Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog

Heavy rains, snows, and season's first tornadoes hit Texas
Posted by: Dr. Jeff Masters, 02:41 PM GMT del 10 Gennaio 2012 +23
The nation's first major winter storm rumbled through Texas yesterday, bringing much appreciated heavy rains. The storm set also spawned the year's first two tornadoes, and brought record-setting heavy snows to West Texas. A wide swath of 3 - 5 inches of rain fell over much of Eastern Texas and Southern Louisiana, bringing isolated flooding to the drought-ravaged region. Houston, Texas received 4.06" of rain, breaking the previous record rainfall for the date of 2.54". It was the heaviest rainfall for Houston since the 4.87" that fell October 15, 2007. Drought-stricken Texas has now received the heaviest precipitation, relative to average, of any state in the U.S. during 2012, thanks to a highly abnormal jet stream pattern that is keeping the northern polar branch of the jet stream far to the north in Canada. The latest GFS model forecast predicts that this unusually dry pattern will persist for at least the next ten days, with the possibility of it breaking down during the last week of January.


Figure 1. Radar-estimated precipitation ending Tuesday morning, January 10, 2012, shows a wide swath of 3 - 5 inches for much of Eastern Texas and Southern Louisiana.


Figure 2. Departure of precipitation from average for the 7-day period January 2 - January 9, ending at 7 am EST. Texas has been the wettest state in the U.S., and the rest of the country has been incredibly dry. Image credit: NOAA/Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service.

Year's first tornado hits Texas City
The first tornado of 2012 touched down near 1pm CST in Texas City yesterday. The twister hit the Mall of the Mainland, damaging its roof and blowing out windows of parked cars. No injuries were reported, but the storm flooded the mall with 2 - 3 inches of water, and the mall remains closed today. A separate tornado affected Fort Bend County, Texas, but caused no damage or injuries. January is typically the quietest month of the year for tornadoes in the U.S.; during the past three years, we've averaged seventeen tornadoes in the month of January. A few more tornadoes are possible today, as NOAA's Storm Prediction Center predicts that a slight chance of severe weather will continue along the cold front of the storm that spawned yesterday's tornadoes. New Orleans, the Florida Panhandle, and most of Mississippi and Alabama are at risk of seeing a few tornadoes and damaging winds from severe thunderstorms.

Heavy snow in West Texas sets all-time snow records for Midland
Yesterday's storm dumped 10.6 inches of snow on Midland, Texas, setting a record for the heaviest 1-day snow in city history. The previous record was the 9.8" that fell December 10 - 11, 1998. Midland's total snowfall for the winter of 2011 - 2012 is now 19.5". With winter not even half over, this smashes their previous seasonal snowfall record of 13.9", set in the winter of 1946 - 1947. Remarkably, Midland (population 111,000) has had more snow this year than America's four snowiest cities with population greater than 75,000--Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo (in New York's lake-effect snow belts), and Duluth, Minnesota:



Heavy snows hit Southern Alaska
If you're wondering where all of the snow that usually hits California's Sierras and the northern tier of U.S. states is going, the answer is Southern Alaska. This winter's highly abnormal jet stream pattern is slamming an unending series of heavy snow storms into Southern Alaska, where the snow totals are mind-bending. A snow storm on Sunday dumped 15.2" of snow on Valdez, Alaska, bringing the total snow this season to 290.5". That's 24.2 feet (7.4 meters), and is 12 feet (3.7 meters) above what the city normal has by January 10. The city is still a ways from breaking their monthly or seasonal snowfall records--their highest monthly snowfall was 180" in February 1996, and their highest seasonal total was 550.7", set during the winter of 1989 - 1990. Valdez received 152.2" of snow during December 2011, setting a new December snowfall record (records go back to 1949.) According to wunderground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt, Valdez is the snowiest low-level location in the world and averages about 328" every winter season. The Alaska state snowfall record is 974.1" (81.2', or 24.7 meters) at Thompson Pass in 1952-1953, just up the highway from Valdez. This record is beyond reach, since the site is no longer is no longer operating. The latest forecast for Valdez calls for another 10 - 15 inches of snow today.

I'll have a new post on Wednesday or Thursday.

