Another wintry mix tonight/Sunday... and a warm up!!!

I spent the week in the snow...  Monday I was doing a story on heating and how this February will pan out as far as one of the coldest ever... I should have the final numbers for that tonight on the news.

This morning I spent time putting in new shelf brackets in the freezer.  The old ones were plastic, broken, and it was a pile of food... Thanks to some aluminum, I made new brackets and back to an organized freezer. 

Winter Weather Advisory for most of Central and Northern Ohio through Sunday & Sunday night.

It took a little time, but I managed to get an animated Futurecast...

Snow showers developing tonight, with a wintry mix for Southern Ohio.  Expecting 2-3" of snow by daybreak for most of Central Ohio.

A bit of a lull through parts of the morning, then more rain/snow mix through the afternoon. Warmer air & rain for Southern Ohio with hinder their snow accumulations, but areas that stay all snow to the north could see an additional 1"-3".

Cold air rushes in Sunday evening with a final wave of snow before midnight then we dry out for Monday.

A surge of gulf moisture will mean warmer temps Tuesday into early Wednesday along with heavy rain.  Flooding is a concern with 1"-3" of rain expected.  Snow pack, frozen ground, and icy streams/rivers will amplify the flooding concern.

Colder air returns for the end of the week.

Cold & snow can't stop all that has to get done...

To say it was cold this week... is an understatement for Central Ohio.  And this is NOT factoring in the wind.

But the ice crystals in the air made for some awesome pictures.  This one is a raw photo taken with my iPhone... no alterations.

My school talk was in Marion this week... and they were VERY welcoming.

Thursday night Dawn and I finished registering for the baby shower.  I had to quality test all the rocking chairs.

Oh, this is the progress on the nursery from last weekend.  My sister said she will need to come back another weekend to finish painting it.

Snow on the way... so Buckeye said you HAVE to use a ruler for us to use your measurements on-air.

We generally had about 5-8" of snow... so a little more than I expected, but the roads were still a mess... So yes, it snowed as expected, but about 0.2" more liquid equivalent. 

Columbus even broke the record for snowfall on Saturday.

Flurries to the north this evening then clearing skies and becoming frigid.  Lows near zero for much of Central Ohio by Monday morning with wind chills between -5 and -15.  More sunshine for Monday, but still cold.  More clouds Tuesday and a chance for some light snow later in the day and Tuesday night with minor accumulations.  Frigid air returns for the rest of the workweek then we have a warm-up for the weekend.

How about this for next Sunday???  I think this model is a tad warmer than what we will see... but it is still a week out... and some light at the end of the frozen tunnel.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Saturday's snow getting chatter

Tomorrow's snow COULD be a big one... But it all depends on temperatures.  The above model shows the rain/snow line across Southern Ohio... (with ice as well)  The models have trended a tad more North since this model came out, but as a wise guy (my father, also a meteorologist) once told me... warm air will win out.  So that means they will likely keep trending a tad north (warmer) before it arrives. (If you want to see the timing for the above animation... the models are in UTC time, so 0Z is 7PM for the evening before.  so 12Z is 7AM and so on...)

To show you comparison... the above is for a model comparison at 7PM tomorrow.  One model keeps the warm air in Southern Ohio and the rain/snow line to the far south, but the other model allows the rain to sneak north a LOT more.  And the difference: temperature.  So a LOT will come down to the surface temps tomorrow and the temperatures a few hundred feet above us.  If we see warm air work in, then rain and ice is likely. 

Take the snow reading here and multiply it by 10.. so you can see the models over the last day have ramped up the precip amounts, but it also started hinting at more rain.  This is for Columbus.  South of I-70 has a better chance of the rain and ice mixing in for a while.  Far Northern Ohio should stay all snow, so that means Central Ohio will be, again, in the battle ground. 

As of 10AM Friday, here are the Winter Storm Warnings/Advisories.  I think most of these areas will see 3-5" of snow... BUT the big caveat is that if you stay all snow, near the freezing line... you could easily see pockets, or bands, of 6+" of snow.  I think the best odds of the higher bands will be along/just north of  I-70 in Western Ohio and then about 15-35 miles to the north of I-70 in Central and Eastern Ohio.

Keep in mind... any rain will melt your snow... quickly.

Timing-wise... The snow should start just before daybreak Saturday... fairly light at first, but it will pick up in intensity through the afternoon.  Low visibilities likely, but winds will be lighter than last Saturday's blinding snow squalls. The afternoon/early evening is where you will need to watch out for the icy mix and rain moving in from the South.  Once the sun sets, our temperatures will hold steady for a brief period of time, then begin to fall... The cold front will be pushing through here just before midnight, and most of the moisture will be on the way out, but a final band of snow is possible along the front.  So basically, it all depends on how warm we get later tomorrow, but travel will be dicey for most of Ohio.  That's what you should try to take away... travel will be dicey, as far as how much snow... temps may mean 3" at your house, but more just down the road where it is colder.

Then another brutal cold blast of air for Sunday and early next week... 4 more weeks til spring!  Can't wait!  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Snow for Ohio on President's Day

 

 First off, I will just show you the totals expected by Tuesday morning.

Monday morning will be dry, but the snow will start in Southern Ohio first.

The system will be tracking to the NE and the northern edge will sneak its way closer to I-70 for the late afternoon and evening.

By late Monday night the snow will continue falling across the Southeastern half of Ohio, but will be on it's way out... By 4AM Tuesday all the snow will be gone.

