seen in Little Rock since the mid 1990s.  To be specific, the last time Little Rock dropped to single digit lows was Feb. 4, 1996.  We hit 5 degrees that morning.

More on that in a little bit. Once again, we all need to thanks the WeatherNinja and Eric Hopkins for the live streaming video all day Sunday.  They put hundreds of miles on their car and drove for more than 16 hours to bring us LIVE streaming video of the snow moving into the state.

I took my son Blake sledding for the first time.  I have to admit, I felt like a kid again.  He absolutely loved it and I wanted to share a video with you, then we'll talk about the cold air.


Remember, what I have always said about the necessary ingredients for single digit lows at the Little Rock airport.  You need clear skies, no wind, and snow cover.  By Wednesday morning, we'll have 2 out of 3: clear skies and snow cover.  The winds should stay up just enough to allow temperatures to bottom out around 12-15 degrees.  Outlying areas COULD drop into the single digits.  Wind chill values will be brutal and a wind chill advisory is in effect for northern Arkansas.

Thursday morning is the time to watch for single digit lows.   It's possible to have all three ingredients.  As of Tuesday morning, the two major short term computer models show a low of 12 and 16 degrees.  It will be close.  Have your thermometers ready and report your lows and location in the comment section.  STAY WARM AND SAFE EVERYONE!

10 comments:

jimmylee42 said...

Todd-

I think the ground temperatures must have been fairly warm before this snow. Walking around yesterday noticed some melting from below the snow pack. Afterall, it was in the 60's only 2 days before the event.

I wonder if we could find out if 15 years is the longest LR has gone without having a single digit temperature for a low. Looking at historical weather info, I would say this is probably the longest we have gone without dipping to 9 or below in a winter.

Anonymous said...

Whoa, if it gets as cold as I think it should, I almost think it should count twice against the Winter Contest :)

Anonymous said...

I know we still have snow on the ground but do any of you see more winter weather POTENTIAL in the coming weeks? Thanks again Todd and KATV Weather Team for the awesome coverage you can tell that each of you at KATV love what you do and we appreciate it! I wanna add Weather Ninja, Nija's Wife and Todd's Wife to the list as well the wives have to put up with you weather enthusiast. :)
PineBluffGirl

Anonymous said...

Chattanooga Tennessee got 8 Inches of snow last Night .

Roads was iced over. Some places in North Georgia got up to 13 inches .

Chattanooga year snowfall now is at 10 inches for the year. The average is 4.5 . This winter is a winter to for the books here . And December was one of the coldest of all time here .

Daryl, AE5WX said...

Now that I've had my "one snow for the winter", I'm content, and ready for spring. The snow is beautiful, but ONLY if you DON'T have to get out in it. Four people died in wrecks on icy roads; I doubt their families want to see winter storms again.

If we were to get constant snow like they do in the northern and northeast U.S., Arkansas kids could forget about their spring break and summer vacation, as they have to make up the missed days.

However, I'm NOT looking forward to Tornado Season. I know folks who have lost either property and/or loved ones in severe weather, who don't want to see it, either.

Between the people who have no idea that stormy weather is coming, those who ignore severe weather or winter weather safety rules, or those who are drooling for severe weather/winter weather like rabid dogs, I don't know which of these is worse.

After being indirectly struck by lightning twice, having been under 2 tornadic funnel clouds, having been within a mile of an EF4 rain wrapped tornado, and in swirling floodwaters...while I do have respect for weather, I'd rather it "not bother anyone". As storm chasers noted when they saw a tornado destroy a home, where people were likely inside..."the fun is over". If that doesn't put things into perspective, I don't know what will.

Daryl, AE5WX
Certified Skywarn Storm Spotter

Anonymous said...

Daryl,

Do yo need to remind us of your ill fortune everytime you make comments and that you displeasure for "storm chasers" because you somehow think they are in it only for the glory of chasing storms. As a "Certified Skywarn Storm Spotter" you should know that chasers like spotters do relay information to the NWS that might not otherwise be reported because no one is in the area.

Everything is not gloom and doom as you like to point out. Don't Worry...Be Happy

Anonymous said...

Great job on the video!!!!

Amy said...

Wow, Todd! What a beautiful video! Thanks so much for putting that together! It captures the joy and excitement of an Arkansas snow day, perfectly!! What fun this has been!

Anonymous said...

Okay lets talk about the system this weekend. Will it bring some more winter weather across the northern areas???

Anonymous said...

12 degrees at Galt's Gulch (Lawson & Congo Ferndale) this morning.

-John

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