2007

December 2006 — Warm and Wet

December 2006 was the warmest December in 24 years and the second warmest in 41 years. The average temperature for the month (at About My Weather Station) was 36.5°, giving us the sixth warmest December on record in Fort Wayne and narrowly missing the fifth spot of 36.6° in 1965. The warmest December on record was 39.9° in 1982. The official monthly average temperature for Fort Wayne was 36.2°, which is still the sixth warmest on record.

The 4.39" of precipitation received here in December tied us with 1982 for the eighth wettest December in Fort Wayne. The official monthly precipitation for Fort Wayne was 4.73" (the airport was in the middle of the band of snow on the 7th) and made this officially the sixth wettest December on record.

At our house, we only received 1" snowfall in December. That makes it the sixth least snowy December. However, the airport received 4.8" of snow, so it is officially only 3.5" short of the normal monthly snowfall.

See Dec 2006 Monthly Summary for a full summary of weather recorded by the AWC Weather Station last month.

Official climatology for Fort Wayne can be found online:

• Daily and Monthly Normals: www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/CLI/FWA/normals/normsfwa.php
• Monthly Records: www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/CLI/FWA/records/monthlyrecsfwa.php
• Daily Records: www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/CLI/FWA/records/dailyrecsfwa.php

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awc 2007-01-01 23:46:15

Minor surprise

Since snow has been so rare this season, even the little surprises seem noteworthy. It was clear last night at 2300 when I took out the trash, and I hadn’t paid attention to any weather forecasts for a few days, so it was a bit of a surprise to awaken and find the ground whitened. It wasn’t much, perhaps a bit over ¼", but it was a surprise. The sun is shining now and the temperature is nearly back up to freezing, so I doubt there will be any traces left by nightfall.

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awc 2007-01-08 10:41:36

Lake Effect snow

We’ve had six days of seasonal temperatures here, with occasional snow flurries and occasional sunshine (all three being relatively rare this winter). Around sundown yesterday, a light freezing drizzle was falling and slowly turned into a very light snowfall; which continued until about 0900 today. By midnight, the streets and sidewalks were white, but not enough had fallen to be very noticeable on the lawn. By this morning, perhaps ¼" had fallen and the snow was visible on the lawn. The driveway had a thin coating of ice underneath the snow.

The NWS is currently promising up to two inches of snow on Sunday. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to shovel snow after the Colts beat the Patriots!

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awc 2007-01-19 12:10:34

GO COLTS!

The winning touchdown! Sports Illustrated

The first 1" accumulation of the 06-07 winter season and the Colts win the AFC Championship… we can only hope that Super Sunday brings a foot of snow and one final Colts victory this season!

Snow began sometime after midnight and left 1" on the ground by 1000. Occasional snow showers in the afternoon brought the total accumulation to about 1½".

This winter has been simply pathetic here in Fort Wayne.
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awc 2007-01-22 23:12:48

I wish I had a camera here at work

This is the first moderately heavy snow (at least during daylight hours) this season. We had a couple of inches of lake effect snow over the weekend. The first inch came Saturday evening after dark; and the second came from about 0900 to 1500 Sunday. Both times, it was a light snow with very small flakes. Our current snowfall began modestly, but around 1400 picked up significantly reducing visibility for moments to less than half a mile. The snowflakes are generously sized (up to one inch diameter). On the radar, it was a brief blip of scattered “yellow” than passed over the west side of Fort Wayne.

A very curious feature shown on the radar image is what looks like the eye of a hurricane. Except, there is no apparent rotation around it, it is simply a circular hole in the snowfall. It is not centered on the radar location, and is moving with the snow, so I don’t think it is any sort of instrumentation artifact. Just a round hole in the blob of snow moving through our area today.

UPDATE (2300): At home, we wound up with 1 additional inch of snow from this afternoon’s event. The extra burst that came through at work contained about ½" more. The 3" of snow cover may be the most we’ve had in over a year.