Here are the latest Winter Warning products, as of 4PM Sunday.  The storm seems to have held steady, but as we all know from two weeks ago, it still may shift more North.  It seems to have had a shift late last night and has been holding steady with this afternoon's models.

South and Southeastern Ohio will see 4"-7+" by Tuesday morning.  The I-71 corridor from Cincinnati to Columbus will see 2"-4" and then the I-70 corridor from Columbus to Wheeling will see 2"-4".  Areas to the North of this will see less snow.  Little to no snow for Northwestern Ohio.

Another strong cold front late Tuesday will bring another arctic blast of air for the late-week... so no tropical temps anytime soon for Ohio.  Maybe getting into the 30's by next weekend... is that tropical for us now?  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Monday snow looking likely...

MONDAY SNOW - looking more and more likely that we will see accumulating snow late Monday into Monday night. Remember how two weeks ago the snow shifted north and we saw rain? Well same situation, except this time the storm was originally tracking over Kentucky and now it is shifting the snow north, into Southern Ohio. These are raw model predictions from early this morning. We will have to see how what the afternoon models look like and I will break it all down for you on ABC6 at 6.  Just wanted to show you this to give you a heads up for the snow likely for later tomorrow. Have a good one!

Best, 

Andrew Buck Michael

Nursery coming along... and so are my childhood memories.

So I only got one present for Christmas from my wife... and it is exactly what I wanted... but I still won't get it til August.  It is the Carbon Flyer.  A friend of mine is part of a group, Trident Design, that takes ideas and turn them into reality.  My wife backed a campaign to produce these carbon airplanes.  The designer doesn't consider them drones because they are less than $1,000, so he considers them nice toys.  Can't way to play!

I also went to my first Ohio State basketball game this week.  I used to work for Ohio State and one of my old bosses contacted me with two extra tickets.  So much fun.

My sister came to visit this weekend and she started working on the nursery. 

And she didn't want to stop...

And all this was done in one day.  Can't wait to see it painted... She got the artistic genes in the family.

Meanwhile I am in the basement cleaning VCR's and ingesting home video to digitize and put on DVDs.

On to the weather...  Snow squalls today caused a lot of accidents, and with a little luck we will fall to a low to around -6°...  I did bump that up to -4° a little bit ago because our temperatures stopped falling as fast as they did in the afternoon.  Either way... it is going to be VERY cold tonight.

The snow has stopped for now, but looking ahead... no major chances for snow for Central Ohio for the week ahead.  We will have a big system move by just to our south late Monday and Tuesday, but the majority of the snow is tracking through Kentucky on the latest models.  The models have kept it that far south the last couple days, but who knows... if it shifts back to the north I will let you know.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Lots of "awesome" this week...

First off, Monday was my birthday and the only present I got was AWESOME!  Thanks to my darling wife for getting my the gift I wanted for Christmas.  Now I get to enjoy TRON Legacy in all the blu-ray glory!  That is the kinda movie I will turn on the surround sound.

Tuesday I just got silly in the newsroom with some left over dry ice from my school visit.  I put some french vanilla creamer in the water and it actually made the newsroom smell like a vanilla factory.

My wife sent me the top image with all the snow at her parents in Strongsville this morning.  I replied with the bottom photo of the backyard. 

I have been having a debate on going on-air with the scruff... but I have to get approval first... I think it would need a few more days growth.

I worked a lot in the garage today with the warm temps.  I first raised the top shelf 6" so I will stop busting my head.  Then I worked on running electric to my work bench.  Double win!

I have been trying to let OSU allow me to interview some of the players on the "salmoning" that they do.  But they said the students need to focus on school and not media obligations.  Clay Hall ran into Pat Elflein tonight during a media obligation already planned.  I can't wait to see the story.

Tomorrow will be another mild day, but some light rain later in the day ahead of a cold front then quickly falling temps by Monday with some lingering light snow.  Little to no accumulation for Monday... maybe a dusting, if you are lucky.  Another warm-up Wednesday ahead of another cold front Wednesday night.  At least we are getting into the roller-coaster pattern... which will eventually lead to milder temperatures.  Spring is less than 6 weeks away!  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Wintry mix leaving, cold returning

Rain for most of Central Ohio today, with the snow staying across the Northern third of Ohio.  That's where the Winter Weather Advisories and Winter Storm Warnings are still in effect.  We are wet from the rain right now, but temperatures will fall VERY fast overnight and that will lead to refreezing issues by tomorrow morning.  So watch out for icy spots Monday.

There is one more band of snow that will roll through tonight.  It shouldn't be too much more than a dusting... and depending on timing it will melt as it comes in contact with the ground.

Cold and windy for Monday with wind chills near or below zero through the day.  Partly cloudy Tuesday and then a weak clipper system for Wednesday bringing some light snow, mainly for Northern Ohio and only bringing light accumulations.   Then even colder... So no big systems on the way for now.  Hope you all have a great week!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Tracking the rain & snow

The National Weather Service trimmed back on the Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories. The leading edge of the system is/was a wintry mix for Central Ohio. Temperatures are right near/above freezing so a lot is melting as it falls and out temperatures will continue to warm through the day. We will see a dry spell for late morning and then rain for the afternoon/evening. The rain/snow line will push into far Northern Ohio this evening.  We could see a quick snow shower overnight but the ground will be wet at first so that will have a hard time sticking until the wet surfaces freeze. We could see a dusting in spots, but nothing that should require a snow shovel for Central Ohio. You will need the salt though... Things will refreeze very fast tonight for an icy Monday morning. Have a good one! 

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael