CarlislePaWx

I am good friends with Dave Robinson, the NJ State Climatologist. He, along with several other state climatologists reached a consensus on the measuring protocol about 20 years ago. Together, the protocol was adopted by the NWS and should be the protocol used for all NWS-related measurements for snow/sleet. The correct answer to how frequently to clear the snow board is every 6 hours. Anything more often than that, as you can see, will inflate the total progressively higher as you continue to clear the board more frequently. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone taking hourly readings followed by clearing the board. (I'm not picking on you. It's just that I am certain I know how to do the snowboard measurement since I've been doing it that way (to the best of my ability) ever since.) There are additional steps that are to be taken when there is the introduction of sleet.

I hope everyone is getting ready for the coldest temperature in Harrisburg since Jan 21, 1994 come this Saturday...

In Carlisle, at 8:00pm...the skies were cloudy and no precipitation was occurring. During the time between my last observation at 5:30 and the present, I recorded an additional 0.1" of sleet bringing the total sleet accumulation to 0.9", before the dry slot arrived and cut off the precip. This brings my storm total of snow and sleet to 7.2". I just melted down the sleet and measured a total liquid of 0.43". With 0.9" of sleet producing 0.43" of liquid combines for a ratio of 4.8 : 1. The 6.0" of snow melted down to 0.70" and produced a liquid equivalent ratio of 8.6:1 . The total melted qpf for the storm thus far is 1.13". My board is cleared once again and I'm ready to record whatever additional snowfall occurs a few hours from now. My current temperature has risen to 14.7 degrees and is approaching the midnight high of 15.1 degrees. I'll be back later if any additional snowfall takes place.

Here in Carlisle at 5:30pm...it continues to sleet lightly with still no signs of snow. During the past 90 minutes I have recorded an additional 0.2" of sleet. This brings my storm total to 7.1". The temperature has risen barely, up to 13.1 degrees F. It sounds like there may be another shot at some accumulating snow later this evening. I'll have another update around 7:00 unless the snow returns before then.

At 4:00pm here in Carlisle...with light sleet continuing to fall...the temperature is 12.4 degrees and the dewpoint is 9.1 degrees F. During the past hour no pure snow was seen. The light sleet was compacting upon itself, thus negating a measurable increase in the storm total, which remains at 6.9". This is the first hour during the storm that no additional sleet and/or snow was measured. Let's see what the next hour brings. This will be the final hour of total daylight.

At 3:00pm here in Carlisle...it continues to sleet mostly lightly with occasional increases to moderate. There have been no snowflakes observed during the past hour. During the past hour I have recorded 0.3" of sleet. This brings my storm total to 6.9". The temperature is holding steady at 12.2 degrees. On to the next hour. Will the sleet line recede again??? I'll try to answer that question in one hour at the 4:00pm obs.

Here in Carlisle just after 2:00pm...after enjoying the snow globe show for less than 30 minutes, the transition back to 100% sleet has taken place for a second time. During the past hour there was a mixture of snow and sleet. From primarily snow, I measured an additional 0.2" of snow with some sleet. This brings my storm total to 6.8". The temperature has risen just a tad to 12.2 degrees, which is still unbelievable that I've been in the low teens the entire day. Let's see what this next hour brings.

At 1:15pm here in Carlisle...I can confirm that the sleet line has moved south of me. I've had a rapid transition back to all snow as of about 10 minutes ago. Looks like I may have overreacted to the loss of snow earlier. As I type this the snow is increasing in intensity to nearly moderate. This is definitely heavy enough to resume accumulations. Before the sleet ended I took another measurement and measured an additional 0.3" of sleet (in the past hour). This brings my storm total now to 6.6". The temperature is 11.7 degrees. I almost can't believe it's almost snowing as hard as earlier! Let the accumulating fun begin again...lol.

At 12:15pm here in Carlisle...light to moderate sleet is falling with a few snowflakes mixed in...I'd say about 98% sleet and 2% snow. The temperature is currently 10.9 degrees. When I went to clear the board I took another measurement and saw that an additional 0.3" of snow/sleet had fallen. So, between 11:00am and 12:15pm I recorded an additional 0.6" bringing the storm total to 6.3". I'll have to wait until the end of the storm in order to determine the final qpf and SLR. Also, I did the meltdown at 11:45 so I don't have the meltdown of the 0.3" of sleet that fell between 11:45 and 12:15pm.

Well, it was fun while it lasted, however, the fun is now over. I began mixing with sleet about 20 minutes ago, and within 10 minutes it had gone over to nearly 100% sleet. I rushed out to bring in my gauge before the liquid equivalent began to rapidly contaminate the qpf. Unfortunately, I think I was a bit slow to recognize the changeover because the 6.0" storm total so far melted down to 0.70" producing a somewhat improbable ratio of 8.6 : 1. I'll be anxious to see the reports from others here that do meltdowns to see if anyone else comes in below 10:1. Once again, I'll report that I'm 100% sleet with a temperature of 11.1 degrees. I'll say this...it's a good thing I'm not 30 years or even 20 years younger (I'm 66) or I know I would have been incredibly disappointed. Instead, like most others here I'll focus on the positive aspects and the thrill of the chase. The only redeeming thing is that the storm total reached 6". I realize there's more of the storm yet to come so perhaps the sleet will accumulate enough to bring my storm total higher.

In Carlisle at 11:00am...it continues to snow moderately to occasionally heavily with mostly a fine flake consistency. The temperature is 10.8 degrees and the dew point is 7.5 degrees. During the past hour 0.7" of new snow has fallen bringing the storm total to 5.7". The temperature also fluctuates between 10.4 and 10.8 degrees. If NWS is right, some of the best rates should be coming in the next few hours. This is the first time since Jan 6, 2024 that a single event has exceeded 5.0".

Based off of the MJS report I'm thinking I no longer have a shot at my prediction of 19.59". I'm being facetious!

Here in Carlisle at 10:00am...it is snowing moderately to heavily with flake size fluctuating as well. The temperature is 10.0 degrees with a dew point of 6.8 degrees. During the past hour I received an additional 0.5" of snow, bringing the storm total thus far to 5.00" The facebook post from the NWS was really good. They created a video showing the sleet progression. For me it showed all snow through at least 6:00pm. He also said that noon time around the LSV will be a particularly heavy period.

Greater than inch per hour rates have arrived here (finally). Will still hold off until 10:00 for my official measurement. Temp still 10.0 degrees.

At 9:00am here in Carlisle it is snowing moderately to occasionally heavily. Fine flakes for the most part. The temperature is now 9.9 degrees. During the past hour I recorded an additional 1.0 inches of snow, bringing my storm total to 4.5". My NWS point forecast took on a somewhat negative tone, bringing in sleet at 3:00pm and continuing until 11:00pm. This seems to go against what the models were showing when Bliz posted back around 7:00am. Regardless, it does look beautiful out there, and I cannot believe it's snowing like this with a temperature of 9.9 degrees!