Snow in at least 49 states

[Juliancolton]

Sorry if this has already been posted, but it seems interesting. 49 out of 50 states are confirmed to have had snow in the ground during the past few days, and there's a very good possibility that the last state—Hawaii—has some snow in the mountaintops. Not sure if this has ever happened before (well, it probably has, just never been recorded).

[vbhoutex]

Sorry if this has already been posted, but it seems interesting. 49 out of 50 states are confirmed to have had snow in the ground during the past few days, and there's a very good possibility that the last state—Hawaii—has some snow in the mountaintops. Not sure if this has ever happened before (well, it probably has, just never been recorded).

Last time this was recorded that I know of(without searching records)is in 1973 which is one of the analog years for this winter. That is the winter we had 3 snows in Houston. We only need two more!

[Juliancolton]

Sorry if this has already been posted, but it seems interesting. 49 out of 50 states are confirmed to have had snow in the ground during the past few days, and there's a very good possibility that the last state—Hawaii—has some snow in the mountaintops. Not sure if this has ever happened before (well, it probably has, just never been recorded).

Last time this was recorded that I know of(without searching records)is in 1973 which is one of the analog years for this winter. That is the winter we had 3 snows in Houston. We only need two more!

Ah, cool. Apparently parts of Alabama had their biggest storm since 1973 yesterday. Is it possible to find archived snowcover maps?

[Dustan78]

Hawaii should have snow on the big island, the mountain peak there gets snow in the winter. some times you can take helo tours up there to go skiing.

[Juliancolton]

Hawaii should have snow on the big island, the mountain peak there gets snow in the winter. some times you can take helo tours up there to go skiing.

Yeah. I think most people are sure there's at least a small, worn-down patch of snow somewhere up there; the issue is that nobody can explicitly confirm that.

[Jag95]

Sorry if this has already been posted, but it seems interesting. 49 out of 50 states are confirmed to have had snow in the ground during the past few days, and there's a very good possibility that the last state—Hawaii—has some snow in the mountaintops. Not sure if this has ever happened before (well, it probably has, just never been recorded).

Last time this was recorded that I know of(without searching records)is in 1973 which is one of the analog years for this winter. That is the winter we had 3 snows in Houston. We only need two more!

Ah, cool. Apparently parts of Alabama had their biggest storm since 1973 yesterday. Is it possible to find archived snowcover maps?

Don't forget the 1993 freak. 18 inches in Birmingham and 2-3 inches all the way to the coast.

[Brent]

Don't forget the 1993 freak. 18 inches in Birmingham and 2-3 inches all the way to the coast.

Some places in South Alabama below Montgomery had more yesterday than in 93, but yeah overall. South of Montgomery the amounts were drastically less in 93 because of the further north track. Montgomery only had 4 inches then, about the same as yesterday.

[jinftl]

With the coldest high temp from the major reporting stations on the FL panhandle yesterday being 49 deg in Marianna...most locations were in the low 50's...it is safe to say that there is no snow on the ground anywhere in Florida right now.

That would mean we are down to 49 states reporting at least some snow cover as of today (assuming there is some snow on Hawaii's highest peaks)....still a very impressive (and before long a 'fleeting') statistic.

The graphic below may be a bit generous with the current snowpack...not sure there is snow on the ground (even the displayed 'less than 1" amt') on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain and the MS Gulf Coast right now.

[vbhoutex]

With another bout of snow moving SE towards the Deep South out of OK and TX this may not be too far off after tomorrow.

[RL3AO]

I read somewhere that a NWS meteorologist said there is no snow in Hawaii right now. Its been pretty warm up in the mountains.

[jinftl]

Does it snow in Hawaii? NWS Honolulu answers that very question on their website:


Does it snow in Hawaii?
The answer is yes, although only on top of the highest peaks on Maui and the Big Island. Every winter storm systems bring frequent snow storms to elevations generally above 11,000 feet. This means that only Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are impacted. Many times these snowstorms are accompanied by strong winds, resulting in significant drifting of snow and blizzard conditions. Snow can occur in any month, but is most likely between October and April. Although routine snow measurements are not taken, the winter of 2004-5, it is estimated that 35 to 55 inches of snow fell and 40 to 75 inches during the winter 2005-6. Haleakala on Maui reaches just above 10,000 feet and snow is more rare there, occurring once every 2 to 3 years. The last snow there was on January 23, 2006 when 1 to 2 inches of snow fell in association with a thunderstorm near the summitt.
http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/pages/faq.php


Right now temps at the highest elevations on the big island are a bit too warm for snow...but just barely.....aloha and brr!!!

NWS Zone Forecast for: Big Island Summit, HI
Issued by: National Weather Service Honolulu, HI
Last Update: 1020 AM HST SUN FEB 14 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today...Sunny. Highs around 52 at 9000 feet to around 44 at the summits.
Tonight...Clear. Lows around 37 at 9000 feet to around 31 at the summits.
Presidents Day...Sunny. Highs around 53 at 9000 feet to around 46 at the summits.
Monday Night...Clear. Lows 31 to 39. .
Tuesday...Sunny...breezy. Highs 44 to 55. Northwest winds 10 to 25 mph. Gusts up to 40 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night...Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows 31 to 39.
Wednesday...Sunny. Highs 41 to 53.
Wednesday Night...Mostly clear. Lows 32 to 40.
Thursday...Sunny. Highs 44 to 55.
Thursday Night...Mostly clear. Lows 33 to 41.
Friday...Mostly sunny. Highs 44 to 55.
Friday Night...Mostly clear. Lows 34 to 42.
Saturday...Sunny. Highs 44 to 55.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?zoneid=HIZ028

[weunice]

The graphic below may be a bit generous with the current snowpack...not sure there is snow on the ground (even the displayed 'less than 1" amt') on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain and the MS Gulf Coast right now.

I live in SE Louisiana and we had 1-2 inches of snow around here and the snow was on the ground for about an hour afterward. It melted amazingly fast. Interstingly though they are saying it might snow again tonight with the possibility of 1/2" of accumulation.

[Juliancolton]

http://www.patricktmarsh.com/2010/02/da ... y-an-inch/ - Hawaii has a few small patches of snow left, so done I guess!

[Scott Patterson]

I'd be really surprised if there was no snow in Hawaii at this time of year. Usually there's quite a bit of snow on the highest peaks in February. Having just small patches on Mauna Kea as in the photos in the link in the previous post is pretty unusual. In addition, on Mauna Loa (the second highest peak), some snow more or less last year round in some of the lava frissures (though unlike Mauna Kea you have to walk quite a ways to see them). Anyway, a few years ago, I put together a list of weather data for various mountain top loations in the USA, including Mauna Kea. Check it out:

http://www.summitpost.org/fact-sheet/171585/interesting-weather-statistics-for-us-mountain-summits.html

Winter temperature averages on Mauna Kea are about the same as they are in Boston, for example (and the rest of the year is much cooler).

Anyway, all of these photos were taken by a hiker from Mauna Loa in Hawaii in February 2006:









May 2005 on Mauna Kea:



Feb 2004 on Mauna Kea:



Feb 2008 from the lowlands: