Winter Storm Warning Just Issued

The National Weather Service in Tucson has issued a Winter Storm Warning above 4,000 feet in effect from 8:00 tonight until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.

Here’s what they say about possible accumulations and snow levels:

SNOW ACCUMULATIONS…SCATTERED ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ABOVE 6000 FEET THIS AFTERNOON. TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING…EXPECT ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO AN INCH AT 3500 TO 4000 FEET…2 TO 4 INCHES FROM 4000 TO 5000 FEET…4 TO 6 INCHES FROM 5000 TO 7000 FEET…AND 6 TO 10 INCHES ABOVE 7000 FEET.

SNOW LEVELS…SNOW LEVELS WILL HOVER NEAR 6000 FEET THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE FALLING TO 3000 FEET TONIGHT. THEY WILL RISE SLIGHTLY TO 3500 FEET SATURDAY MORNING AS THE STORM DEPARTS.

So who lives at or around 3,000 feet? Residents in Catalina, Northern Oro Valley, Vail, Parts of the Foothills. My apartment is at about 2,600 feet. Much of Tucson Metro is around 2,400 feet.

Could be interesting by morning!

KOLD Exclusive Water Rescue

From @KOLD_news13 on Twitter: Exclusive video of a Catalina woman getting pulled to safety by swift water rescue crew: http://bit.ly/5WbpoB #Tucson

Here it is from their website:

Rainfall Totals and Counting. UPDATE: Totals from Rainlog.org

Thanx to KOLD’s Meteorologist Erin Jordan for the totals.  You can read them here.

Erin also reports that Tucson’s official rain gauge had 1.05″ of rain since midnight (still have all day to go!) shattering the old record of .60″  It’s now the 7th wettest January on record.

Other rainfall amounts range from 1 to 3 inches in the Catalina’s, generally and inch around town.  Looks like we had about an inch and a third near the apartment!

UPDATE: Here are the totals from Rainlog.org for the Tucson area.  I believe these numbers reflect the last 24 hours ending at 7:00 this morning.  Click on the pic for the interactive map.  Looks like I had just under an inch here near the apartment.

Snow in Tucson?

It could happen by tomorrow morning.  The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch above 4,000 feet for this evening through 11am tomorrow.  Here’s what’s happening.

A cold front blew through last night with some moderate to heavy rainfall lasting through the night.  We are now on the cold, unsettled side of the storm.  Today’s forecast is for much cooler with the rain showery in nature.  Cold air has moved in aloft, so especially this afternoon when we get a little bit of heating (yes, we get some heating even on a cloudy day) the atmosphere will be pretty unstable.  That means the possibility of some thunderstorms forming.  With such cold temperatures above our heads, it won’t take much for some of those storms to drop small hail.  The winds aren’t as strong as yesterday, and they aren’t as warm.  Yesterday it was south winds gusting to 60+.  Today it’s southwesterly winds gusting to 30ish.

Then there’s tonight.  Another weaker storm is on the heals of the one exiting right now.  It is coming straight down from the Gulf of Alaska.  It’s a cold system that will drop snow levels to 3,500 feet by morning and probably lower at times.  The storm is moving through at night and in the morning hours, so that increases the chances of very low snow levels.  The National Weather Service isn’t putting snow depths on it yet, but there is a chance of some good snows in towns south and east of Tucson such as Tombstone, Sierra Vista, Benson, Wilcox and of course Oracle.

Here’s the fun part.  This storm could also bring some convective activity with it.  In other words, some thunder is possible.  Any thunder activity would drag colder air aloft down to lower elevations causing snow levels to drop.  Even without thundersnow, it will be possible to see snow falling in the Tucson Metro area and possibly sticking in places like Catalina,  Oro Valley, Vail and the Foothills.

We will know more by tomorrow morning.

What a Storm!

and we ain’t done yet. I don’t have time this morning to track down all of the exact amounts and wind reports, so I will just do the best I can off the top of my head.

The storm was intense yesterday. Wind gusts were reported 73 mph and the University of Arizona, 86 mph on Mt. Lemmon, 93 mh in Ajo, I think it was. The Tucson Airport was reporting gusts generally in the low 40s mph range yesterday. There was some damage around town. I saw video this morning on KOLD of a carport shredded at an apartment complex on Mona Lisa near Ina Road.

Other wind damage reports include closed schools today on the Tahono O’dom reservation due to power outages. There were also spotty power outages around Tucson. Two semi’s were blown over on I-10 near Eloy.

