January 24-26: Miracle or Mirage OBS Thread!

[TheClimateChanger]

 

[Mrs.J]

Just got in from clearing the drive. Started and was still snowing but quickly switched to sleet. Stopped when we realized we were loosing it to the accumulation of sleet. Solid 6” measured. 

[Snowciopathic Snow Bro]

Just finished the 1st round of shoveling.  More of an exploratory foray than anything serious.  My rule is shovel until I start sweating.  

This stuff has some real gravitas to it...deceivingly so.  It's powdery but weighty.  Thinly covered areas can simply be swept, but moving larger accumulations off the flat surfaces of vehicles and walkways takes some effort.  The accumulated sleet certainly changes the shoveling calculus. 

Sleet continues falling and is noisy as all get out.  Just happy it ain't ZR.

Gainesville, 16F air.  Moderate sleet.  4" total sleet+snow on the deck table, but it plays like it's double that.

[wasnow215]

I have a question for a meteorologist or a veteran on here who would know. Why does the GFS model and I think other others show plain rain at hour 18 (or whatever it would be on a particular model depending on when it came out), but surface temperatures are squarely still in the 20s for almost the whole state except for near the ocean, at that time? I know the icons doesn't differentiate but GFS does.

[Eskimo Joe]

Northeast winds really start to crank on the eastern shore. Maybe the coastal is kicking in a bit quicker?

 

[adelphi_sky]

2 minutes ago, RandyHolt said:

I am surprised how heavy the snow was on my first pass at shoveling.  

Me and my neighbors have not started yet. I have a snow blower. Will go out after coffee. Still sleeting. I can't imagine the crust if we get freezing rain in the teens. 

[SomeguyfromTakomaPark]

Pounding sleet at 16 degrees, wild storm for this area. 

[SomeguyfromTakomaPark]

Also a bit more blowing now, legit winter conditions out there.  And people are driving around in the 2wd smh. 

[LongRanger]

no sign of warmth mixing down here, temps have been stuck at 13 or 14 for the last 12 hours

[BlizzardNole]

31 minutes ago, MillvilleWx said:

Yes! Best practice is measure the snow after it changes and then clear to measure the sleet. Make sure to mark the time of the transition, if possible. Still holding on up there according to CC. Hopefully it continues for another hour or two! 

It turned to sleet right as I finished clearing my driveway of 6.5" of snow at 9 am, so I'll be able to get a good sleet measurement.

Currently 19 with dry sleet

[Scuddz]

After an hour and a half of some of the more painful sledding i've done in pouring sleet, it's time to prep tonight's chili and question the rational of the majority of my neighbors who are choosing now as the best time to shovel.

 

[Benchmark]

Does anyone know how far south the sleet to freezing rain switch is currently at? Is there any indication on Radarscope like we have CC for the snow to sleet hangover that we can see?

[Eskimo Joe]

1 minute ago, Scuddz said:

After an hour and a half of some of the more painful sledding i've done in pouring sleet, it's time to prep tonight's chili and question the rational of the majority of my neighbors who are choosing now as the best time to shovel.

 

Chili, a wood fire, football, and a good Belgian beer is all you need.

[jayyy]

Northeast winds really start to crank on the eastern shore. Maybe the coastal is kicking in a bit quicker?

 

A flip back would be epic

[somecallmetim]

1 minute ago, Eskimo Joe said:

Chili, a wood fire, football, and a good Belgian beer is all you need.

If I could marry a country for its beer, it would be Belgium.

[BTRWx's Thanks Giving]

Ever since the transition the rates have not been very heavy here. It's supposed to pick up later into the afternoon right?

 

[Terrapinwx]

Band south of the beltway means business. Sleet is pounding the windows and have some pixie dust mixing in too now. Visibility is back down to as low as it was this morning during the snow


.

