jm1220

The upper air flow is too zonal. Despite that given the zonal pattern the storm is being forced out.

For all the snow we had last year, I think just one was all snow at the coast. The rest all had mixing in some part of it. If we have cold air going into the storm and the snow shield is heavy and not shredded we can pile it up fast before any changeover. The Dec storm last winter was something of a disappointment here since the snow shield went shredded and allowed the warm air to take over sooner.

I suspected yesterday that the models may have over corrected north and we might see the shift back SE that often happens with these. In any case I’m starting to doubt many of us near NYC see anything at all. Dry air is holding up. Really a shame that this is a suppressed to crap system being pushed out to sea. Would’ve been a very nice event here-frustrating especially since this looks like a winter where our snow chances will be quite limited.

Yep. Unless it makes a pretty good north jump in the next few hours I’m just not seeing it. Dewpoints in the low teens aren’t helping. It’s hitting the wall of dry air up here and you can tell there’s virga from the Mt Holly radar.

Thanks as always for your contributions here, Walt. Hopefully this can pull a rabbit out of the hat and bump north 50 more miles.

At least for NJ, no. Northerly flow is coming into the storm. There’s practically zero chance it tracks far enough NW to mix the coast over.

There is some confluence off to the north of the area-not too strong but enough to keep the flow west to east and shunting the storm east. Unfortunate.

Yep. Up where we are this likely won’t be a big deal if anything at all. Sometimes models over correct NW as well at this stage so it wouldn’t surprise me if it edged back SE a little to something like the Nam.

If it comes down heavy from the start it won’t have any issue accumulating at all. Good for DC to Atlantic City but suppression sucks. And this definitely will be one where it goes from all out heavy snow to flurries in 50 miles or less. Models are showing the brutal cutoff and I believe it. Dry air is pushing down as well.

Interesting. If this S/W can really amp and trend north it would be against the sheared/progressive trend this season but something has to break it I guess. I’m still definitely not on the get hopes up train but if 6z/12z continue the trend, might really happen. For SE NJ I’d definitely be paying attention.

The Nino only works if the W PAC cools down. That seems like the issue with the 18-19 winter that could never act like a Nino because it kept the huge warm anomaly near Australia. This Nina is really acting up because of that warm pool. We might really need a mod to strong Nino to get it to couple if this warm Australia water is a semi permanent feature.

As others have said the southern S/W has to slow down and amp so the snow can reach far enough north. I wouldn't buy anything outside of 72hrs this winter so I guess that's a plus that it won't just snow in Richmond and the Delmarva, but the trend this "winter" so far has been very progressive, so that's a reason to think it won't happen. I guess keep an eye out but odds are against it. Latest NAM shows the problem-stays too positively tilted/progressive so whatever does form is shunted straight out to sea. That would be congrats Norfolk even. Would be fitting for this season.

Meanwhile Seattle had another decent snow event today. Record snow in the Sierras. Hopefully somehow this Nina can dissipate and we can get a strong Nino next winter to knock the Pacific into a new pattern without the insane PAC jet and -PNA. Totally sick of it.

Can we take about 1000 B-52 bombers and dump blocks of ice on it? Only somewhat kidding. Crazy how this anomaly is ruining our winter up here.

Many of us had above to well above average snow last winter. I agree that this Nina background state we have is lousy in general here but eventually it will change again and there will be more chances. We have boom or bust cycles in the winter and have had those as long as we have historic records. Much of the 70s-90s were horrible for snow here. We’ve been incredibly spoiled and wouldn’t surprise me at all if we enter soon a long stretch where we get smacked by the reality of where we live. It’s inevitable anyway. If you want constant stretches with heavy snow you have to live in the snow belts or favored places like the Adirondacks or northern ME.

Coating in Long Beach when I woke up. Might have been more, was melting pretty fast. Gone now.

Had a coating here in Long Beach which is gone now. Anything's good today anyway. Merry Christmas Eve!

The -PNA in record territory is bringing the storminess further south.

I have to agree. The worst for me are the teases and heavy rain to cold to more rain.

Parts of the CA Sierra have 300"+ of snow printed out on the last GFS throughout its run. That's just insane. Just an onslaught there. Good for them but it'll be hard to see us doing very well with that continuing and the trough digging there. We want the West warm and dry.

Not the winter for those.

A pattern like this won’t do it. Gradients like this mean Boston can rack up big totals like crazy while we 33 rain (maybe won’t be like that specifically but it will be like that somewhere). That’s why for our sake hopefully the PNA can be at least toward neutral.

I’d certainly want to see the PNA at least trend toward neutral for our area. Otherwise I agree we risk another 07-08 with rounds of SWFEs that blast I-90 and do us no good. The SE ridge is beneficial though (not overwhelming) since it forces the storms to turn north and not suppress out to sea.

Well, one bit of good news is all the snow/rain CA is forecast to keep getting. The 384hr GFS at 12z shows something like 20 total feet of snow in the Sierras and 10+ inches of rain everywhere else there. Awesome for them-then let the ridge build, warm sun come out and we get our turn.

Some of those same areas under the moderate risk had up to 12” snow less than a week ago. Crazy is right.