Tuesday, February 14, 2012

My Snow Report and Summary

At my location here in Valley Station, I recorded just under an inch (0.8"). However, at the airport. the official total was 1.3".

During the course of the event, most of the snow was melting as temperatures were near or just above freezing. But, for a while, the flakes were coming down fast and furious. It caused a bit of a slushy mess on some main roads. Interstates were mostly wet.

About 4:15am, the snow began to mix with and quickly change to rain. From my observations, if there was any sleet, it was very brief.

Since the temperatures never reached critical levels for a Winter Weather Advisory condition, I still think that there were impacts, but just minimal. Slushy roadways can still become slick to unprepared drivers. Ironically, the airport received over an inch but no serious issues. Yet, in the suburbs, where I live, I get under an inch and the secondary roads are slick with slush. So, more snow does not always mean more problems, but less snow does not always mean less problems either.

NWS Louisville made a gutsy call and got it right. Gotta give'em credit, they are one of the best weather offices around. And it was really was a decision based on collaboration with other NWS offices. Good teamwork by all involved. I was glad they didn't drop the ball. Although I would have erred on the side of caution and issued a WWAdvisory, these types of winter scenarios are fickle and don't always go according to plan. But, the NWS office stuck to their guns and closely monitored the situation.

I'm just glad there were no major issues. By the way, if you got a chance to see it, those were some of the biggest flakes I've seen in quite a long time. Obviously, some flakes combined and clung to one another, producing flakes nearly half-dollar size and some even larger.

MS

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