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awc 2007-01-29 14:24:30

Three glorious inches more!

Though I did notice yesterday a blob of precip predicted by the NAM to move through today, the official forecast only called for snow showers. Sometime between midnight and 0800, we had 2½" of fluffy snow, and then as I was snowblowing the sidewalks and driveway, another ½" fell. So, as of now, we have had 3" of snow today, which is more than we had any day in 2006, and the most since our 7" snow on 8 Dec 2005. Snow cover is just over 5".

Photos © 2007
AWColley

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awc 2007-01-30 10:31:47

COLD and some more snow

Today ended a streak of consecutive days with mean daily temperatures of single digits — from 3–10 Feb the mean daily temperature stayed below 10°F. On the 4th & 5th, the mean daily temperature was 0°F and -0.2°F, respectively. On five of those eight days, the minimum temperature was below zero, with the coldest being -5.6°F on the 5th. On three consecutive days, the 4th through the 6th, the daily maximum temperature was in the single digits. From the 2nd through the 4th, blustery winds drove the windchill into the -20°F range.

Fort Wayne tied or set new records for coldest daily maximum temperature on the 5th, 6th (tied), and 7th.

Minor snow accompanied the influx of bitter cold air, with 0.2" on the 2nd and 0.1" on the 3rd (in a near whiteout around noon that lasted for about 10 minutes, with winds up to 26mph recorded by my sheltered anemometer).

More significant snow started around 1100 on the 6th. Light to moderate snow fell throughout daylight hours, amounting to a very fluffy 2" by 1830. Snow then tapered off and added only another ½" by midnight. The snow cover here Wednesday morning was in the 4–5" range.

photo © 2007 AWColley

This, and four other photos taken the day after the snowfall, can be seen in my Weather Underground (wunderground.com) photo series for Feb 7, 2007.

WAY TO GO, COLTS!
SUPER BOWL XLI CHAMPIONS!

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awc 2007-02-11 20:16:43

Major snowstorm? YES!

Photo © 2007 AWColley

They promised it, and it came. Not quite as much as they promised, but as much snow in one storm as in all of 2006!

See the unfolding NWS forecasts, my take on it all, and a photo gallery at The Blizzard of 07.
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awc 2007-02-16 22:29:49

Nifty ice fog

A dense ice fog developed overnight and lasted well into the morning of the 21st. Long “feathers” of rime formed on everything, including car windows. I don’t recall ever seeing inch long towers of ice sticking out from a car window before, so I had to go get the camera to document this!

For more photos, see 2007-02-21 - Ice Fog.

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awc 2007-02-24 11:19:32

Brief ice storm

A brief, but intense, ice storm moved through the area overnight. Freezing rain and sleet began around 2230 yesterday evening, and continued with frequent downpours for a few hours. However, my estimation of “downpour” was by the sound of the precipitation hitting the roof --- the rain guage (after everything had melted) recorded only 0.07" precipitation.

The temperature rose steadily through and after the event, beginning at 26°F when the precipitation started and breaking the freezing mark around 0400. By then, however, the precipitation had moved out of the area (when I awoke at about 0300, the precipitation had ended).

One interesting note, as you can see in the accompanying chart, my anemometer apparently froze up just before 0100 and did not thaw out until a little after 0600.

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awc 2007-02-25 12:30:16

Late season snow

Spring break for the local public schools seemed more like a winter break here in Fort Wayne, at least from Wednesday on. The week started off Spring-like, with the temperature topping out around 75°F on Tuesday (3 April 2007). The next day, we had occasional snow showers throughout the day (with no accumulation) and then a more steady light snow in the evening which produced a significant trace of white stuff on the ground. The snow showers continued for the remainder of the week through Easter Sunday (8 April 2007), mostly due to a steady northwest flow over Lake Michigan that produced a lake effect snow extending across Fort Wayne and into northwestern Ohio. The ground was whitened nearly every morning; but never any measurable accumulation (my minimum “measurable accumulation” is ¼").

