Crazy weather

[altivo]

So Christmas Eve and Christmas it was snowing hard enough to limit visibility and the wind was howling. Then on Boxing Day the temperature warmed up enough for freezing rain. (Check Chicago television news sites for video of cars spinning around and bouncing off one another on the expressways...duh...didn't know enough to slow down apparently.) Today the temperature soared to above 50F, with rain overnight as the temperature rose. There were occasional flashes of lightning early this morning. Most of the snow melted, the creeks and rivers are rising, flash flood warnings were issued, and then... Tada! Tornado watch. In December.

Some of you may recall that last January we had an actual tornado here that passed within sight of the library. It blew a freight train off the tracks just north of town, and leveled several barns, damaging a lot of trees in the process but fortunately no loss of life.

Tornadoes in December or January are quite rare here. In spring and summer they can be frequent, but not in winter. Last year's weather pattern of very heavy snow followed by a warm thaw, and repeat is being duplicated almost to the day. We checked our records here. Last year the heavy snows hit around December 15, this year they started on the 18th. As I write this, the sump pump under the house is activating every 45 seconds, a sign of about the heaviest groundwater flow we ever get. Typically it sits silent from July to March. And tonight's forecast? Snow.

At least this time the snow was fluffy enough to absorb water like a sponge and let it drain away gradually. We had no flooding in the barn or horse yards beyond what happens in any rainstorm. However, the snow on the metal roof of the arena kept it cold enough that the dense fogs last night condensed and dripped indoors, leaving "railroad tracks" across the floor directly under each roof beam. Fog was so dense that visibility went down to near zero at times.

Comments

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

*stands a mile away with several hundred kettles cackling insanely*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

If you want to take some of this excess H₂O away, go right ahead. I'm afraid you're in for a long, sloshy trip though.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

We're getting your hand me down weather today.

Looks like I tarped down all the yard stuff well.

Consistant 40 mph winds, with gust to 60. The only
thing that concerns me is the frame of the gazebo,
thats NEVER moved and now its tilted a bit. I'm going
to go out and reposition it and put bricks on the base.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Almost all the snow melted here yesterday. Then it did snow last night, just enough to cover the ground again. Temperature is about 20F but the creek is a raging torrent. Brit neighbors' field in which they cut most of the trees last year is flooded a foot deep and overflowing onto our pastures. From there it pours into the creek in a regular waterfall. Hope nothing's blocked downstream.

[soanos.livejournal.com]

It has been nice and clear all Christmas here in Southampton, and we had some ground frost last night. The weather has not been too bad, but I wish we had some snow too.

In Kuopio, Finland, the current temperature is -4C and the skies are clear, at least that is how it is according to Yahoo! Weather.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure snow has ever been very common in that part of England. Cold, yes, but more likely rain and fog.

I hope your visiting time is improving. It sounded rather disappointing from your last post about it.

[cozycabbage.livejournal.com]

I've heard of tornadoes going into the water and sucking that up, but what happens if a tornado flies into big snow drifts? What would you call it?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'd call it extremely rare, so rare it might not have a name. "Snow devil" or "ice spout"?

The thing is, the usual conditions for formation of a tornado involve hot, wet air at the ground level and colder air overriding it at higher altitudes.

With heavy snow on the ground, the warm humid air coming in is usually chilled and converted to fog very quickly, before thunderstorm fronts and tornadoes can form.