The last two winters were big nothing-burgers. Almost half our normal snowfall and a few arctic swipes but no prolonged stretches of “polar” weather. Gazing at various models and what’s happening with the jet stream circling the North Pole I’m more convinced than ever that this may be a real winter. Maybe not as crazy as 2013-14 but significant cold and snow.
According to meteorologist Anthony Farnell there have been only three other stratospheric warming events this early in the winter season (1958, 1968 and 2000). “They all led to a disruption of the polar vortex and widespread cold Decembers across Canada and the northern US,” Farnell wrote on X.
We certainly have a deep layer of cold air for snow tomorrow, with 3 to 6 inches in the metro and 8 to 10 inches near the Iowa border. Avoid Iowa tomorrow. With temperatures at 20 to 25 degrees there will be compaction of snow into ice on area roadways, but this won’t be a blizzard.
Makes perfect sense. An unusually long and mild autumn followed by “January in December.” Making up for lost time?
