Organizing Low

yes thats exactly it, no lake effect no elevation no orographic, just open tundra. january is also the coldest and driest month there. they ended up with 107 cm per my dad, for the new record. they have a constant snowpack, while the CPV melts, the thaws in ottawa are generally short lived and usually preceded by significant icing. its a give and take. the winters in ottawa are very harsh due to the cold, snowpack, and plenty of ice when we rain. ive been telling my elderly parents to get a winter home down south....last few years ive noticed they've been trapped inside. but i guess that happens in vermont too.

theres a lot of snow out there its snows where it wants to snow. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/snow-snow-go-away-ottawa-breaks-record-for-snowiest-january-and-we-all-suffer

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/snow-snow-go-away-ottawa-breaks-record-for-snowiest-january-and-we-all-suffer

approx 5-6 inches here, expect a bit more today as SN- continues had an hour last night between 12-1 some of the heavier snow of the year 2in/hr stuff, it was pouring and heavier than any point during the 'big' storm a couple weeks ago lots of snow on the ground, im guessing the most since i moved here in 2012. i will be staying inside today, not a fan of wind and cold as my bones get older....

more cold, more snow today, broken record at this point just got back from chicago for the week... the wind and cold out there was wicked.

just got outside for a first look 7 inches of pure fluff, could blow it away with a deep breath i think. currently feeling toasty at -1F and SN-, a lull before the next batch

Burlington, VT HVY SNOW -4 -9 77 N8 29.88F VSB 1/4 WCI -19

From BTV, indeed too cold to snow efficiently, the fly in the ointment! As of 416 AM EST Sunday...Winter storm warnings continue across the North Country today as surface low pressure over the central Appalachians this morning tracks to the tip of Cape Cod by later this afternoon and then off into the Gulf of St. Lawrence tonight. Little overall change was made to the forecast this morning but there are a few challenging parts to talk about. First and foremost is snow ratios and temps. Models continue to struggle mightily with low level cold air advection persisting down the Champlain and St. Lawrence Valleys where temperatures as of 4AM are still in the single digit below zero. Elsewhere across the central Adirondacks and central/southern Vermont where the 925mb flow has shifted southeasterly, temps have risen into the single digits and teens above zero. A handful of reports upstream indicate where southeasterly flow is more prevalent, snow ratios have been ranged from 10-20:1, while here at BTV where temps are much colder we`ve seen mostly needles falling with very low ratios in the 8-12:1 range. Ratios have increased recently across the Champlain Valley as a mesoscale band associated with an enhanced ribbon of 700mb fgen is lifting through, but expect after it passes we`ll be back into lower ratios again until later this morning when better 850mb fgen will pivot through the area.

and just like that we have real snow with temps from BTV north remaining below zero near -20C on the ground currently -4F, 1/2 mile- 3/4 mile visibilty, this should pile up rather quick as things intensify wind chill -10F

this has been a painful wait, but the real snow is finally knocking on the door in BTV after hours and hours of arctic sand amounting to 1 inch out there lol, of course the roads are a debacle anyways as the temp is -5F windchill -16F currently

Awesome answer! now i know....thank you!

thx for the explanation. doesn't salt also lose its effectiveness below a certain temps growing up in ottawa, we had that problem on certain days, the roads just became snow packed, until the temp warmed up.

yes that is a thing , but i think the temperature is lower than that, i believe its single digits....im sure someone else can chime in.

thanks! was living in canada at the time i do recall the strong arctic high , looking for temp data now....

cant recall any event that ive ever been in where we start with temps of -20C and end up with more than 16 or 18 inches of snow....a distinct possibility here, which would be a stunning turn of events to say the least. perhaps someone else can chime in with something similar? dendrite? anyone? still holding at a refreshing -8F here.

my concern is efficient snows in such cold temps, the fly in the ointment as far as i can tell....hope you are on to something! still -8F wind has calmed SN- , not much accumulation the past couple hours, still around 0.5 down

Agreed. It’s eerie out there, if that’s the right word. The btv discussion put it in perspective nicely - it’s a keeper For the first time ever , I came to work tonight fully expecting not to go home in the morning, and crash here. Packed extra clothes and food. As have many others. This will be an experience.

-8F sn- half inch down with the arctic moon out and shining down through the sugar wind chill -26

Lots of snow on the way , unfortunately might get stuck at work at the height of it Sunday morning hospital is giving hotel rooms to those that travel from afar....

Thanks for posting those euro maps Ray.

winter rolls on not much else to say

good to hear....

thanks for the post Tam. good info here.

cant say ive looked at the long term forecasts, but we went straight from summer to 1-2 weeks of fall at best, to below normal temps by early october that haven]t let up yet with snow and cold. im always wary of a cold octobers that lead to early winters around here, as it typically does not last, leading to warmer than normal winter. i do recall someone posting evidence to back that up in the past. let see what happens this year.

PNS BTV remarked a public ob of 18.5 in st albans, but i will esimtate my final to be between 16-17 inches....a pleasant surprise here in the CPV