Powerful major winter storm to pound the area..

***POWERFUL MAJOR WINTER STORM TO POUND THE AREA***


This could turn out to one of this winter's biggest winter storms...This thing will be a long duration snow storm...All models are in rather great agreement on placement of the low track still is not set in stone,however will blend the ECWMF and GFS for this forecast discussion...

WWA has worked into the area during day yesterday and through out the overnight hrs....This shows nice in this morning temps...Lower to middle 20s across the area for the most part..Today a shortwave will be moving North/Northeast this lead to more moisture flowing into the area...So would except some snow/wintery mix to form in my Southern zones this afternoon....Then steadily push North effecting my Central and possible my Northern area by this evening....This system dies out so things shouldn't get out of hand in snowfall amounts,however 1 to 2 inches of snow will be possible this evening into tonight...

Thursday Through Christmas..

We will see a 996 MB low getting it's act go over AR low is forecasted by most models to lift North slightly Northeast into IA as it does it shall deepen to around 988 MBS or so...Low is then forecasted to push into WI...Between Eau Claire and La Crosse...As it does the low will deepen to around 986 MBS....GOM is wide open so Moisture flow at the SFC and 500/700 MB levels is great....This system will also pull warmer air Northwards..Also this system could produce thundersnow,which will add to the totals of snowfall..Thinking my Southern areas will see a longer time frame of wintery mix than the rest of the my forecast area....Nevertheless still looks to be a wide area of 8 + inches of snow through out the whole forecast area..Also will see a rather large area of 12+ inches of snow....Mainly in the following Counties....Barron....Northwest part of Dunn....Polk.....St. Croix.....Also some of the higher areas of these said Counties could pick up closer to if not over 2 feet of snow...Thinking the area to see that would be Northern parts of Barron and Polk Counties..However in St.Croix County I would not be shocked to see a few 2 foot reports coming in....Winds will also become a major player with this system..Winds could gust up to the 30 to 35 MPH higher in our wind prone areas....This will cause near to blizzard conditions through out parts of the forecast area...With vis dropping down to near if not zero at times....

With the timing of this system over a major holiday many people have travel plans.....One should make sure to keep a winter safety kit in there vehicle..Make sure to call someone when leaving point A and your ETA to point B....Have a cell phone in case you become stuck....If you should become struck stay with your vehicle until help shows up....This system could be one of this winter's biggest snow storms...Could turn out to be a deadly one....Could also see power outages through of my forecast area do to the heavy wet snow....
Stay tuned to this blog for the latest on this hum dinger of a storm....

Forecast will stand

See no reason to change the ongoing forecast,after spending a good deal of this evening looking at all the model data...Forecast will stand.....Looks to be a wide area of 8 + inches through out the whole forecast area...a large area of 12 + inches through out my Northern Southern areas through my Central area into my Central Northern forecast areas....Some of these areas still could see close to if not 2 feet of snow.....Northern Barron County,Northern Polk County, and Rusk County then maybe down into the Central parts of said Counties.....Will have a another update in the morning around 3:30 AM

Forecast discussion still will focus of the powerful winter storm to effect the area starting Wednesday afternoon,with the main area of snow moving in Wednesday night and lasting through Friday night...With a chance of some light snow for Saturday.....Some problems have creep into the forecast which could pose some problems for the FA depending if ECMWF verifies.....


Looking at the ECMWF....

ECMWF has shifted the low pressure more Northwest now....Track would be from OK up to North Central IA then right over head....If this track pans out parts of the forecast area could see more of a wintery mix,as warmer air aloft gets pulled into parts of the area..If this the case this will pull total storm totals down....This model still has the pressure readings down to 994 as it works into WI,however by time it reaches over head storm weakens to around 1005 MBS...Nevertheless this system still looks to be a wind jammer....Thinking is as of right now ECMWF has the track to far Northwest compared to the rest of the forecast models.....

Let look at GFS...

GFS has the low tracking from Eastern OK up into Southwest IA then through Central WI...If this is the case less wintery mix would occur over parts of the forecast area....Hence more snowfall.....GFS keeps the storm system rather deep,from 990 MBS as it pushes towards IA then 999 MBS as it pushes into IA...By time it moves through WI the low is forecasted to deepen back to around 996 MBS..