Jeff Masters
Houston Flood Day Skyline (SurfYak)
I shot this skyline during a short break in the rain today. We needed rain so badly here in Houston but we got too much of it all at once and now there's flooding all over the city! For my live webcam view approxiamtely where this was taken (you can see the webcam in the photo), Click here. For more of my photography, visit my Flickr page.
Houston Flood Day Skyline
Heavy Houston Rain (Fendie)
Field flooding at Rice University due to heavy rain on the morning of 1/9/2012
Heavy Houston Rain
Marshmallow Tree (Kiska)
Time to pick the marshmallows:) Palmer, Alaska
Marshmallow Tree
Midland Snow (KMcCoin)
Snow fall taken Jan 9 2012 abt an hour ago.
Midland Snow
Categories: Winter Weather Drought
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Reader Comments
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201. WxGeekVA 01:37 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting WxGeekVA:


One hurricane and a STS by June 15th. That's my forecast. Then, quiet in July and some fish storms in August, before the big one happens around the third week of September.


Oh, and I say 16-6-4 for the season count.
Member Since: Settembre 3, 2011 Posts: 13 Comments: 3323
202. CybrTeddy 01:38 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting WxGeekVA:


One hurricane and a STS by June 15th. That's my forecast. Then, quiet in July and some fish storms in August, before the big one happens around the third week of September.


Think its way too early to make that kind of prediction. For all we know, it could be quiet and it could be insane.
Member Since: Luglio 8, 2005 Posts: 253 Comments: 20279
203. washingtonian115 01:39 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Let's not make predictions this early.everyone was almost certain(with the exxception of me) that 2011 was going to be an average storm season.......we all know that didn't turn out.
Member Since: Agosto 14, 2010 Posts: 5 Comments: 10679
204. Jedkins01 01:41 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
It is interesting that these frontal systems that move into Florida have continued to fall well short of expectations rain wise. It was quite the opposite last Winter though. We were expected to get a solid squall line with widespread heavy rain amounts today in Central Florida, but the initial squall line has collapsed to nothing more than a trailing MCS in the southern Gulf. What has been left is nothing but some broken line segments of convection in the Gulf, a mere shell of what was to be expected. We can only hope these segments reorganize into a solid and thick line before it reaches Florida, its been very dry since November and the whole area needs it.

Ive seen this happen 3 or 4 times now since November.
Member Since: Agosto 21, 2008 Posts: 0 Comments: 5336
205. StormTracker2K 01:44 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting CybrTeddy:


In all honesty, based on the SST trends alone, and the maintaining amount of TCHP in the Caribbean still, 2012's hurricane season will probably start pretty early, I'm going to guess as far out and say within the next 4 months, perhaps having a sub-tropical or hybrid system developing in Early May or the last week of April, kind of what we saw with 91L last year in April. Could very well be wrong, but not a good sign when you have warming SST's in January.


I agree!
Member Since: Ottobre 26, 2011 Posts: 0 Comments: 2651
206. WxGeekVA 01:44 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting CybrTeddy:


Think its way too early to make that kind of prediction. For all we know, it could be quiet and it could be insane.


Quoting washingtonian115:
Let's not make predictions this early.everyone was almost certain(with the exxception of me) that 2011 was going to be an average storm season.......we all know that didn't turn out.


I know that my prediction is unlikely, but I just have this gut feeling about how 2012 hurricane season may go. And if there is one thing I learned, my gut is very trustworthy....

Member Since: Settembre 3, 2011 Posts: 13 Comments: 3323
207. StormTracker2K 01:49 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting Jedkins01:
It is interesting that these frontal systems that move into Florida have continued to fall well short of expectations rain wise. It was quite the opposite last Winter though. We were expected to get a solid squall line with widespread heavy rain amounts today in Central Florida, but the initial squall line has collapsed to nothing more than a trailing MCS in the southern Gulf. What has been left is nothing but some broken line segments of convection in the Gulf, a mere shell of what was to be expected. We can only hope these segments reorganize into a solid and thick line before it reaches Florida, its been very dry since November and the whole area needs it.

Ive seen this happen 3 or 4 times now since November.


LOL! Jed hang in there man. Some strong thunderstorm are building off of Tampa right now.

Member Since: Ottobre 26, 2011 Posts: 0 Comments: 2651
208. washingtonian115 01:50 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting WxGeekVA:




I know that my prediction is unlikely, but I just have this gut feeling about how 2012 hurricane season may go. And if there is one thing I learned, my gut is very trustworthy....