Except for the day of precipitation on Wednesday (11 April 2007) began with nearly 0.1" snow before transitioning to sleet and then moderate rain, the weather moderated somewhat this week. That is, until yesterday (14 April 2007). A light to moderate snow, often mixed with a light rain or mist, began falling around 1600 and continued until around 2300. We had approximately 1.5" snow covering everything except paved surfaces by the time it was over.

Fort Wayne officially reported 1.6" of snowfall for the day, shattering the old record snowfall of 0.7".

The photo at right was taken shortly before 2300 on 14 April. It is of our backyard, the strange ghostly band of light is due to me moving the camera before the shutter closed. Note the straight lines in the snow (click on the image to see a bigger version of it), those are caused by the tracks left by our lawn mower --- the yard was mowed the day before the snow.

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awc 2007-04-15 16:54:00

Long narrow line of thunderstorms

These thunderstorms were notable only due to their appearance, by which I mean both their development and their characteristics as seen by radar or satellite. We only received 0.33" rain, there was brief small hail (pea size), and occasional lightning.

An extremely thin --- only one thundercell wide for the first couple of hours --- and eventually quite long line of thunderstorms developed virtually out of clear air in less than two hours. As time passed, the nearly stationary line of thunderstorms filled in and expanded slowly before finally kicking off to the north and east. Though the line was stationary, the individual cells raced along that line.

The first image, at 10:15, shows the beautiful, virtually cloud-free morning over northeastern Indiana, with a prominent line of clouds from southern Wisconsin, across Lake Michigan and through southern Michigan, then across northern Ohio.

The second image, only fifteen minutes later, shows the pencil thin line of clouds (almost like a jet contrail) beginning to develop within a broader area of scattered clouds, nearly parallel to that prominent line of clouds.

The third image, another fifteen minutes later, shows that pencil thin line growing in length and the lower clouds expanding and filling in.

In the fourth image, at 11:15, an area of thunderstorms over southern Wisconsin has moved into the picture. The original prominent line of clouds is beginning to dissipate, virtually gone over Lake Michigan and western Michigan.

In the fifth image, an hour later, the big area of thunderstorms has reached the western shore of Lake Michigan, and that pencil thin line of clouds across northeastern Indiana has matured rapidly, though it has not moved.

In the sixth image, only fifteen minutes later, thunderstorms have erupted within that virtually stationary line of clouds across northeastern Indiana, and rain begins to fall on my weather station.

10:15

10:32

10:45

11:15

12:15

12:32

Click on any image to go to the full article, containing full-size versions of these images, an animation of nearly six hours of satellite images, and a radar loop of the genesis of that line of thunderstorms.

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awc 2007-04-30 22:37, updated 2007-05-03 15:49

Drought buster?

There hasn't been a whole lot of weather to talk about for the last couple of months. We've already had 10 days with highs above 90° so far this year; but very little rain since early May.

Until the last couple of days, that is.

We were last at our normal year-to-date precipitation on 17 May, and by Monday (16 July), we had dropped to 4.72" (23%) below normal.

We had some light showers for a couple of hours Tuesday morning, adding only 0.2" to our rain bucket. And the forecast was (at that time) for little else to fall for the foreseeable future.

The forecast changed a bit as the front stalled out over us. And by Wednesday evening a cluster of intense thunderstorms was slowly bearing down on us, coming from the South Bend area.

The lightning show arrived before the rain; and became extremely frequent and quite close (a few strikes were accompanied by immediate thunder) as 11PM neared. Then the floodgates of heaven opened and within that first hour we had 1.96" of rain. By the time the trailing edge of the storm moved on a little after 3AM, we had received 2.82" in the bucket.

Another thunderstorm passed over the area this afternoon, leaving 0.59" of rain in the half hour ending at 3PM. This gave us a total of 3.41" in less than 24 hours.

