Southern Plains winter wx thread (2008-2009)

[PTPatrick]

GFS def seems to be giving up on the moderating trend it had advertised earlier for this weekend...shows a 1040 high nosing down the spine of the rockies by Monday morning with low 490s thickness lines in the upper plains.

[Extremeweatherguy]

A nice band of snow or sleet looks to be developing south of OKC right now. It might get interesting here within the hour as it lifts north.

http://hoot.metr.ou.edu/radar/L2/ok

Update: Getting some VERY light freezing drizzle/flurries right now. Definitely nothing to write home about at the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised if things get a little heavier overnight.

[iorange55]

It's been a steady freezing drizzle now for maybe an hour? I'm not sure when it started but if this keeps up all night the rush hour is going to be horrible.

[somethingfunny]

Most schools in Texoma are starting late or cancelled. The ice is very thin, but it's on everything.....

Honestly all it would take is a sand truck.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Most schools in Texoma are starting late or cancelled. The ice is very thin, but it's on everything.....

Honestly all it would take is a sand truck.

From Dallas BELO associate WFAA-TV8

Lots of cancelled/delayed openings for Dallas area schools.

More delays than complete closings...

[Dionne]

Hmmmmmm??? Seems like a foolish risk to delay school openings while your waiting for freezing rain to subside.

[gboudx]

My kids are still sleeping and haven't found out yet that they don't have school today. It's pretty icy outside. I'll probably head to work in a couple hours or so.

[Extremeweatherguy]

Lots of freezing drizzle and freezing fog up here in Oklahoma right now. Temperature is still in the teens too. It has been about 36 hours since we were last above 20˚.

[gboudx]

Yeah, it's 24 here with a dewpoint of 24. The forecasted high is 32. My hunch is that we don't make it there. The southerly flow would need to pick up and the clouds break-up.

[jasons2k]

Yeah, it's 24 here with a dewpoint of 24. The forecasted high is 32. My hunch is that we don't make it there. The southerly flow would need to pick up and the clouds break-up.

Not necessarily. With the cold layer is so thin, it will slowly erode from the top down. The air above the surface is very warm with a southerly flow. That will act to slowly modify the cold air at the surface.

[Extremeweatherguy]

The temperatures are very weird across the state of Oklahoma right now. The western panhandle is near or above freezing, the central part is mostly in the teens, and the SE part is in the upper 20s to lower 30s...

[Extremeweatherguy]

Visibilities probably less than a mile here now. We are getting very thick freezing fog, freezing drizzle and some flurries.

Update: I just stepped outside and we have a fine layer of white covering everything. The untreated sidewalks and roads are also pretty icy.

[iorange55]

We may not have gotten a lot of ice but it sure did cause some problems. I was driving through Arlington and everything was a mess it was backed up for miles. We all took back roads then coming back home we went on a bridge and it was still covered in ice.


It's still at 26 right now, I'm not sure if we'll make it above freezing. The drizzle is still going as well. What a mess!

[jasons2k]

The temperatures are very weird across the state of Oklahoma right now. The western panhandle is near or above freezing, the central part is mostly in the teens, and the SE part is in the upper 20s to lower 30s...

It's in the 50's out there now along with the Texa Panhandle.

That's what clear skies and a SW wind will do.

[jinftl]

CPC holding firm to expanding ridge over s.e. to the south-centra and trough over midwest and west....the ridge has made a huge impact in the weather pattern in florida from about 12/13 (last saturday) so its existence and strength is not purely speculation

[Dionne]

There is a "Freezing Fog advisory" on our Doppler. This is what we commonly called "ice fog" in Alaska. It usually happens at around -20F on Turnagain Arm. The duration was always short lived and we mostly stayed inside. Is this the same type of event in a warmer climate at a more southern latitude?

[Extremeweatherguy]

There is a "Freezing Fog advisory" on our Doppler. This is what we commonly called "ice fog" in Alaska. It usually happens at around -20F on Turnagain Arm. The duration was always short lived and we mostly stayed inside. Is this the same type of event in a warmer climate at a more southern latitude?

000
NOUS44 KFWD 162324
PNSFWD
TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-171300-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
524 PM CST TUE DEC 16 2008

...WHAT IS FREEZING FOG?...

IF FOG IS PRESENT WITH TEMPERATURES AT OR BELOW FREEZING...IT IS
CALLED FREEZING FOG. FREEZING FOG CAN DEPOSIT ICE ON ROADWAYS...
TREES...AND OTHER OBJECTS. THE ICE ACCUMULATION IS OFTEN REFERRED TO
AS GLAZE OR RIME. THE AMOUNT OF ICE THAT COLLECTS DEPENDS ON BOTH
THE DURATION OF THE FOG AND HOW DENSE THE FOG IS.

ALTHOUGH NOT PRECIPITATION...LIKE FREEZING RAIN OR FREEZING
DRIZZLE...THE MOISTURE IN FREEZING FOG CAN BE SUFFICIENT TO MAKE
TRAVEL HAZARDOUS. ELEVATED SURFACES...SUCH AS BRIDGES AND
OVERPASSES...ARE THE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO ICING...BUT ICY PATCHES MAY
ALSO FORM ON MAIN ROAD SURFACES.

MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO EXERCISE CAUTION. AVOID SUDDEN MOVEMENTS SUCH
AS BRAKING QUICKLY...SHARP TURNS...OR RAPID ACCELERATION. KEEPING A
STEADY MOTION ACROSS A BRIDGE OR OVERPASS IS PREFERRED OVER BRAKING.
FROM A STOP...IT IS OFTEN EASIER TO MAINTAIN TRACTION ON ICE IF
STARTING IN 2ND GEAR.

$$

25/58

[amawea]

Ice fog or rime is beautiful, but very dangerous on the roads as it can look normal but have a fine coating of very slick ice crystals. I have seen the sun come up and shine on ice fog and the sparkling crystals on everything is beautiful. Cedars, pine tress grass, everything looks so...well wintery.

[Extremeweatherguy]

It looks like a reinforcing shot of cool, dry air has moved into the OK panhandle this evening, and I am really surprised at how fast they cooled down! Those areas reached nearly 50F earlier today, but are already falling back into the upper teens as of 10pm!



...The Amarillo NWS certainly wasn't expecting this to happen. Most of the low temperature forecasts up in that area have already busted by a few degrees. Guymon, OK, for example, was only forecast to drop to 23F but are currently at 18F (5 degrees cooler than forecast).

[Valkhorn]

Ice fog or rime is beautiful, but very dangerous on the roads as it can look normal but have a fine coating of very slick ice crystals. I have seen the sun come up and shine on ice fog and the sparkling crystals on everything is beautiful. Cedars, pine tress grass, everything looks so...well wintery.[/QUOTE]

The last time I saw it was when I was on a mountain and it was 5 degrees. There was no wind so the ice crystals were coming out of thin air. They also made the snowpack nice and glittery.