Big Story Weather – October 25, 2013

redOrbit Meteorologist Joshua Kelly

Big Story Weather from October 24:

One of the big stories from yesterday was the lake effect snow that occurred downwind of the Eastern Great Lakes. Secondly, cold air has begun its plunge into the United States with many places seeing their first frost/freeze of the season.

Big Story Weather Discussion for October 25:

Surface Map 11AM: High pressure will dominate the weather from the Northern Plains to the Southeast and Gulf Coast along with a good portion of the East Coast. A second area of high pressure will dominate the weather over the Rockies and over the entire West Coast making for a very uneventful afternoon. There will be a few light showers over the Southwest.

Surface Map 11PM: A weak clipper system will drop over the Great Lakes this evening bringing a few rain and snow showers to the region. High pressure will slide into the Southeast bringing one of the coldest nights to the region with plenty of frost and freeze warnings in effect from the Southern Plains to the East Coast along with the Southeast.

Severe Weather: No severe weather for today.

Winter Weather: There will be some light snowfall over the Great Lakes overnight. The biggest story will be the frost/freeze tonight for a large portion of the country. The other major story is the winter storm watch that has been issued for Montana as this weekend a powerful storm system will move into that region bringing heavy snowfall.

Flooding: No flooding expected today across the country.

Tropical Weather: No impacts across the Atlantic Basin.

Winds: Strong gradient winds will be over the Great Lakes today with winds around 30-40mph creating large waves over the Western Lakes especially.

Today’s Spotlight Cities Forecast:

Boston MA: Partly cloudy skies and cool with a high near 48F and overnight lows near 37F. Saturday mostly cloudy with showers. High temps around 52F and overnight lows near 45F. Total rainfall around 0.05 inches which will create slight impacts. Sunday partly cloudy with a high near 50F and overnight lows near 38F. Monday partly cloudy with a high near 52F and overnight lows near 42F. Tuesday mostly cloudy with showers. High temps around 54F and overnight lows near 50F. Total rainfall around 0.10 inches creating slight impacts for the region.

Houston TX: Partly cloudy with a high near 72F and overnight lows near 59F. Saturday partly cloudy with a high near 70F and overnight lows near 58F. Sunday mostly cloudy with showers. High temps around 75F and overnight lows near 71F. Total rainfall around 0.40 inches leading to slight impacts in the area. Monday partly cloudy with a high near 81F and overnight lows near 73F. Tuesday partly cloudy with a high near 81F and overnight lows near 74F.

Fargo ND: Partly cloudy with a high near 54F and overnight lows near 32F. Saturday partly cloudy with a high near 43F and overnight lows near 34F. Sunday partly cloudy with a high near 45F and overnight lows near 36F. Monday mostly cloudy with light snowfall. High temps around 37F and overnight lows near 30F. Total snowfall around Trace to 1 inch leading to slight impacts. Tuesday cloudy with periods of snow. High temps around 34F and overnight lows near 22F. Total snowfall around 1-2 inches leading to slight impacts over the area.

Boise ID: Partly cloudy with a high near 66F and overnight lows near 60F. Saturday partly cloudy with a high near 64F and overnight lows near 58F. Sunday partly cloudy with a high near 66F and overnight lows near 57F. Monday cloudy with showers and a high near 46F and overnight lows near 37F. Total rainfall around 0.25 inches creating slight impacts for the area. Tuesday partly cloudy with high temps around 45F and overnight lows near 36F.

San Diego CA: Partly cloudy with high temps near 70F and overnight lows near 68F. Saturday partly cloudy with high temps around 81F and overnight lows near 77F. Sunday partly cloudy with a high near 77F and overnight lows near 71F. Monday partly cloudy with a high near 66F and overnight lows near 60F. Tuesday partly cloudy with high temps around 61F and overnight lows near 57F.

Ask The Weatherman for October 25, 2013:

Question: What is orographic lift?

Answer: This is a term we use to explain what is going on when the air hits the mountains on the windward side. This means that the air is forced up in the atmosphere. When this happens we are usually talking about a precipitation event such as heavy snowfall or flooding rains impacting a region. This event can lead to rapid flash flooding similar to what we saw this past summer in Colorado. The continued air flow up the Rockies and all the moisture lead to significant flooding.

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October 25, 2013 Storm Tracker Update:

Latest Image: Tropical Storm Francisco has winds around 50kts and is moving northeast. The bottom image is Typhoon Lekima with winds around 105kts. It is currently tracking to the north-northeast.

Eastern Pacific Ocean: The remains of Raymond are pushing away over the open Pacific and will be no threat to land. Strong low pressure pushing into Alaska will bring heavy rains and snows to the area long with gusty winds. Low pressure moving through Central Canada will bring a few snow showers to the Great Lakes later tonight. Low pressure moving towards Greenland will bring showers and snow showers to the area.

Atlantic Ocean: Low pressure moving over Western England will bring showers to the region along with some strong thunderstorms. Low pressure moving through Central Russia will bring snow showers to the region.

Western Pacific: Typhoon Lekima with winds around 105kts continues to move towards the north-northeast away from land and should be no impact. Tropical Storm Francisco is now moving along the East Coast of Japan bringing strong winds and periods of heavy rainfall. Low pressure moving towards Northeast Russia will bring showers and snow showers to the region.

