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February 1, 2019 Clipper Snow


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2 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

In set ups like this, the Catoctin Mts. can jackpot easily.  They are close to 2,000 ft. in elevation near Penn Mar / Cascade and don't suffer from virga like us low-landers.

Encouraging to see the NAM's come in good tonight. They even seem to get some coastal enhancement and bring a decent band through east of 95 tomorrow afternoon.  

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5 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

In set ups like this, the Catoctin Mts. can jackpot easily.  They are close to 2,000 ft. in elevation near Penn Mar / Cascade and don't suffer from virga like us low-landers.

I live about 15 min. From cascade. It's definitely different once you get up there. I could see them getting 3" up there with surrounding areas around 1.

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Just now, Chris78 said:

I live about 15 min. From cascade. It's definitely different once you get up there. I could see them getting 3" up there with surrounding areas around 1.

We love driving up there.  We go to Cascade all the time then drive up to the old hang glider spot.  You can see everything so beautifully.  Fishing at Rt. Ritchie is pretty nice too.

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2 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

We love driving up there.  We go to Cascade all the time then drive up to the old hang glider spot.  You can see everything so beautifully.  Fishing at Rt. Ritchie is pretty nice too.

Lol. We had our wedding at ft. Richie on the dock by the lake. 

I believe the glider spot your talking about is called high rock. I can see high rock on the side of the mountain from my house

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4 minutes ago, Chris78 said:

Lol. We had our wedding at ft. Richie on the dock by the lake. 

I believe the glider spot your talking about is called high rock. I can see high rock on the side of the mountain from my house

I went up there last week and it was like a war zone at about 1500 feet as icicles were falling off the trees.  I cannot stand the cold like Eskimo is suggesting though.  More of a summer time stop for us.  Great view of Whitetail after dark.  

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4 minutes ago, bubbler86 said:

I went up there last week and it was like a war zone at about 1500 feet as icicles were falling off the trees.  I cannot stand the cold like Eskimo is suggesting though.  More of a summer time stop for us.  Great view of Whitetail after dark.  

Really nice up there. Gotta be careful though. Had a relative fall from there a few years back. He didn't make it unfortunately. 

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59 minutes ago, bubbler86 said:

I went up there last week and it was like a war zone at about 1500 feet as icicles were falling off the trees.  I cannot stand the cold like Eskimo is suggesting though.  More of a summer time stop for us.  Great view of Whitetail after dark.  

Hang Gliding that ridge provides a new perspective on weather. This time of year with snow cover, the air is as smooth as glass with no thermal convection lifting off from below. You stay up by tracking down the ridge in the region where the wind is ascending over the mountain. On a hot, dry August afternoon, air flow over the valley can be more vertical than horizontal thrusting you all the way to cloud base if you circle within a "thermal" core. Yet as evening starts to settle in and shadows grow, you might descend through a boundary where turbulence suddenly disappears and the decoupled air feels still and buoyant as the last heat of the day slowly leaves the ground.

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1 hour ago, Solution Man said:

High ratios there, cool

Maybe. Colder does not always equal high ratios. When it gets too cold, columns and needles become the predominant flake type.  At onset, it’ll likely be around 10°F with around a 0°F dew point. And with a column as cold as it is with limited moisture transport, I’d guess those flake types will predominate. 

For example, last week in VT, it was snowing just on either side of 0°F with 30 dBZ returns and, for the first 6 hours of the storm, the snow ratios were 9:1. Only after 6+ hours of a southerly 70kt jetstreak above 800mb did enough moisture transport in from the south to change the flake type. It was 0°F at the surface but jumped 22°F in the snow growth zone and ratios jumped to 15:1. This little impulse is just not that dynamic. 

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Just now, das said:

Maybe. Colder does not always equal high ratios. When it gets too cold, columns and needles become the predominant flake type.  At onset, it’ll likely be around 10°F with around a 0°F dew point. And with a column as cold as it is with limited moisture transport, I’d guess those flake types will predominate. 

For example, last week in VT, it was snowing just on either side of 0°F with 30 dBZ returns and, for the first 6 hours of the storm, the snow ratios were 9:1. Only after 6+ hours of a southerly 70kt jetstreak above 800mb did enough moisture transport in from the south to change the flake type. It was 0°F at the surface but jumped 22°F in the snow growth zone and ratios jumped to 15:1. This little impulse is just not that dynamic. 

Excellent point.  I think some people automatically assume that super cold air will automatically equal 15:1 or better ratios.  I bet it’s about 12:1.

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12 minutes ago, das said:

Maybe. Colder does not always equal high ratios. When it gets too cold, columns and needles become the predominant flake type.  At onset, it’ll likely be around 10°F with around a 0°F dew point. And with a column as cold as it is with limited moisture transport, I’d guess those flake types will predominate. 

For example, last week in VT, it was snowing just on either side of 0°F with 30 dBZ returns and, for the first 6 hours of the storm, the snow ratios were 9:1. Only after 6+ hours of a southerly 70kt jetstreak above 800mb did enough moisture transport in from the south to change the flake type. It was 0°F at the surface but jumped 22°F in the snow growth zone and ratios jumped to 15:1. This little impulse is just not that dynamic. 

One reason I have been calling for higher ratios is this exact point...cold air will be retreating, at 850, when the precip arrives or shortly there after.  CTP is actually throwing around 25-1 ratios.  850 temps will be in the upper teens and low 20's if I saw the prog correct.    

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13 minutes ago, das said:

Maybe. Colder does not always equal high ratios. When it gets too cold, columns and needles become the predominant flake type.  At onset, it’ll likely be around 10°F with around a 0°F dew point. And with a column as cold as it is with limited moisture transport, I’d guess those flake types will predominate. 

For example, last week in VT, it was snowing just on either side of 0°F with 30 dBZ returns and, for the first 6 hours of the storm, the snow ratios were 9:1. Only after 6+ hours of a southerly 70kt jetstreak above 800mb did enough moisture transport in from the south to change the flake type. It was 0°F at the surface but jumped 22°F in the snow growth zone and ratios jumped to 15:1. This little impulse is just not that dynamic. 

Thanks for the information, much appreciated 

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