Monsoon's In-Storm Update - Wednesday 13 February 2008

Hey friends,

Most of us had school delayed this morning, then cancelled--I suspect due to the icy sidewalks and back roads, power outages, and perhaps even the imminent flooding.  Let me give you an idea of what to expect in the next few days...

On Wednesday, rain will continue, heavy at times, into the mid afternoon, when it will begin to taper.  There's the outside chance of some flurries or brief snow showers as the storm moves away, particularly tonight, but these will not result in any additional accumulation.  Winds will kick up too, particularly overnight.  The problems many of us are dealing with include:

• sidewalks and driveways that are like skating rinks, and are difficult to clear.  Because temperatures have hovered around freezing or just above for many hours now, much of the precipitation that's fallen has been freezing rain.  Many places have an inch or more of ice on top of the snow that had fallen earlier.
• ice has coated power lines (and branches, bringing them down on power lines) and resulted in widespread power outages, which will only increase, I hate to say, with the strong winds forecast for tonight.
• many streets are closed due to flooding due to the volume of rainfall we're getting, coupled with the fact that our slushly ice/snow accumulation is blocking typical drainage paths.  Some roads, especially those in higher elevations or seldom-traveled ones, are coated with a treacherous slurry of ice and slush.

And finally, my good people, much of this mucky mess will likely freeze overnight, posing problems for the morning commute.  This is a nasty ice storm--ironic, perhaps, given that most of us are seeing what looks to be plain rain outside.  [I've covered this before, I think, but freezing rain is simply "regular" rain that freezes on surfaces; sleet consists of already-frozen pellets falling from the sky and is somewhat less common.]

High today 36, low 22.

Predictions for school scheduling on Thursday, February 14th: delay 65%; cancellation 25%.

On Thursday we'll see mainly sunny conditions and moderate winds with a high of 38 and a low of 24.

Friday brings the chance for more wintry precipitation, but I think this is going to amount to little of concern.  Afternoon rain showers are possible, then a steadier rain late may mix with snow; this clears out overnight.  High 46, low 27.

Saturday is sunny and colder with a high of 35 and a low of 19.

And on Sunday look for snow developing late and continuing into Monday.  I'm thinking this is a nuisance snowfall right now (an inch or two at most) and certainly won't include icing of the sort we're dealing with now.  I'll update you all if anything seems to have changed on this event.  Highs Sunday and Monday in the mid 30s, lows in the low 20s.

Happy Snow Day!

Monsoon