Indian Ocean: An area is being watched in the Bay of Bengal for possible tropical development. This area will bring another day of showers to Eastern India. A second tropical wave is moving through the center of the Indian ocean and is also being watched for possible tropical development.

Southern Hemisphere: Multiple areas of low pressure are moving through the region with impacts being felt over Southern Argentina with gusty winds. There are also gusty winds being felt over Southern Africa. A third area of low pressure is moving towards Southeast Australia and will bring stronger winds along with a few showers. There is an area of development to the northeast of Australia that is being watched for possible tropical development.

Major Weather Impacts Discussion for October 25, 2013:

Day 1-3: High pressure over the Southeast will make for a cool day and a very cold night over the Southeast region, This will also bring plenty of sunshine to the area. Tonight a weak clipper system will move through the Great Lakes bringing a few rain and snow showers to the area. High pressure will dominate the weather over the Plains with cold weather as well. High pressure over the Rockies will bring a cool day to the region, while sunny skies dominate the West Coast along with mild weather. Day two the low pressure will move into Maine bringing a few rain and snow showers to the area. High pressure will dominate the rest of the Eastern US. There will be a weak upper level trough that moves through Texas bringing a few showers to the region. High pressure will dominate the rest of the country. The period will finish with high pressure over the Eastern US, while the new storm system enters the Rockies. There will be heavy snowfall over Montana and Wyoming as this storm pushes into the cold air. Snowfall totals could exceed 6 inches for this region.

Day 4-7: The period will start with high pressure along the East Coast giving way to the strong storm system in the Plains that will produce heavy snowfall over the Dakotas and also back into Wyoming and Montana. Showers and thunderstorms will extend from Missouri back into Texas. Day five the warm front will extend into the Mid-Atlantic bringing showers to the region. Showers and thunderstorms will extend along the cold front from Illinois to the Gulf Coast. Some severe weather will be possible. Heavy snowfall will extend from the Western Great Lakes back into the Northern Plains. Day six the storm system will extend from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast. There will be snow showers over the Western Lakes, heavy rainfall from the Ohio River Valley to the Northeast, and severe thunderstorms from Tennessee to the Gulf Coast. The period will finish with the storm system finally pushing into the Northeast and extending back to Florida with heavy rain and strong thunderstorms.

Day 8-12: The period will start with another storm system developing over the Great Lakes bringing showers and a few snow showers to the region. Another low pressure area will begin to develop along the Gulf Coast bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms. Day nine the storm system will move into the Northeast bringing rain to the Northeast. Thunderstorms will extend from the Carolinas back to the Gulf Coast. Some severe weather will be possible. There will also be heavy snow showers over the Great Lakes back in the cold air. Day ten there will be showers and snow showers over the Great Lakes, another strong cold high pressure over the Gulf Coast and Southeast, along with another storm system entering the Plains.

Long Range Outlook: The period will start with rain and snow showers over the Great Lakes and the Northeast. A strong cold high pressure will push into the Plains and will trigger showers and thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast due to the temperature gradient. The middle of the period will have strong high pressure over the Mid-Mississippi River Valley extending into the Northeast. A frontal boundary will extend along the Gulf Coast. This will also be tapping into a tropical system over Western Mexico increasing the rainfall over the region. The period will end with another storm system along the Gulf Coast bringing heavy rainfall to the region along with some severe weather.

Green Energy Report for October 25:

Wave Energy: There will be moderate amounts of energy along the entire East Coast ahead of the strong high pressure center. This will also be true for the Gulf of Mexico. The entire West Coast will see moderate amounts of energy as another strong frontal boundary begins to move into the region.

Hydro Energy: There will be limited amounts of energy over the Great Lakes region. There will be both short term and some long term energy today over the region.

Solar Energy: There will be ample amounts of energy from the Southeast to the Gulf Coast. The Plains will also have ample amounts of solar energy along with the Southwest and extending back across the entire West Coast.

Wind Energy: There will be two focus points for wind energy today. The first will be over the Great Lakes along the clipper system. The second will be along the Gulf Coast as the northerly winds interact with the warmer gulf waters creating a gradient wind over the region.

Weather and Your Wallet for Chicago IL:

High pressure to the east of the area will set the stage for strong return flow as southwesterly winds will be in the 18-23mph range with higher gusts along with plenty of sunshine.

Dining: Today will be a tad breezy but a nice day to enjoy lunch at the waterfront.

Transportation: There will be impacts to larger vehicles that are traveling on the elevated roads today due to the stronger winds.

Shopping: Today will be a nice day to get some shopping done.

Electricity: There will be a demand for heating overnight and during the early morning hours as temps fall into the upper 30’s. The forecast is for 22HDD’s on the day.

Yard Work: Plenty of sunshine to get out and get some of that backyard work done today.

Construction: Today will be a nice day for most outdoor projects, however if work is being done on an elevated roadway or an elevated building, then make sure to use caution as the winds will be fairly strong. This is also true for crane operations.

Outdoor Venues: Today will be a nice day to take a walk on the boardwalk or downtown as there will be plenty of sunshine.

Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112985083/big-story-weather-102513/