Blame it on El Nino, global warming, the snowman shaving a little later than normal or even the Snow God being accidentally left out a little too long this year. It doesn’t matter where the blame lies, another snow storm is starting to look like it is going to happen. It’s still a day away and if we are lucky the winds will shift more to the East and push this storm off to the sea. That’s wishful thinking though and probably isn’t going to happen. A small shift of the Nor Easter one way or another will make a big difference though as to who is going to get the brunt of the storm.
I’m reading different forecasts for this and it’s looking like most of us will most likely see 7 inches or more along with some strong winds. The chances are that with the temps somewhat warm the snow will be heavy weight wise and with the winds there could be some power outages so tune up the generators just in case. Steve aka- The General noted that this could be one for the record books as far as it being the latest storm of a season on record. He also posted some good 2006 – 2007 stats in the forum which are below.
I posted at the beginning of the season that I thought this would be a season where Nor’ Easters would come into play and unfortunately that is happening. But who would of thought we would be talking about one in the middle of April? Not me! Keep an eye on the weather come Sunday thru Monday and if this pans out take it slow on the roads or better yet take a 3 day weekend. The storms that come from the South are hard to predict exactly what they will do and where they will hit so nothing is a sure bet yet and I’ll post more as the info comes in and check with your favorite meteorologists as to whats going on. SEE SNOW – DRIVE SLOW!
S0 Far This Season – Stats Courtesy of Steve Madsen (Buffalo)
In the process of number crunching for the 06-07 season… OH BABY! Enjoy!
Season Start / End Dates, Season Durations
Earliest Start for a season:___Oct. 12___Alpha___2006 – 07 – BROKE RECORD BY 21 DAYS!!!
Latest Start for a season:___Dec. 20___Albatross___2001 – 02
Earliest End for a season:___Jan. 16___Io___1998 – 99
Latest End for a season:___Apr. 8___Nematodet___2006 – 07 – BROKE RECORD BY 13 DAYS!!!
Longest Season (start – end):_____179 days_____2006 – 07 – BROKE RECORD BY 45 DAYS!!!
Shortest Season (start – end):_____57 days_____1998 – 99
Average Season Length:____98 days
Number of Storms
Most Storms in one season:_____14_____2006 – 07 & 2002 – 03
Least Storms in one season:_____6_____2001 – 02
Average Storms per season:_____9.75
Counting the Days
Longest single storm:___10 days___Feb. 3 – Feb.. 12___Locust 2006 – 07
Longest span with no storms:___48 days___Feb. 16 – Apr. 04___2006 – 07
Storm Days – (number of days in a season where a named lake effect storm was active).
Most Storm Days:_____29_____2005 – 2006
Least Storm Days:_____16_____2004 – 05 & 1999 – 00
Average Storm Days per season:_____22.13
Storm Length Days – (average length of storms in a season by days).
Highest Storm Length Days:_____3.50_____2001 – 02
Lowest Storm Length Days:_____1.78_____2004 – 05
Average Storm Length Days:_____2.27
% Storm Days per Season – (ratio of storm days to the total number of days included in that season, the resulting number represents the percent of days during a season where a lake effect storm was active).
Highest % Storm Days per Season:_____0.15 (15%)_____1999 – 00
Highest % Storm Days per Season:_____0.35 (35%)_____2003 – 04
Average % Storm Days per Season:_____0.23 (23%)
Flake Scale Ratings
Highest Flake Scale Rating Average:_____2.83_____2001 – 02
Lowest Flake Scale Rating Average:_____2.00_____2004 – 05
Average Flake Scale Rating Average:_____2.40
Break Down of Storms by Rating & Percent of Total Storms
<1 Flake>_____19 Storms_____24%
<2 Flake>_____28 Storms_____36%
<3 Flake>_____18 Storms_____23%
<4 Flake>_____09 Storms_____12%
<5 Flake>_____04 Storms_____05%
Break Down of Storms by Month & Percent of Total Storms
Breakdown of Average Flake Rating by Month
Have a Great Weekend All!
Thanks General! I never knew that snow storms were rated like that… but I think that they could give it a better name. Something scarier sounding. Maybe something like ‘Snow Burial Factor’ or ‘Snow/Ice Grip of Death Rating’. Just my opinion 🙂
And I agree about getting out in the garden. I’ve been itching to start getting the beds ready since that nice day we had a couple of weeks ago. If this weather keeps up, I just might end up building an ark instead 🙁 This is getting ridiculous already.
Flake Rating is what the Buffalo NWS rates a lake storm. Just like hurricanes and tornados on a 1-5 scale based on the severity of the event. Not as much destruction as the other two (well this year’s first storm excluded) the rating is based on how much snow fell, the impact to the area, and is rather subjective to the opinion of the NWS. Just a way to compare one storm to another in what it did.
And seriously, weren’t they saying 2007 could be the warmest year on record? What happened? As much as I want some snow from this nor’easter, I want things to warm up and dry out so I can start my veggie garden. This time last year I think I was already out tilling and getting it setup.
What the heck is ‘Flake Rating’???
Are snowflakes graded by size and weight or something? If it pays good, I want that job!
It’s April 15 and 36 degrees outside. Please talk to us about global warming. Please. 😛