Looking at the NAM model....

Nam as the same thinking as GFS..with about the same track and same strength....

So as you can see there are still a few problems with the track,however Am going to combined all said models above.....Models are pointing at higher QPF with this system...This will also be a long lasting storm...Waves of snow will be effecting area from Wed through Friday night,and lighter snows may last into Saturday....Am still think a widespread 8 + inches with a large area of 12 + inches of snow....Still thinking some areas could pick u close to 2 feet of snow by time all is said and down.....Winds will become a major player also causing a lot of blowing and drifting snow,even with the high moisture content of the snow....See below for more info on this dangerous winter storm....

Major winter storm looks more likely

Once again this forecast discussion will focus on the possible major winter storm that looks more likely to effect the area from Wed night through out much of Christmas day....


Looking at the latest ECMWF computer run...Am still seeing what looks likely to be a major winter storm for the Christmas holiday.....Strong low pressure is forecasted to get it's act going over NM then it is forecasted to race into TX and should deepen to around 998 MBS..Low then races into Northeast KS/Southwest IA...still under goes more intensification down to 989 MBS...Low pushes into Northeast IA/ Southwest WI..Then is pushes Northeast through towards the Green Bay area before moving into the Northeast part of the UPI of MI.....This system has plenty of moisture to work with...This system also looks to be a wind jammer with pressure gradients increasing between the area of low pressure and a strong 1034 MB high pressure to our Northwest....This will cause near blizzard conditions if not blizzard conditions through out the forecast area....Could see thundersnow as the system really cranks up over the Midwest..This system has the possibility to become one of winter's most dangerous storms.With this being the Christmas holiday timing on this is bad....This system could produce 12 + inches of snow through out much of the area...Would not be shocked to be upping this to 15+ inches of snow (closer to 2 feet of snow) if things keep coming in line.....

Without going into much details the other models I use are also slowly coming into line with good old reliable ECMWF.....

If one has travel plans through out Wednesday night through Christmas day,you will want to keep up with the latest info on this possible dangerous winter storm....If this pans out this system has the makings to become one hum dinger of a storm...This thing could become a deadly winter storm....Snow will be wet and heavy per models,which could cause power outages...Will go deeper into details on that tonight after work...

Keep up to date of this major winter storm by tuning into your local news media or the internet...Also keep checking back to this blog as I will try to have two updates each day.....This is one storm we all hope not see for the Christmas holiday..With any luck this system will not pan out.....

Forecast discussion for Western/Northwestern WI

This forecast discussion will revolve around the possible major winter storm over Christmas eve and Christmas morning.....Near term forecast will have some light snow today then again on Wednesday....Still could see around an inch or 2 today,thinking is best areas to see that would South of of EAU CLAIRE while points north would see less...

***A POSSIBLE MAJOR WINTER STORM TO EFFECT THE AREA LATER IN THE UP COMING WEEK***

By all means this forecast is not set in stone in any shape or form....Forecasting models still all over the place with this system,however ECWMF has been the most constant so will Am going to lean towards that model the hardest ATTM..Also timing of the storm is still up in the air ,however still looks like it could effect the area over the time frame said above....The past few runs ECMWF has taken this storm more North....So while Am talking about the model lets break it down...

The 00z run shows a 1000 MB low pressure forming over Northern NM or Southern CO...ECWMF takes this low into Northern TX and deepens it to around 999 MBS....The low is forecasted to race Northeast towards the Northeast part of KS/Southwest part of IA...Also low is forecasted to deepen to around 981 MBS...Then the low tracks into Southern WI then across MI....With this track this would move the heaver snow more North and East then yesterday runs showed..So as of right now looks like all my forecast area could see significant snowfall accumulations...So ECWMF has been trending North with this system so for snow lovers of all ages that would be great news,however timing of this system is bad do to the Christmas holiday....Also looks like another wind jammer of a system...Which could lead to near blizzard conditions if this track pans out...

Now lets take a look at the GFS model....

