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| Slow Moving Storm Brings Rain and Higher Elevation Snows From the 2nd Through 5th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A storm dropped south from the Pacific Northwest at the start of the New Year, taking up residence off the California coast on the 2nd and 3rd. The water vapor satellite image (above, left) and infrared satellite image (above, right) are from the same time on the evening of the 3rd. They both show the well developed, cold storm, despite the fact that water vapor satellite images display high level moisture, while infrared satellite images detect the temperatures of the clouds. The radar loop to the right shows a large band of precipitation moving northeast across central New Mexico on the evening of the 3rd. A few of these bands, or lines, of precipitation crossed the state from the 3rd through the 4th, producing impressive rainfall and decent snowfall totals. The tables below reveal some of the higher four day rainfall and snowfall totals, from the 2nd through the 5th. |
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| Then Arctic Air Invades Parts of the East on the 5th |
| The southwest flow aloft ahead of the Pacific storm system discussed above kept temperatures unseasonably mild Monday (1/3) and especially Tuesday (1/4). In fact, lows Tuesday morning were mostly in the mid 30s to mid 40s compared to normal values in the teens and 20s. Only a handful of sites across the north had lows below the freezing mark (circled on this temperature map for Tuesday) and this kept nighttime snow levels unusually high. As the upper level storm system approached the Four Corners region Tuesday night, snow levels lowered significantly across the mountains and west as colder air aloft spread eastward. At the same time, a surge of shallow Arctic air invaded the northeast and east central plains sending temperatures plummeting. The temperature map for Wednesday tells the story across the northeast with lows Wednesday morning in the single digits and daytime highs only in the teens to lower 20s. This pattern set the stage for a wintry mix of sleet, freezing and snow across the east central and northeast plains Tuesday night. Above the shallow dome of Arctic air, the air a few thousand feet above the ground was actually warmer and considerably more moist (see freezing rain graphic below). This allowed areas of freezing rain to initially develop on the plains before the freezing precipitation changed to sleet and eventually snow as colder air aloft made its way from west to east across the state. This transition from freezing rain to snow occurred within about a 3 hour time span and fortunately the period of freezing rain was brief enough to limit significant ice accumulations. By early Wednesday morning, a couple inches of snow had accumulated at Clayton with an inch or two reported as far south as Tucumcari and Santa Rosa. The snow had all but ended by daybreak Wednesday as the storm system pulled away from the state. | |
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