Here on the NE side of Fort Wayne, we were on the southwestern fringe of the NW-SE line of most intense rainfall. A few miles W of us, Smith Field/Ludwig Park (KINFORTW13) received 2.55" in that same 24 hours; while WSW of us, at work (KINFORTW12) there was only 0.91" of rain. The Fort Wayne International Airport (SW of Fort Wayne) officially reported 1.02" of rain for the same period.

There were anecdotal reports of up to 6" of rain in the Kendallville - Garrett area, but I haven't found any proof of that, yet.

We still have below normal precipitation for the year so far, but now we are only 7% below normal. Maybe my yard will lose its brown luster for a few days! There is no mention of rain in the seven day forecast, so any greenness will probably not last long.

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awc 2007-07-20 00:33:18

First trace of snow for the season

The first “snow” of the season arrived at the Commerce Building around 11:55 this morning. Moderate snow, reducing visibility to about a mile and consisting of small snow grains (tiny pellets), fell for about 4 minutes. The temperature at the time was around 40° and the grains melted instantly on contact.

It was a small cell of snow that appeared to develop just west of Allen County and a little north of US 30 around 10:36. It moved east-southeastward across the city and dissipated around 13:00 as it approached the Ohio border (see animation at right, captured from wunderground.com).

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awc 2007-11-07 12:20:15

Thanksgiving / Black Friday snow showers; record November daily rainfall

While we were at the Komets game Thanksgiving evening, snow showers passed over that part of Fort Wayne, coming to an end shortly after the Komets snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by giving up four goals in a seven minute stretch in the middle of the third period. At least I did get my first autograph on my Komets jersey, Guy Dupuis #2.

Anyway, there was about ¼" snow (mixed flakes and pellets) on the vehicles in the parking lot and on the grassy areas at about 2230 as we moped out of the coliseum. As we drove home, snow cover disappeared somewhere between Maplecrest and Lahmeyer Roads; only flurries had occurred at home.

Black Friday morning, I awoke at 0823 and noticed about ¼" snow on the fallen leaves in the yard and on the deck. Sunshine was breaking through and snow in unshaded areas quickly melted.

These snow showers were tail ends of fingers of lake-effect snow streaming southeastward from Lake Michigan.

By the way, we had an official record rainfall on the day before Thanksgiving. The NWS station at the airport reported 2.44" of rain that day. Not only did this shatter the old record for 11-21 of 0.88", it also set a new single November day record, besting the 2.4" of 1992-11-12. We “only” had 1.64" here on the northeast side of Fort Wayne.

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awc 2007-11-23 12:31:48

3 inches of snow from a classic clipper

A fairly classic Alberta Clipper storm swooped across MN, WI, northern IL & southern Lake Michigan into northern IN yesterday (Dec 4^th). Snow began at our house around 2100-2130. For 12 hours, we had a steady light snow, leaving 3" on my deck. The snow measured 4-6" on the yard; but being the first real snow of the season, the grass hasn't packed down yet. The main core of the storm passed a little to our west and south (probably closer to here than Indianapolis), where unconfirmed reports of up to 6" have been heard.

This past Saturday (Dec 1^st) beginning around 1430, we had 30-45 minutes of nearly moderate snow (no more than ¼"), about an hour of sleet, and then a couple of hours of freezing rain, before changing over to several hours of rain (through Sunday evening). The temperatures had been cold enough that the snow stuck on the streets in our neighborhood, and then the sleet and freezing rain glazed them over to make driving quite treacherous until late in the evening on Saturday.

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awc 2007-12-05 10:12:45

Ice Storm, Round 1

With a stationary front a bit south of the Ohio River that is expected to stay in place for a few days, with transient lows kicking out of Texas and tracking along it, the scenario that brought ¼" of ice to Fort Wayne by mid-morning yesterday (Dec 9) is expected to repeat once or twice over the next few days.

The warm moist air from Dixie overrunning the relatively colder air entrenched over the Midwest (particularly northern Indiana and northwest Ohio) brought a brief period of sleet late Saturday evening which quickly degenerated into freezing rain, which lasted about 16 hours, ending around 16:00 Sunday afternoon.