GFS has trended a little more North on it's 00z run but still feel it's to far South compared to the rest of the middle and long range model.....This model has the system tracking from Eastern OK into Eastern Central MO then near Chicago,then through Southern MI....Also GFS shows this system to be much weaker around 1008 MBS by time it reaches Northeast IL....Just looked at GFS 06z run....GFS has come more in line with ECMWF....This run shows the system moving from Southwest MO Northeast to West of Chicago then North of Milwaukee WI then through the Northern part of MI...GFS still has this system weaker....About 1004 MBS by time it moves into WI....Either way the new track off of GFS is much better for significant snowfall accumulations across most of my forecast area...

Time to look at the GEM/GLB model....

Here 00z run from Gem/GLB has a 995 MB low pressure system forming over the TX panhandle....This model moves the system into Eastern KS then pushes the system up to the WI/IL border and deepens the low to around 991 MBS then tracks the low through Eastern WI into far Northwest MI...So this model is more in line with the ECMWF....

So to recap...looking at all the model data as of right now looks like we could be dealing with a major winter storm for the Christmas holiday.....People who have travel plans will want to keep up with the latest forecast from your local media,NOAA all hazards weather radios...Or just watch this forecasting blog for the latest on this possible major winter storm....The only reason am talking about this this early in the game is because of the Christmas holiday and many people will be on the road networks....This could turn out to be a dangerous winter storm...Timing of this is just bad...



Note number 1....


Once again this forecast is not set in stone! however over the next day or two the finer details will be worked out and I will have a better handle on this.....

Note number two...

With the area lakes having ice on them...Some of the lakes still are not safe...Best advise I give here is for sure keep your kids off the ice....With the lakes freezing over and the snows we had the ice has not really got that thick yet...I found this out yesterday while checking out some of the lakes....One can go from 3-4 inches of ice down to an inch of ice in a matter of feet's....If you must fish like me...be very careful out on the ice as it changes real fast!

Forecast dis for Western and Northwestern WI

Forecast problems.....There are many near,middle,and long term....Will see if we can work them out....First problem will be today and then Sunday.....Then the biggest problem will come into play Wednesday through Friday when a major snow storm could effect the area Christmas eve through Christmas day (morning)....So this forecast discussion is one big headache.....


Lets try to hash out the problem for Sunday...

SFC ANALYSIS...

Weather charts show one big power house of a storm system over SC/NC coast line....High pressure rules the Western states WV imagery showing a shortwave up in Canada...

TODAY....

Problems will be with the low clouds and light areas of freezing precip....That should end sometime this morning...Clouds should remain in place through out the day,however would not be surprised to see some sunshine peaking out here and there this afternoon,this will lead to another problem with temps....Right now am going to have temps in the middle 20s South and lower 20s Central and North...With that said anyone spot that is able to see any amount of sunshine temps could be a few degrees warmer....

TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY.....

By 12z today we will see the shortwave working Southwards in Alberta CN....Meantime a 982 MB major power house storm system is forecasted to of the far Northern NC coast line..By 18z today our shortwave should be in Southern Alberta...While the major nor'easter still gathering strength over the far Northern coast line of NC..By 00z Sunday we see our weather system moving into Northwest ND....Major nor'easter should be deepen to around 988 MBS as it heads North along the Eastern coast line....By 12z Sunday we will find the shortwave centered over Eastern ND/Western MN....The main story will be the major coast line storm system...This thing deepens to around 976-980 MBS.....This may lead to problem with our little system...If the Eastern storm system is slower to move this would lead to a slower movement of our system,hence will delay the snow by a few hours....System really does not have a good amount of moisture with it...So will be hard to nail down snow amounts....However Am going to run with one to two inches of snow...Another problem is where will this snow fall....That is still some what up in the air....One model keeps the snow out to the West over in MN,while another model shows the snow to fall from Eastern MN into my forecast area...So this would lead one to think 1 to 2 inches of snow looks likely some where in my forecast area....Will try to nail to this down later with another model run or so....the 06z run may not give much more light..Will see what the 12z runs shows...Nevertheless this will not be a big deal for the area..

MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY....

Weather should be rather peaceful.....Some what cooler air will spill back into the area behind the departing shortwave....This will cause temps to fall to around the lower single digits for Mon night....WAA kicks back in on Tuesday..so temps are forecasted to be in the lower to middle 20s once again...Good time to get out and enjoy all the snow as really temps won't be that cold......

THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.....