I had a gut feeling before the season started in 2011 that Irene will probally be the star of the season...As for this season I'll be waiting till may to make any predictions.Well we're humans and we arn't perfect.So I say...GO WITH YA GUT feeling.
Member Since: Agosto 14, 2010 Posts: 5 Comments: 10679
209. FtMyersgal 02:01 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
...FL...

PRE-FRONTAL CLUSTERS OF TSTMS ONGOING OVER THE ERN G.O.M. ARE
EXPECTED TO MOVE ONSHORE TODAY AHEAD OF COLD FRONT. HERE TOO...POOR
MIDLEVEL LAPSE RATES WILL LIMIT THE DEGREE OF INSTABILITY...THOUGH
BOUNDARY LAYER DEWPOINTS IN THE LOW-MID 60S AND BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS
WILL YIELD MLCAPE OF 500-700 J/KG. GIVEN THE PRESENCE OF 40-45 KT
OF DEEP...WLY SHEAR AND MODESTLY STRONG LOW-LEVEL SHEAR...A LOW
PROBABILITY RISK FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND PERHAPS A TORNADO WILL EXIST
THIS AFTERNOON
.

...MIDDLE TN INTO SRN APPALACHIANS...

ISOLATED OCCURRENCES OF HAIL APPROACHING SEVERE LEVELS WILL BE
POSSIBLE TODAY WITH STORMS FORMING INVOF MIDLEVEL COLD CORE.

..MEAD/BOTHWELL.. 01/11/2012


Heads up Florida...
Member Since: Settembre 16, 2010 Posts: 0 Comments: 1004
210. AussieStorm 02:14 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
If anyone would like to listen to NW Australian Radio. Go here.
Member Since: Settembre 30, 2007 Posts: 5 Comments: 13366
211. AussieStorm 02:21 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Western Australia
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre

Media: Transmitters serving the area between Pardoo and Whim Creek are
requested to USE the Standard Emergency Warning Signal before broadcasting the
following warning.

TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST

TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 14
Issued at 9:56 pm WST on Wednesday 11 January 2012

A Cyclone WARNING is now current for coastal areas from Wallal to Dampier,
including Port Hedland, Roebourne, Karratha and Dampier, and extends to
adjacent inland parts.

At 10:00 pm WST Tropical Cyclone Heidi, Category 2 was estimated to be
75 kilometres north northeast of Port Hedland and
240 kilometres east northeast of Karratha and
moving south at 10 kilometres per hour towards the coast.

Tropical Cyclone Heidi remains a category 2 system as it tracks south towards
the Pilbara coast. The system is expected to take a more south-southwesterly
track overnight and cross the coast early on Thursday morning. Gales with gusts
to 100 kilometres per hour are occuring in coastal areas between Port Hedland
and Wallal, and should extend west to Whim Creek overnight. Destructive winds
with gusts to 155 kilometres per hour are possible overnight close to the
cyclone centre between Whim Creek and Pardoo, including Port Hedland. Gales
with gusts to 100 kilometres per hour may extend west to Dampier during
Thursday morning if the cyclone takes a more southwesterly track, and into the
adjacent inland parts of the central Pilbara.

The heaviest rainfall is expected to the east and south of the system. Rainfall
totals of 100-250mm are possible across the central and eastern Pilbara. Refer
to Flood Advices for further details.

Residents in and near Port Hedland and east to Wallal are specifically warned
of the potential of a DANGEROUS STORM TIDE as the cyclone centre crosses the
coast overnight. Tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high
tide mark with dangerous flooding of low-lying areas.

Tides elsewhere in the Pilbara should also be higher than normal.


RED ALERT: People in or near coastal and inland communities between Pardoo and
Whim Creek, including the communities of Pardoo, Port Hedland, South Hedland,
and Whim Creek, need to go to shelter immediately.


BLUE ALERT: People in or near coastal and inland communities between Whim Creek
and Dampier, including the communities of Roebourne, Pt Samson, Karratha, and
Dampier need to prepare for cyclonic weather and organise an emergency kit
including first aid kit, torch, portable radio, spare batteries, food and water.

Details of Tropical Cyclone Heidi at 10:00 pm WST:
.Centre located near...... 19.7 degrees South 118.9 degrees East
.Location accuracy........ within 30 kilometres
.Recent movement.......... towards the south at 10 kilometres per hour
.Wind gusts near centre... 155 kilometres per hour
.Severity category........ 2
.Central pressure......... 975 hectoPascals

The next advice will be issued by 11:00 pm WST Wednesday 11 January.