With the storm came a lot of rain, flooding and severe weather. In the Phoenix area there were at least two water rescues that I heard about. There was also a report of a tornado in Scottsdale, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet that I know of. Flagstaff already had a lot of snow on the ground. Then it started raining, then it turned into snow being measured in feet. It’s still snowing up there and roads are closed all over the northern part of the state. Residents and business owners in Flagstaff were being encouraged to clear their roofs to prevent collapse.

I went to the movies last night.  Saw “Book of Eli.”  I really enjoyed the movie!  Anyway, on my drive home about 9:30 as my car was being buffeted by the wind and there was a little rain, I was thinking, “This is a lot like an Oregon Coast Storm without the rain.”  It makes sense since it was a pacific storm.  There have been many times in Oregon when there have been 60 mph gusts with driving rain, not too cold out, and spotty power outages, etc.

Today’s forecast is much cooler with showers and maybe some thunderstorms. Snow levels are dropping. I’ll address that in my next post that I’m gonna start here in just a minute or two.

High Wind and Blizzard Warning!

A robust storm, as it were, is barreling toward Arizona and the effects across the area promise to be dramatic.  The headline is the strong wind.  A strong southerly jet stream is driving this strong storm and the combination will translate into very strong winds in the lower elevations and even stronger winds higher up.  Gusts to 55 mph by this afternoon will be likely in the Tucson area and gusts to near 70 mph are possible in the mountains.  That’s why the National Weather Service has issued a HIGH WIND WARNING  from 11 this morning until 2am Friday.

Tonight is when the main impact of the storm will be felt.  Normally winds will decrease at night because you lose the mixing of the atmosphere leaving the strongest winds above your head.  Tonight that may not be the case as scattered thunderstorms will have the capability of pulling some of those higher winds down to the surface.  It’s possible that the high winds won’t decrease tonight at all.

Last time we had winds this strong there was a fatal pileup on Interstate 10 near Casa Grande.  Thankfully we had some rain yesterday morning and again this morning.  I’m hoping that the rain we’ve had combined with what is coming will be enough to keep the dust down.  Still, caution should always be observed driving on the Interstate near those usual blowing dust areas.  Also high profile vehicles may have difficulty with this wind.  Definitely a two hands on the wheel kind of driving day.  It’s also going to be possible to see some damage from these winds.  Downed trees and stuff like that may occur in town.

Higher up, the winds will combine with a lot of snow.  That’s why the National Weather Service has issued a BLIZZARD WARNING above 7,000 feet for tonight and tomorrow morning.

Initially, the snow level will be around 8,000 feet.  Our last storm left a few inches of snow as low as 6,000 feet.  The rain combined with some melting snow could result in some flooding in mountain streams and perhaps downstream.  Otherwise, snow levels will drop below 7,000 tonight and 1 to 2 feet of new snow is possible in the mountains around Tucson combined with winds gusting as high as 70 mph.  The White Mountains could get as much as 4 feet of snow from this storm!

As far as rain amounts in the lower elevations, we are expecting generally 3/4 of an inch to an inch and a half with this system.  Some areas could exceed 2 inches if they get a thunderstorm or two.  This is great news!  We need the rain.  The snow pack will help us out too.

Snow in Tucson?

Well, maybe in the Foothills and out towards Vail.  After the cold front moves through tonight, temperatures will start to drop and so will the snow level.  It’s possible that by early Saturday morning there may be some snow showers right down to the valley floor!  Accumulating snow is expected above 4,000 feet, but it’s worth watching.  This will be the back side of the storm so we aren’t talking about a whole lot of snow, but it’s possible that Oracle, Tombstone, Sierra Vista, Benson, and some other places could pick up a few inches.  IF the snow level can manage to get down to the 2,500 foot level maybe we could finally see snow here at the apartment in Oro Valley.  It’s not likely, but when the possibility gets this close, I start holding out hope.

Bottom line to all this?  Enjoy the adventure but be careful out there!

Another much much weaker storm is headed our way early next week as the El Nino pattern is kicking in.  El Nino dried out or Monsoon last Summer, let’s hope we can now make up for it in the remaining months of Winter into early Spring.