First off my confidence level is low on this time frame,as models have been and still are all over the place with what may be a major snowstorm for the forecast area....

So with the model data I have in front of me this morning this now what is forecasted....First off the bat lets look at the ECMWF model......

00z run shows a 1003 MBS low pressure getting it's act going over AZ on Wednesday....This low is forecasted to move into Southern OK/Northern TX...Then the low is forecasted to lift North/Northeast into SW MO and deepen to around 996 MBS...Then it is forecasted to lift Northeast to around the NE IL area.....If this track does turn out parts of my FA could end up with a good amount of snow...Looks like this will be another win jammer of a system....Now with that all said and done...ECMWF has been changing this track on just about all it's runs....So this system could end up being more North by time we get to Tuesday....That day will be the make it or break it day.....

Second out of the gate is the GFS model....

This model keep the storm system well to our South on it's 00z run...If that plays out we won't have to worry about this system effecting the forecast area.....However looking back at GFS 12z run this model did have the system more North,almost the same track as ECWMF....The latest 06z run GFS has this system still way South....

So as you can see this system is playing havoc on the models....There has been no consistency what so ever....Though ECMWF has showing more than GFS....So with this in mind and this model leading the way so far this winter will lean towards it....So best areas to see significant snowfall amounts would be Eastern MN and Western WI.for the eve of Dec 24 and Christmas morning...That is if ECWMF pans outs....Way to early to even think about nailing down snowfall amounts...The only reason I brought it up is this is the biggest holiday travel time...So people will want to keep up with the latest on this possible major winter storm that may effect my forecast area of WI....

Nice and cold this morning

Ok -12.2 degrees outside...Coldest temp of the 09./10 winter so far....Someone tell me when spring is here,going to sleep until then!....

A look at this winter's snowfall so far

Notice this is from the my off or aka The Weather Center.....As many areas did not see this much snow...
Ok so far this 08/09 winter we have a grand total of 22.50 inches of snow...Oct and Dec saw the most snow,while Nov we saw 2.00 inches of snow...Am going to get updating this as needed...I will not include trace amounts as them don't mean much to us....anything over a 1/4 of an inch will be added....Just like we did last winter...

Last pictures for awhile.

***MAJOR WINTER STORM UPDATE NUMBER 6***

MAJOR WINTER STORM POUNDING THE AREA***



Snowfall amount from The Weather Center so far...Before we get to this..Will say this is a very difficult storm to measure snow in...Blowing and drifting snow...Anyway our best guess is 8 inches of snow...This could be closer to 10 inches...I did call it into the NWS as 8 inches for best guess....

Stay tuned to The Weather Center for more updates on this major winter storm.........

Forecasters.....Dirk/Paul....

More pictures

More pictures of the major snow storm pounding the area...

*** MAJOR WINTER STORM UPDATE NUMBER 5 ***/Closings/Cancellations

MAJOR WINTER STORM POUNDING THE AREA***


Most area schools have been closed through out our forecast area....Tune into your local news media for the latest on this.....

Radar still showing areas of heavy snow....Some of this appears to have become Lake enhanced snow from Lake Superior over parts of Washburn,Barron,Sawyer and far Northwestern part of Rusk Counties....So this could become very interesting if winds keep flowing of of Superior...Not uncommon to get lake enhanced snow this far South with a strong storm system....This could produce higher snowfall amounts in parts of Southern Washburn,Sawyer Counties...Along with parts of Northern Barron County and far Northwestern Rusk Counties than was forecasted......

Stay tuned to The Weather Center for more updates on this major winter storm.........

Forecasters.....Dirk/Paul....

***MAJOR SNOW STORM UPDATE NUMBER 4***

***MAJOR WINTER STORM POUNDING THE AREA***


Latest radar is showing a heavy snow band now covering a rather large are of our forecast area...This area seems to be expanding some...So look for mod to heavy snow through out the early morning hrs....Snow should start to become lighter towards the noon hour...However winds will remain strong this will cause widespread blowing and drifting snow..Vis could be near if not zero at times...This will make travel very hard if not impossible....

Stay tuned to The Weather Center for more updates on this major winter storm.........

Forecasters.....Dirk/Paul....

