A long list of winter weather advisories filled my reading pile this morning. Let’s sit down with a mug of hot chocoloate and review some highlights…
…Wisconsin reporting very dangerous travel conditions as 10-20 inches of snow fell north of I-90.
…Blizzard warnings and winter storm warnings cover much of Michigan, Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, Iowa and northwestern Illinois.
…The NWS Des Moines is calling it a life threatening blizzard. The snow has ended there, but the 6-10 inches that fell Is being blown about by winds gusting to 45 mph.
…Wind chill values of -40F over South Dakota.
…The NWS Nashville has a winter storm warning up around Cookeville and Jamestown, where up to 5 inches of snow is expected.
…8-12 inches of snow is expected in northern Ohio, including Cleveland.
…In Chicago, where the Bears play the Pats this afternoon, 3-5 inches of snow and wind chills of -10F to -20F are expected.
…In eastern Kentucky, 6-12 inches of snow is expected in the higher elevations above 2,000 feet. 1-3 inches of snow expected in Lexington and Louisville.
…The lake effect snow machine will kick into tonight and Monday with 10-18 inches of snow expected around Watertown and Rochester NY.
A HUFF AND A PUFF WASN’T ENOUGH LAST NIGHT…The Metrodome in Minneapolis is held up by air. But when a December record daily snowfall of 16.5 inches fell yesterday, the weight of the snow collapsed the roof. Crews were unable to clear snow from the fabric roof overnight because of high winds. The roof is held up by air pressure. Revolving doors have to be used to keep the air in the facility. If you go out an emergency door, you would be spit out like a watermelon seed. The NWS Twin Cities warns that travel is very difficult and not advised across that area.
UNRELATED BUT INTERESTING: It has been an interesting weather week in Hawaii. There was a severe thunderstorm watch earlier this week and even a severe thunderstorm warning for the island of Kauai. Then on Friday, there was a winter storm warning for the summits on the Big Island, where 6 inches of snow fell on places like Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea above 8000 feet.