Mt. Lemmon Pics from Down Below

Here are a couple of shots I took this morning.  Unfortunately, we were on the southern end of the storm that hit, so the snow level was pretty high.  About 6,000 feet.  So, the 1-2 feet of snow that fell fell mainly on the mountain top.  The good news was there was a great fetch of Pacific moisture and the strong upslope wind caused a lot of snow to fall where it did!  I’m too busy with work today (that’s a good thing) to make a trip to the snow, but here’s how it looks from below:

Storm Totals for Mt. Lemmon Plus Destruction Video

Mt. Lemmon with a foot of new snow from the storm!  KGUN9′s Chief Meteorologist Erin Christiansen points out the snow totals:

KGUN9 “On Your Side”‘s Joel Waldman spent the night on Mt. Lemmon during the storm and shows us the destruction from the storm.  Power could be out for a day or two weeks or somewhere in between.

UPDATE: KOLD Meteorologist Erin Jordan reports Mt. Lemmon received 12-24″ of snow! She also recaps the storm on the KOLD Climate Community Blog.

Tucson Weather – What a Storm!

It’s 7:42 a.m. as I am starting to type this entry and skies are just now starting to clear.  Clouds will move out quickly, but leaving wind damage, as well as much needed rain and snow, in it’s wake.

I don’t have a lot of storm totals yet as far as rain and snow in the area, but the wind reports are dramatic.  The National Weather Service office in Tucson reports a 73 mph wind gust early this morning at the University of Arizona campus.  A window was reportedly blown in at a business in Sierra Vista thanks to winds gusting to 71.  A friend of mine on Facebook says a tree blew into his house in Oro Valley!  Now that the Sun is up and news crews are getting out, there should be more reports, and pictures, of what the strong winds did overnight.

The great part of the storm was the widespread rain and mountain snow.  The National Weather Service office in Flagstaff is reporting widespread snow totals of 18-24 inches in their area!  I’m hoping to hear that nearby Mt. Lemmon got a foot of new snow.  I am getting set to record the 7:55 a.m. news cut-in from KOLD-TV to see what they have to say about all of this.  I’ll add the video as an update if they have anything cool to report.

Meanwhile, our skies should clear quickly.  As the storm moves out, the winds will go with it, but still quite breezy this morning.  High this afternoon in the upper 50s.  Partly cloudy tonight with a low in the upper 30s.  Sunny tomorrow and a little warmer.

UPDATE 8:01 a.m.: KOLD-TV cut-in didn’t have much to say about wind damage or rain and snow reports.  Maybe at Noon.

UPDATE 10:54 a.m.:  First Alert Meteorologist Erin Jordan reports on KOLD.com that power is out on Mt. Lemmon.  She doesn’t have a snow report from them yet, but rain gauges below the snow line measured over an inch and a half.  That could mean over a foot and a half of snow at the top of the mountain!  Also, I just got the rain gauge reports from rainlog.org from around Tucson.  Looks like about a quarter of an inch near the apartment.  Some places as much as a half inch in the metro area.

Tucson Weather – Blizzardo! Above 8,000 Feet

Tucson Weather: Cloudy and windy with a chance of an isolated shower or two this afternoon.  High in the upper 50s.  Rain tonight with winds gusting over 30 mph.  Low in the upper 40s.  Showers tomorrow morning with some clearing by afternoon.  Windy and cooler.  Winds gusting over 30 with a high in the low 50s.

---

This is one of those mornings where I am up early and my excitement for the incoming storm has me looking up the latest information and staying up!  I’ll probably catch a nap before work.

I’m also up early enough to read in the National Weather Service forecast discussion about the Blizzard Warning being issued for the Catalina/Pinaleno and White Mountains for tonight above 8,000 feet before the warning actually comes out probably around 4:30 this morning.

The Winter Storm Warning remains in effect for tonight through tomorrow morning above 6,000 feet.  The added component of stronger winds above 8,000 feet has prompted the Blizzard Warning, which the weather service calls, “rare” around these parts.

As the storm gets closer more is known about the storm,  The expected snowfall amounts have been tweaked a little.  In the Catalina’s expecting about a foot of snow above 8,000 feet, 12-14 inches in the Pinaleno’s and perhaps over 18 inches in the White’s.  The snow will be heavy at times with snowfall rates of 2 inches per hour.  Combine that with 40-50 mph winds you have yourself a blizzard!  (mmmm blizzard)

Down here in the valley, expecting between a half inch to an inch of rain mainly tonight and tomorrow.  Winds could gust over 35 mph.  Kinda reminds me of Oregon!  Unfortunately, winds will be out of the southwest and west, so no driving rain against my north facing window like when I was a kid.  I miss that sound.

« Previous Page — Next Page »