Member Since: Settembre 30, 2007 Posts: 5 Comments: 13366
212. Minnemike 02:33 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
morning wunderblog :)
seems the east coast is getting a good drenching the next couple days. anyone have an idea on where this low is tracking and how strong it could get? looks like it's ramping up to be quite a storm to me!
Member Since: Luglio 31, 2008 Posts: 0 Comments: 1257
213. KeysieLife 02:37 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting AussieStorm:


BLUE ALERT: People in or near coastal and inland communities between Whim Creek
and Dampier, including the communities of Roebourne, Pt Samson, Karratha, and
Dampier need to prepare for cyclonic weather and organise an emergency kit
including first aid kit, torch, portable radio, spare batteries, food and water.


Aussie, wouldn't a flashlight work better than a torch, or do they plan on attacking Frankenstein after the storm? :)
Member Since: Settembre 10, 2010 Posts: 2 Comments: 360
214. sunlinepr 02:39 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Anthrax outbreak claims lives of more than 165 wild animals in Zimbabwe

88 hippos, 45 buffaloes, 30 elephants and two kudos found dead in Mana Pools national park
Tests confirm hippos were killed by anthrax

By Stewart Maclean Last updated at 11:48 AM on 10th January 2012

More than 165 wild animals including 88 hippopotamuses have died amid an outbreak of anthrax in Zimbabwe.

The hippos were found dead alongside 45 buffaloes, 30 elephants and two kudos in the country's northern Mana Pools national park.

Zimbabwean Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokeswoman Caroline Washaya-Moyo told the state-owned Herald newspaper that tests had proved the hippos were killed by anthrax.
Infectious: More than 165 wild animals including 88 hippopotamuses have died amid an outbreak of anthrax in Zimbabwe

Infectious: More than 165 wild animals including 88 hippopotamuses have died amid an outbreak of anthrax in Zimbabwe

She added that the cause of death for the other animals had not yet been confirmed but said early signs suggested they had also fallen victim to the infectious disease.

Ms Washaya-Moyo said she feared the outbreak could spread to other wildlife in the protected reserve, which lies around the lower Zambezi River.

She said: 'Our office has confirmed the anthrax outbreak following the death of the animals in Mana Pools.

'The Authority engaged the vet offices who later collected samples from hippos for lab testing.

'The lab test confirmed that 88 hippopotamus died of anthrax.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084603/An thrax-outbreak-claims-lives-165-wild-animals-Zimba bwe.html#ixzz1jA1OSuqs
Member Since: Agosto 2, 2010 Posts: 19 Comments: 8447
215. sunlinepr 02:43 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    

A new island forming in the Red Sea, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the coast of Yemen. This natural-color image was acquired by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite.

Earth's Newest Island, Burped from a Volcano, Is a Keeper by Natalie Wolchover Date: 10 January 2012

Earth's newest island is here to stay.

The island, a mound of lava and ash about 2,000 feet (600 meters) across, piled up during the eruption of an underwater volcano in the Red Sea in mid-December. It was initially suspected of being short-lived — most pileups of volcano debris in water quickly crumble back to the depths — but scientists say this one has solidified nicely.

LiveScience.com
Member Since: Agosto 2, 2010 Posts: 19 Comments: 8447
216. AussieStorm 02:44 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting KeysieLife:

A torch is same as flashlight
Member Since: Settembre 30, 2007 Posts: 5 Comments: 13366
217. KeysieLife 02:52 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting AussieStorm:

A torch is same as flashlight


Well, I'm not attacking Frankenstein with a flashlight!

Looks like a pretty rough night!

STAY SAFE!
Member Since: Settembre 10, 2010 Posts: 2 Comments: 360
218. TomTaylor 02:53 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting washingtonian115:
Let's not make predictions this early.everyone was almost certain(with the exxception of me) that 2011 was going to be an average storm season.......we all know that didn't turn out.
no, most people called for an above average season (14-17 named storms in that area). We did get more storms than that but many of them were very weak and overall, in terms of ACE it ended up being just a slightly above average season.
Member Since: Agosto 24, 2010 Posts: 18 Comments: 3906
219. RitaEvac 03:01 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Year's first tornado hits Texas City
The first tornado of 2012 touched down near 1pm CST in Texas City yesterday. The twister hit the Mall of the Mainland, damaging its roof and blowing out windows of parked cars. No injuries were reported, but the storm flooded the mall with 2 - 3 inches of water, and the mall remains closed today.