[baltosquid]

Glad I shoveled right before the sleet really started. Ice grains piling up fast, never seen anything like it. I still am team snow all the way but maybe I’m team “sleet is not totally awful” as well. Just a unique storm. I’ll probably just be able to sweep off the sleet where needed later on. Or maybe I should let it fall so the ice isn’t straight on the surface if we get freezing rain? Not sure. But will probably err on more shoveling than less.

[Terpeast]

38 minutes ago, MillvilleWx said:

Yes! Best practice is measure the snow after it changes and then clear to measure the sleet. Make sure to mark the time of the transition, if possible. Still holding on up there according to CC. Hopefully it continues for another hour or two! 

Timing the transition was tough for me this time. I first started getting pingers/rimed flakes at around 7:30, but kept mixing and flipping in between until around 10 am. The mix accumulated so effectively that might as well have been all snow. Visibility was low, only 1/4-1/8 mile. Then it greatly improved at around 10, when it was just pure sleet without the tiny flakes or needles.

[Solution Man]

Absolutely brutal outside, measured around 7inches of sneet. 14f and windy moderate sneet

 

[PrinceFrederickWx]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen sleet this heavy for this long of a time. The kids and I are out in it, attempting to shovel the driveway before it turns into unmovable ice bricks lol

[RevWarReenactor]

Finally "crossed over" to pingers. Interesting aspect is that usually when we transition to sleet it knocks the snow from the trees, but since its so cold, and there was snow in the trees, that won't be happening.

This is definitely a one off storm thats for sure.

 

Also curious to know where the fr rain line is. 

[wxdude64]

12 minutes ago, TheClimateChanger said:

 

We had that back in 2007 VD storm. Closed US 220 for about 3-4 hours until VDOT could get front end loaders there to clear. Was about 3 -4 feet deep!

[SomeguyfromTakomaPark]

2 minutes ago, baltosquid said:

Glad I shoveled right before the sleet really started. Ice grains piling up fast, never seen anything like it. I still am team snow all the way but maybe I’m team “sleet is not totally awful” as well. Just a unique storm. I’ll probably just be able to sweep off the sleet where needed later on. Or maybe I should let it fall so the ice isn’t straight on the surface if we get freezing rain? Not sure. But will probably err on more shoveling than less.

Agree, very cool storm. 

[Scuddz]

8 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

Chili, a wood fire, football, and a good Belgian beer is all you need.

I might have to make a fire in the pit later when I shovel just to go 4 for 4 here.

[SomeguyfromTakomaPark]

Anyone ever made an igloo?

[DDweatherman]

The north/northeast winds are kicking up pretty quickly here. Some snow still mixed with heavy sleet which is picking up in rate now. 

[ErinInTheSky]

6 minutes ago, baltosquid said:

Glad I shoveled right before the sleet really started. Ice grains piling up fast, never seen anything like it. I still am team snow all the way but maybe I’m team “sleet is not totally awful” as well. Just a unique storm. I’ll probably just be able to sweep off the sleet where needed later on. Or maybe I should let it fall so the ice isn’t straight on the surface if we get freezing rain? Not sure. But will probably err on more shoveling than less.

Welcome to team sleet bombs are fun. It’s a fun team to be on. Everyone else gets grumpy and you get some enjoyment and wonder.

[Maestrobjwa]

7 minutes ago, baltosquid said:

Glad I shoveled right before the sleet really started. Ice grains piling up fast, never seen anything like it. I still am team snow all the way but maybe I’m team “sleet is not totally awful” as well. Just a unique storm. I’ll probably just be able to sweep off the sleet where needed later on. Or maybe I should let it fall so the ice isn’t straight on the surface if we get freezing rain? Not sure. But will probably err on more shoveling than less.

Ya might wanna leave a thin layer of snow for the sleet to fall on top of...Shoveling sleet attached to bare concrete is a nightmare! I think I'm gonna wait, lol

[MDstorm]

6.8 inches here (Northwestern HoCo) before the sleet mixed in.  Now, mostly sleet and 13 degrees.  With a couple of inches of sleet to go, should get close to or top the 9 inch mark for total frozen.