Winter storm pictures

Here are some pictures I took this morning,as you can see in some of these pictures,heavy snow falling along with blowing snow...At times when I walked out to the road I could not see more then 2 feet in front of me..Yeah that was real dumb on my part....More pictures to come once it gets light...Yes I did try to get to work but got stuck on my road...20 mins later I got out and went back home and said the heck with it,not worth trying to get to work....

Side note to statement below

Another great site for local School closings....
http://www.kstp.com/
They seem to be updating faster....

***MAJOR WINTER STORM UPDATE NUMBER 3***

***MAJOR WINTER STORM POUNDING THE AREA***


Looking at the latest radar from Twin Cities and Duluth....Mod to heavy snow is falling across the forecast area...Looking at the Duluth radar..A rather large area of heavy snow is all of Douglas,the Northwestern 2/3s of Bay Filed County,...This band of heavy snow reaches down into Burnett County and the Northwestern part of Washburn County..What is interesting but not at all uncommon the Twin Cities radar is not showing this...However Duluth radar is picking up on it rather well...Heavy snow is falling through out Central to Eastern Barron County over in to Rusk County..Mod to heavy snow at times is falling through out the rest of my Northern forecast area.The area of snow appears to be expanding...Now lets look the Twin Cities radar....We see the heavy snow band from Burnett County runs right through the Northwestern/Western part of Polk County....Also the heavy snow band we see in Barron County reaches down into Dunn,Chippewa Counties,then reaches back over into ST.Croix,Pierce,and Pepin Counties.....

Looking at some road conditions this morning....

US 2 from Ashland to Superior is impassable.....Then US 2 from Birch Hill to Ashland is impassable....

Rest of the major roads in my forecast area are snow and ice covered....Secondary roads are snow and ice covered and drifted over...Looking at my road it is drifted shut for the most part with 3 foot snow drifts...

Travel is not is not recommended through out the forecast area, only in emergency conditions..This is the winter storm warning area,in the Blizzard warning area.....They are saying don't travel at all,only under emergency conditions..See the NWS website for more info on all the warnings..So to sum it up if you don't have to travel don't,as conditions will be getting worst over the next hour or so...With very strong winds vis have or will drop to near if no zero vis in both the winter storm warning and blizzard warning areas...Here at the Weather Center vis have drop to near zero attms.....

Looking at some of SFC OBS (wind)...We see winds are from the North/Northeast...Gusting from 20 to 39 MPH...Some of the highest wind gusts are as follows....Ashland 39 MPH....Ladysmith 30 MPH....Rice Lake...31 MPH....Osceola 31 MPH....And last but not least New Richmond 35 MPH.....

Looking at some school closings taken from WEAU's website...www.weau.com


PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Ellsworth: Closed

Elmwood: Closed

Fall Creek: Closed

Gilmanton: 2 Hour Delay

Holmen: Closed

Independence: Closed

La Crosse: Closed

Marshfield: Closed

Melrose-Mindoro: Closed

Menomonie: Closed

Necedah: Closed

Neillsville: Closed

Nekoosa: Closed

Onalaska: Closed

Osseo-Fairchild: Closed

Owen-Withee: Closed

Pepin: Closed

Pittsville: Closed; All Activities and practices are cancelled also

Port Edwards: Closed

Prairie Farm: Closed

Rib Lake: Closed

Spencer: Closed

Thorp: Closed

Turtle Lake: Closed

Whitehall: Closed

Abbotsford: Closed

Adams-Friendship: Closed

Alma: Closed

Alma Center: Closed

Arcadia: Closed

Augusta: Closed

Barron: Closed

Black River Falls: Closed

Blair-Taylor: Closed

Cochrane-F.Cty: Closed

Colby: Closed

Colfax: Closed

Eau Claire: Closed

Eleva-Strum: Closed

I'm sure more will be add to this list as we get closer to 6 Am hr.....So keep checking this site for more school closings....


Stay tuned to The Weather Center for more updates on this major winter storm.........

Forecasters.....Dirk/Paul....

