Monday, February 2, 2015

More Winter... maybe

Still in the winter doldrums.

Will try for perch later this month, but in the meantime will be tying flies
(Owen't velvet eels), fooling around with Ham Radio Satellites and waiting
for warmer weather:

Groundhog Says: 6 More Weeks of Winter; Top-Five Snowstorm Belts Chicago, Detroit

By: Jeff Masters , 1:45 PM GMT on February 02, 2015

A classic mid-winter snowstorm is sweeping across the nation, dumping heavy snow along a swath 2,000 miles long from Colorado to Maine. On Sunday the storm blasted Chicago with heavy snow and strong winds that created near-whiteout blizzard conditions, bringing the city its fifth heaviest snow on record--19.3". More than 18" of snow plastered Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan, with a storm-maximum snowfall amount of 20" observed in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Here in Southeast Michigan, my snow shoveling muscles are sore today after dealing with the 16.7" the storm dumped on Detroit--the city's third heaviest snowfall on record. By Monday morning, the storm had moved on to Ohio, hitting Cleveland with 4.7". The biggest totals during the remainder of the storm's trek are expected in snow-weary Massachusetts, with snow amounts near 12" expected in Boston. That city received 24.4" of snow from last week's blizzard; several locations in Central Massachusetts near Worcester received 36" of snow, and are expecting another 12" from this storm.


Figure 1. Westbound I-88 near IL Rte 53 in Lisle, Illinois on Sunday 2/1/15 @3:56pm CST. Image credit: Wunderphotographer Hammelmom.

Chicago's Five Biggest Snowstorms Since 1871:
1. 23.0 inches Jan 26-27, 1967
2. 21.6 inches Jan 1-3, 1999
3. 21.2 inches Jan 31-Feb 2, 2011
4. 20.3 inches Jan 12-14, 1979
5. 19.3 inches Jan. 31-Feb 2, 2015

Detroit's Five Biggest Snowstorms Since 1880:
1. 24.5 inches Japr 6, 1886
2. 19.3 inches Dec 1-2, 1974
3. 16.7 inches Feb 1-2, 2015
4. 16.1 inches, Mar 4-5, 1900
5. 14.0 inches, Feb 28-Mar 1, 1900

Groundhog Says: Six More Weeks of Winter!
In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, home of the world's most famous prognosticating rodent, Punxsutawney Phil, 3" of snow had fallen by Sunday evening, and on Monday morning the town was beset by a lovely wintry mix of snow, rain and freezing rain that only a hibernating groundhog could love. However, the skies cleared briefly at sunrise on Monday morning, allowing Punxsutawney Phil to see his shadow and make his usual fearless prognostication for the remainder of winter:

“Forecasts abound on the Internet,
But I, Punxsutawney Phil, am still your best bet,
Yes, A shadow I see, you can start to twitter,
Hash Tag: Six More Weeks of Winter!”

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