I pass this mall every morning going to work, from the front of Sears and the Mall, you can't tell anything happened. No damage around. Work 5 or so miles from the Mall. Have lunch near there all the time, was off that day though.
Member Since: Luglio 14, 2008 Posts: 1 Comments: 8912
220. TampaSpin 03:05 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Member Since: Settembre 2, 2007 Posts: 175 Comments: 19747
221. TampaSpin 03:05 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Member Since: Settembre 2, 2007 Posts: 175 Comments: 19747
222. TampaSpin 03:06 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Member Since: Settembre 2, 2007 Posts: 175 Comments: 19747
223. Neapolitan 03:09 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Member Since: novembre 8, 2009 Posts: 4 Comments: 11173
224. DavidHOUTX 03:29 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Quoting bappit:
Some flooding pics from yesterday morning in Houston.

Had over six inches in Sugarland. It came down in a hurry, too.

Edit: well, never mind. The link is broken now.


I guess the link is back up working now. Here is some more pics of the Houston flooding that happened on Monday

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/gallery/H ouston-area-hit-by-flooding-twisters-34269/photo-2 021127.php
Member Since: Agosto 18, 2011 Posts: 0 Comments: 292
225. SPLbeater 03:53 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
hello people. its raining again. does anybody know where i can find a VIL(vertically integrated liquid) loop from the NWS? using wunderground right now for it
Member Since: Agosto 4, 2011 Posts: 43 Comments: 3955
226. sunlinepr 11:34 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
A development firm in China has erected a 30-storey hotel in just 15 days, or 360 hours.

The developer, Broad Group, came under the global spotlight last year when it built a 16-storey residential block in China in just five days.
And their latest project, which is located in the south-central Chinese city of Changsha is no less impressive.
The ‘flat pack’ skyscraper was 90% pre-constructed in factories and then put together onsite. It uses one-sixth the materials of a comparable facility and is also an extremely energy-efficient building, combining thermal insulation, triple pane windows, external solar shading, fresh air heat recovery, and LED lighting. It is also earthquake-proof and is said to be able to withstand tremors of up to 9.0.
Having perfected their novel approach to construction the company now aims to build another 150 30-storey apartment buildings, hotels and offices in the same manner.
It is hoped that the ability to build property so quickly will revolutionize areas where property is in short supply.
The company believes that their approach could be used to quickly construct environmentally-friendly homes in over populated urban areas and could also be used in disaster relief to construct new buildings quickly and efficiently.

No doubt some British builders could take a leaf out of Broad’s book...

Link

Member Since: Agosto 2, 2010 Posts: 19 Comments: 8447
227. sunlinepr 11:36 PM GMT del 11 Gennaio 2012    
Cyclone Heidi hits Pilbara coast in WA, residents on red alert
Link

January 11, 2011 – AUSTRALIA – Tropical Cyclone Heidi is crossing Western Australia’s Pilbara coast, bringing strong winds and heavy rains to the region. A red alert has been sounded for Port Hedland as storm surges threaten to inundate low lying parts of the town. “We’re certainly feeling the full brunt of Cyclone Heidi as she crosses the coast,” Port Hedland Mayor Kelly Howlett told Channel 9 this morning. “She’s certainly packing a little punch at the moment. “We’ve certainly got the wind gusts of a about 140km and very heavy rain.” Heidi started making landfall around 4.30am WST. She urged all residents to remain indoors until the official all clear is given. Communities between Pardoo and Whim Creek have all been ordered to shelter while those further inland were told to gather up emergency supplies and brace for Heidi’s wrath. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said winds of up to 120km/h had been whipping along the coast with destructive gusts up to 150 km/h possible in some places. Forecasters said up to 250 mm of rain is possible with the storm. The West Australian newspaper reported that Port Hedland’s airport and bulk export port had shut down. –Herald Sun
Member Since: Agosto 2, 2010 Posts: 19 Comments: 8447

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About JeffMasters
Jeff co-founded the Weather Underground in 1995 while working on his Ph.D. He flew with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters from 1986-1990.

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