Short Term Forecast update Number 2

At 5:34 PM Weather Center's radar is tracking a large area of mod to heavy snow,in the following Counties...Chippewa,Dunn,ST.Croix.Pepin, and Pierce....The mod to heavy snow is lifting Northwards....Should be over taken Barron,Polk,and Rusk Counties within the next hour or so...Winds have also increased across the area so blowing and drifting snow will start to become more of a problem through out the evening....Am going to up the total storm totals to a widespread 8 to 12 inches...With 12 + amounts in the Northern areas of Barron,Rusk Counties,Southern Washburn,Sawyer Counties....Points would be from North of Cumberland over to Canton to Ladysmith line....Then points South of a Trego to Winter....Another area that could see more than 12 + amounts of snow Would be the following Counties...Dunn,Chippewa,and ST.Croix....Points South of line from New Richmond to Wheeler,to just South of Bloomer

Short term forecast update number 1

Major winter storm is starting to pound the area...Snow as moved into the FA this afternoon...Most of weather spotters are reporting 1 to 2 inches of snow at this 4:39 hr..Hear at The Weather Center we have 1.75 inches of new snow..Radar is showing light to mod snow through out our forecast area...More heavier bands on snow are found along the South shore of Lake Superior...Meanwhile more heavier snow bands are moving through my far Southern forecast Counties..Starting to make there way into Southern St.Croix County,and into Southwest Dunn County....Would not be shocked to hear some reports of thundersnow in them areas...Along with reports of thundersnow through the rest of the froecast area tonight....
This is a dangerours major winter storm that is ready to pound us as the evening goes on....

***MAJOR WINTER STORM UPDATE***

No changes needed to on going forecast below,as it is right on track...Storm totals still on track for a widepsread 7 to 10 inches of snow....With some areas picking up a foot...See one of the forecast for that info,has it now once again looks like two different areas to could see the 12 inches or more......Other than that no other changes will be needed..Winds could gust up to the 35 to 40 MPH range  later tonight and holding through Wednesday....See post below for other info....

WINTER STORM UPDATE

***MAJOR WINTER STORM UPDATE***....UPDATED @ 3:30 AM TUESDAY MORNING.....




A few changes are needed this morning.....First change was to delay the snow for points North of Chippewa,Dunn,and ST.Croix Counties,as Arctic air as remained locked in place a little longer that thought...The Arctic air should saturate rather fast later this morning...Still this will hinder snowfall amounts in them areas to around and inch or less by tonight.....Snowfall rates will be trended higher in said areas also with the colder air in place....So Am now going to up the total storm amounts....Here is where things get a little tricky...Am going to run with a widespread 8 to 10 inches of snow for all of my forecast area....Thinking is right now my far Southern areas will see 5 to 9 inches of snow.....The best moisture and forcing shows up later tonight into Wednesday...This will hold onto the FA longer than thought...Hence the reason why I upped the storm totals....The storm track has also shifted more Northwards..About 50 to 100 miles North...So the low pressure should by tracking over Southern WI towards the Milwaukee area....Also the storm system does deepen to around 975 MBS...So thinking about increasing winds speeds once again,however for now I will let them ride as they are...Will update the winds tonight if needed....So most areas will see near to blizzard conditions from late tonight through much of the day on Wednesday....Vis could drop to around zero at times....Looks like most of the heavy snow will start to fall later tonight and last right through a good part of Wednesday...No matter how we cut it slice it looks like a good dump of snow..the lower teens....Am still a little concerned about severe thunderstorms forming down South,if this does play out that will limited some moisture supply into the area,then we will be forced into lowering the storm totals....Do have time to figure that out this evening.........After this storm system moves Northeast of the area it will drag an Arctic cold front through night time lows will be tricky,I have under cut model guidance's with the forecasted snow amounts....Deep snow pack and clear nights should yield for lows well below zero..Should see a range of -5 to -10....With highs ranging from the single digits to around 12 or the lower teens....



Travel could become very difficult or impossible late Tuesday night through much of the day on Wednesday..If you plan to travel make sure you have a winter safety kit in your vehicle...If you plan on traveling make sure you let someone know when you leave point A and your ETA to point B....Have a cell phone to call for help if you should become stuck...Do not try to walk to get help,your vehicle will be your best shelter....This could be dangerous winter storm...Best advise we can give you only travel if it is an emergency....