My anemometer froze about 13:45 Sunday, and hasn't thawed out yet even though the temperature was (barely) above freezing for almost two hours this afternoon.

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awc 2007-12-10 15:01:13

Winter Storm Warning

ORIGINAL ENTRY at 11:40 AM

During the major Midwest ice storm of Monday-Tuesday, our temperatures started above freezing and climbed to nearly 40°. So, we only got rain.

The NWS is promising significant snowfall Saturday and Sunday; currently giving us hope for at least 3 to 5 inches. The most intense snowfall is expected between midnight and 7am Sunday.

UPDATE at 4:30 PM

Official NWS forecast page for Fort Wayne / Allen County now says:

Saturday: Periods of snow, mainly after 9am. High near 30. East wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Saturday Night: Periods of snow with areas of blowing snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 21. Blustery, with a northeast wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 8 to 12 inches possible.

Sunday: Periods of snow with areas of blowing snow, mainly before 10am. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 26. Blustery, with a north wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Here's the snow portion of the NWS hourly forecast graph:

They're predicting 15.3" of snow in a 36 hour period. That would be totally awesome!!

UPDATE at 2AM 12-15

Here's the latest hourly forecast graph for snow. They've backed down the forecast a bit, particularly for the overnight Sat-Sun period, to a total of 13.7" in a 36 hour period. That would still be awesome!!

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awc 2007-12-14 16:47:15

Winter Storm Prelude?

Very light snow began falling about 10:30 this morning (12-15) and continued throughout the day with occasional breaks. By nightfall, we had barely managed a half an inch of snow. The snow picked up slightly in intensity then, with sleet mixed in at times. By 22:15, we had a bit over an inch of snow on the ground. As of now (01:00 12-16), we have perhaps two inches of snow.

From the radar images throughout the day, it looks as though the first center of snow moved to the south and east of us throughout the day; and the second appears to be moving to the west and north of us tonight. The NWS is still hanging on to its forecast of 8 to 12 inches of snow by nightfall Sunday. The NWS forecast also mentions the possibility of thundersnow (cool!).

The current Indianapolis radar (below) shows two intense pockets of snow (perhaps 40-50 miles in diameter) headed our way. One just entering southern Allen County (near Bluffton) stretching back to Muncie, and the second stretching south-southeast from Bloomington.
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awc 2007-12-16 01:29:53

Winter Storm Report

Between 01:00 and 10:00 on the morning of the 16th (Sunday), approximately 6" snow fell, giving us a storm total of 8". It was fairly breezy most of the 16th, and snow cover ranged from 6-12" throughout the yard. We were on the southern fringe of the most intense snowfall; locations 10 to 20 miles to the northwest reported up to 12" of snow from the storm. Contrast that with the official storm snowfall of 6.7" at the airport (13 miles southwest of us).

The snow cover survived most of the following week, but began melting in earnest on Saturday the 22nd with rain and temperatures in the upper 40s. The continued rain on Sunday the 23rd, with the temperature topping out at nearly 52°, erased all but the most stubborn piles of snow.

So, no white Christmas at our house; though snow cover remains yet less than 10 miles north of our house (and up through Michigan).

We had about an inch of snow on the 27th (Thursday), but it was quickly erased by rainfall the following day.

This morning, we had a light, fluffy, quarter inch of snow by daybreak. It is sunny at the moment, through a veil of cirrostratus; but, the NWS has issued a Winter Storm Watch for later today through tomorrow (New Year's Day) morning:

A winter storm system will move across the region tonight allowing for periods of moderate to heavy snow. Snowfall will overspread the watch area late this afternoon or early this evening…with expected accumulations of 5 to 9 inches by Tuesday morning. Winds will increase from the north and northwest early Tuesday and will promote blowing and drifting snow through the day.

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awc 2007-12-31 10:48:39