Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live in the suburbs, on the very edge of the city, right next door to the countryside. While the inner city is getting slush and sleet I could be getting a good fluffy covering of snowfall and in my experience it doesn't turn slushy, icy or dirty.
Corvallis, Oregon as well as neighboring Albany, Philomath and Turner/Scio have just started drying out from some of the worst local flooding in nearly 16 years.
This flood event was kind of odd in that it affected mostly urban waterways and a few small streams. But what streams did flood, flooded hugely, to an extent not seen since 1996 and one or two had record flooding. By contrast the Willamette River, our largest fully within Oregon, went over flood stage in only a few spots and only just over. Still some homes and businesses suffered damage. Much of our valley dodged a big-time 9mm round.
I believe the reason we got off so (relatively) lucky was we had a fairly dry winter up to now and what contributions a melting snowpack may have made to our flood woes was minor - we simply didn't have much of one. Since our deluge last Tuesday thru Thursday (1/17 - 1/19), however, we have had enough cold rain to keep the rivers just below bank-full; and in the mountains both east and west of us, enough snow to build back the snowpack to well beyond previous levels.
Well, we may not be so lucky this time...We've another multiday shot of rain coming....The NWS is hedging on exactly who will be in the bulls eye and how much wet stuff will fall. But what the models are saying generally is we are in for another "Atmospheric River"* and somewhere in our Pacific Northwest will bear the brunt of another onslaught of high wind, high snow levels and torrential rain, as heavy or heavier, than the one we endured last week. Time to break out the flotation devices, sand bags, sump pumps and brush up on exactly what a "cubit" is.
*"Atmospheric River" is a term used to describe a loooong fetch of very warm and very wet weather that is made up of many wet systems strung together resulting in a pattern of torrential rain lasting several days to several weeks running over a broad swath of the American (and sometimes the Canadian) west coast - a Pineapple express on steroids in short. Below is a blog (the entry of Jan 28, 2011) and a USGS report on the phenomenom and the reason why reading about the NWS's prediction of us seeing one next week puts ice water in my veins.
A lovely green winter so far, though with a few crummy windy days.
Green? Blah. Give me white any day of the winter (and Apr-Oct too (why settle for less?)) . I always thought English winters were too warm for my taste, but I'm glad you're enjoying it.
We have snow on the ground right now. Likely will melt within a few days with the coming rain (first as the frozen variety tomorrow morning).
A high of 40 and above is predicted every day this week (until Saturday). This should be close to the coldest time of the winter.
It's strange to hear myself say this, but I won't object if our February isn't mild and a normal / slightly cold one. A warmer than average February will still be rather cold, might as well have it cold and get some snow for this winter instead of the nothing or 1 inch stuff we've been getting.
We have snow on the ground right now. Likely will melt within a few days with the coming rain (first as the frozen variety tomorrow morning).
A high of 40 and above is predicted every day this week (until Saturday). This should be close to the coldest time of the winter.
It's strange to hear myself say this, but I won't object if our February isn't mild and a normal / slightly cold one. A warmer than average February will still be rather cold, might as well have it cold and get some snow for this winter instead of the nothing or 1 inch stuff we've been getting.
Have you looked at the GFS model lately? It predicts a western ridge/eastern trough scenario setting up for the medium range and thereafter. It looks like it is correlated with the expected flip of the NAO and AO into negative territory and the PNA into positive territory. I expect the eastern US to have average temps in February or possibly below average, depending on the strength of he cold air upstream coming down from the blocky ridge in the Pacific.
A light glaze of ice on cars and some surfaces this morning. Currently 37 F with light rain and fog. Still a solid snow cover from Saturday's storm.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