***MAJOR WINTER STORM UPDATE***...Updated at 7:30 PM



Looking at the latest computer model runs...Will time snow to start sooner than forecasted..Looking to start the snow mid morning Tuesday across my Southern areas then around noon in my Central areas then around 1 or 2 in my Northern areas.....Snow accumulations for Tuesday look to be around and inch maybe two....Winds will still not a problem,Tuesday night snow will become heavy at times...With winds increasing 10 to 20 MPH with higher gust...This will lead to blowing and drifting snow....Wednesday..Snow heavy at times,winds should be howling out of N/NW around 20 MPH with gusts up to 35 MPH some of the wind prone areas could see wind gusts 40 to 45 MPH..This will lead to more blowing and drifting snow...Some areas could see near 0 vis with near to blizzard conditions Tuesday night through much of the day Wednesday....Will keep thinking the same.... Will run with a widespread 6 to 9 inches of snow through out the whole forecast area....Places that could see 9 to 12 inches or slightly more are in two different areas...First one would run through ST.Croix County over to Dunn County and into Chippewa County....Or South of line from New Richmond to Wheeler to around the Chippewa Falls area.....The second area likely to see 9 to 12 or slightly more inches are Barron,Polk,Sawyer,and Washburn Counties....Or points north of a line from Luck to Cumberland,Rice Lake over to Ladysmith.Most of the heavy snow should fall from late Tuesday night through around the noon hour on Wednesday...One big player on the forecasted snowfall amounts will be if any thunderstorms get going down South..If so this should rob some of the moisture flow Northwards,hence lowering the snowfall amounts....So some concerns still remain if severe thunderstorms will blow up.....

Travel could become very difficult or impossible late Tuesday night through much of the day on Wednesday..If you plan to travel make sure you have a winter safety kit in your vehicle...If you plan on traveling make sure you let someone know when you leave point A and your ETA to point B....Have a cell phone to call for help if you should become stuck...Do not try to walk to get help,your vehicle will be your best shelter....This could be dangerous winter storm...Best advise we can give you only travel if it is an emergency....

Temps will fall like a rock as an Arctic cold front slams through the area...Look for lows to be well below zero for the remainder of the work week,with highs in the single digits to around 10 or so..This trend will last through the weekend...So looks like winter is going to be around for sometime...

Winter storm update

***MAJOR WINTER STORM UPDATE***...Updated at 7:30 PM




Looking at the latest computer model runs...Will time snow to start sooner than forecasted..Looking to start the snow mid morning Tuesday across my Southern areas then around noon in my Central areas then around 1 or 2 in my Northern areas.....Snow accumulations for Tuesday look to be around and inch maybe two....Winds will still not a problem,Tuesday night snow will become heavy at times...With winds increasing 10 to 20 MPH with higher gust...This will lead to blowing and drifting snow....Wednesday..Snow heavy at times,winds should be howling out of N/NW around 20 MPH with gusts up to 35 MPH some of the wind prone areas could see wind gusts 40 to 45 MPH..This will lead to more blowing and drifting snow...Some areas could see near 0 vis with near to blizzard conditions Tuesday night through much of the day Wednesday....Will keep thinking the same.... Will run with a widespread 6 to 9 inches of snow through out the whole forecast area....Places that could see 9 to 12 inches or slightly more are in two different areas...First one would run through ST.Croix County over to Dunn County and into Chippewa County....Or South of line from New Richmond to Wheeler to around the Chippewa Falls area.....The second area likely to see 9 to 12 or slightly more inches are Barron,Polk,Sawyer,and Washburn Counties....Or points north of a line from Luck to Cumberland,Rice Lake over to Ladysmith.Most of the heavy snow should fall from late Tuesday night through around the noon hour on Wednesday...One big player on the forecasted snowfall amounts will be if any thunderstorms get going down South..If so this should rob some of the moisture flow Northwards,hence lowering the snowfall amounts....So some concerns still remain if severe thunderstorms will blow up.....



Travel could become very difficult or impossible late Tuesday night through much of the day on Wednesday..If you plan to travel make sure you have a winter safety kit in your vehicle...If you plan on traveling make sure you let someone know when you leave point A and your ETA to point B....Have a cell phone to call for help if you should become stuck...Do not try to walk to get help,your vehicle will be your best shelter....This could be dangerous winter storm...Best advise we can give you only travel if it is an emergency....



Temps will fall like a rock as an Arctic cold front slams through the area...Look for lows to be well below zero for the remainder of the work week,with highs in the single digits to around 10 or so..This trend will last through the weekend...So looks like winter is going to be around for sometime...

MAJOR WINTER STORM

***MAJOR WINTER STORM TO POUND THE AREA***


The NWS has issued a winter storm warning for my whole forecast area....

Low pressure is forecasted to move from the OK panhandle Northeast to Northern IL,Southern WI...All models seem to have locked onto this track..However with the low deepen fast as it forecasted to do this may push the low a tad more North...So thinking as of right now to run with a widespread 6 to 9 inches of snow through out the whole forecast area....Places that could see 9 to 12 inches or slightly more are in two different areas...First one would run through ST.Croix County over to Dunn County and into Chippewa County....Or South of line from New Richmond to Wheeler to around the Chippewa Falls area.....The second area likely to see 9 to 12 or slightly more inches are Barron,Polk,Sawyer,and Washburn Counties....Or points north of a line from Luck to Cumberland,Rice Lake over to Ladysmith.Most of the heavy snow should fall from late Tuesday night through around the noon hour...One big player on the forecasted snowfall amounts will be if any thunderstorms get going down South..If so this should rob some of the moisture flow Northwards,hence lowering the snowfall amounts....Have not changed anything else with the ongoing forecast....Winds will become a problem,so left that in tack..See below for all that info..Will try to get to a detailed forecast tonight,or early tomorrow morning..Also see below for precautionary statement...

***MAJOR WINTER STORM***

***MAJOR WINTER STORM***




All computer models are now on the same page on this winter storm to effect the area from Tuesday through Wednesday night....

A 996 low pressure will organize or the the corners area of the USA....This low is forecasted to lift Northeast into Southern/Central IA then move into Southern/Central WI,as it does it will deepen to around 974 MBS of pressure....GFS model is a little more South with said low,however it has been shifting the low North and Northwest with each run...ECMWF has also shifted the low more North/Northwest with its past runs...Moisture will be plentiful as the GOM is wide open....Cold air will not be a problem for my forecast area....Another thing that has be a little concerned right now with the strong intensification is this system will end up being a wind jammer...So right now thinking is 8+ inches of snow on tap for the FA,some of my higher areas may see 12+ inches of snow..Will have a map on that tonight when I get home from work.....

This could be a very dangerous winter storm....From Tuesday late afternoon through Wednesday night.....Snow should become heavy Tuesday late afternoon through Wednesday evening....Winds will become rather strong...We should see winds on the average of 15 to 25 MPH with gust up to 40-45 MPH at times....This will lead to very dangerous traveling conditions ....With heavy snow falling and blowing snow...Vis could drop to near 0 at times in open areas.so parts on my forecast area could see near if not blizzard conditions Tuesday night through Wednesday...



If one must be on the roadways through this time frame,make sure you have a winter safety kit in your car/truck..If you become stuck stay with your car/truck,call,or wait for help.....Let people know when you are leaving point A and you ETA to point B also let them know the way you are taken......



Will go into a very detailed forecast tonight...Some of it may be on the tech side....Stay tuned for more updates on this MAJOR WINTER SNOWSTORM....

Ok winter is here

This is what I woke up to this morning....2 above...Had a low of 1 above....Looks like some snow on it's way for Tuesday and Wednesday...Will try to have a updated forecast out on this possible major winter storm later today or this evening....

Fast look at the forecast

Will have more detailed forecast this weekend...However looks like the light snow/flurries will becoming to an end before the midnight hr.....Saturday is shaping up to a rather nice day  with hihs in the lower to middle 20s....Sunday not much change highs about the same as Saturday..Lows through this period in the middle teens....Monday still warm and dry as a low pressure system gets pushed to the South of the area...Highs still in the middle 20s..Tuesday through Wednesday looks some what interesting...Though ECMWF pushes the low pressure from the four conners into the OH/TN Valley area...This would keep most of the heavy snow South of my FA....My far Southern areas could see some snow accumlations from this system....Will have updates on this winter storm if needed...If not non will be issued....One thing that is a given with all computer models is the cold air will reamian camped out through next week....Lows in the single digits with highs in the upper teens by Wed lasting through next Sat....