Winter '19 / '20 - Snow Storm #1: Three Daily Snowfall Records Set - Storm Day 3

Three forecast stations along the eastern edge of the forecast area set new daily snowfall records on the third and final day of Snow Storm #1.

Station - New Record (Old Record; Year)
BOS - 4.8" (4"; 1893)
PVD - 3.4" (3.3"; 1963)
JFK - 0.2" (T"; 1989)

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CORRECTED to include BOS

Winter '19 / '20 - Snow Storm #1: Three Daily Snowfall Records Set - Storm Day 2

Three forecast stations in the central portion of the forecast area set new daily snowfall records on the second day of Snow Storm #1.  Two daily records had stood since 1949.

Station - New Record (Old Record; Year)
BGM - 9.6" (4.6"; 2005)
BDL - 8.8" (6"; 1949)
ALB - 6.8" (6.2"; 1949)

ALB and BDL also set new daily records on Storm Day 1.

Several hours of heavy snow -- ~2" / hr  -- observed late Monday evening at Bradley Field (BDL).

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KBDL 030451Z 35014G21KT 1/2SM R06/P6000FT -SN BR OVC011 M02/M03 A2952 RMK AO2 SFC VIS 1 1/4 SLP998 SNINCR 2/13 P0008 T10171033 400171022 $

KBDL 030351Z 36013G23KT 1/4SM R06/2200V3500FT +SN FZFG VV005 M02/M03 A2955 RMK AO2 TWR VIS 1/2 SLP007 SNINCR 1/11 P0011 T10221033 $

KBDL 030251Z 01017G28KT 1/4SM R06/4000V6000FT -SN BR VV009 M02/M03 A2955 RMK AO2 PK WND 01028/0243 SFC VIS 3/4 SLP006 SNINCR 2/10 P0007 60021 T10221033 56010 $

KBDL 030151Z 36016G25KT 1/4SM R06/1800V2400FT +SN FZFG VV004 M02/M03 A2955 RMK AO2 SLP008 SNINCR 2/8 P0011 T10171033 $

Winter '19 / '20 - 19th Annual 'Season-total' Snowfall Forecasting Contest: The Forecasts!

17 forecasters + P-O-R-N + CONSENSUS

Forecaster table ranked by STP

BLUE - <= 25th percentile
RED - >= 75th percentile
P-O-R-N - period of record normal
CONSENSUS - average station forecasts

Some forecasts have decimal values and were recorded as such; however ... rounding was applied for display purposes only.

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Total station forecasts:  475 (including P-O-R-N & CONSENSUS)
Total station forecasts for ...
BELOW average snowfall - 175 (37%)
AVERAGE snowfall - 26 (5%)
ABOVE average snowfall - 274 (58%)

Confidence -- at least 67% of forecasts -- for stations with ...
- ABOVE average snowfall:  10
CAR ... BGR ... PWM ... CON ... BTV ... BDR ... BDL ... ALB ... BGM ... ABE

- AVERAGE snowfall:  1
ACY

- BELOW average snowfall:  14
BOS ... ORH ... PVD ... NYC ... MDT ... PHL ... EWR ... BWI ... DCA ... IAD ... SBY ... RIC ... ORF ... RDU

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All forecaster entries at the Contest/s web site here (direct link to forecasts here).

Winter '19 / '20 - Snow Storm #1: Six Daily Snowfall Records Set - Storm Day 1

Six forecast stations in the northeast portion of the forecast area set new daily snowfall records on the first day of Snow Storm #1.  Two daily records had stood for over 100 years.

Station - New Record (Old Record; Year)
ALB - 13.3" (3.7"; 1969)
ORH - 8.9" (4.2"; 1917)
BDL - 4.6" (1.9"; 1925)
BOS - 1.2" (1"; 1940)
PVD - 1.6" (0.5"; 1907)
BDR - 0.7" (T; 2012)

ALB/s heaviest period of snow occurred SUN evening between 7 and 11 PM EST where up to ~2" / hr snowfall rate was reported.

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KALB 020351Z 01006KT 1/4SM R01/4500V6000FT +SN FZFG VV006 M03/M05 A2972 RMK AO2 SLP069 SNINCR 1/12 P0015 T10281050

KALB 020251Z COR 36007KT 1/4SM R01/2800V3500FT +SN VV005 M03/M06 A2973 RMK AO2 SLP072 SNINCR 1/11 P0024 60052 T10281056 56027

KALB 020159Z 01007KT 1/4SM R01/5500VP6000FT +SN VV008 M03/M06 A2974 RMK AO2 P0010 T10331061

KALB 020151Z 02008KT 1/8SM R01/5500VP6000FT +SN VV007 M03/M06 A2975 RMK AO2 SFC VIS 1/4 SLP077 SNINCR 2/10 P0008 T10331061

KALB 020051Z 02007KT 1/8SM R01/3000V5000FT +SN FZFG VV005 M04/M06 A2979 RMK AO2 SFC VIS 1/4 SLP092 SNINCR 2/8 P0020 T10391061

KALB 012351Z COR 02007KT 1/4SM R01/3500V5500FT +SN VV006 M04/M07 A2981 RMK AO2 SLP099 SNINCR 1/6 4/006 P0008 60051 T10391067 11039 21056 58015

Winter '19 / '20 - Snow Storm #1: The Forecasts

Forecasters
Rookie      1
Intern      -
Journey      -
Senior      13
GOVT      1
PWSP      -
TOT      15

NEWxSFC welcomes Rookie Forecaster Karmageddon and our returning veterans.
Congratulations to JessicaCain and VWN Quags for achieving SENIOR Forecaster status this year.

Don Sutherland is our Chief Forecaster this winter having won last year/s 'snow storm' contest.

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Table ranked by ascending storm-total precipitation (STP)

BLUE ==> 25th percentile.
RED ==> 75th percentile.
WHITE and GREY STP cells range between the 25th and 75th percentile.

 

Heaviest snowfall (+10") consensus along and to the right of CON - ORH - BGM - ALB - CON.  Lollypop expected at ALB.
 

At season/s start ... teleconnections abiding by their assigned roles.

Everyone/s station-by-station forecast at the Contest/s web site.
Direct link to the forecast table HERE

Winter '19 / '20 - Snow Storm #1: RAW Forecasts

Here

Winter '19 / '20 - Snow Storm #1: Call for Forecasts!

Haverhill ... MA
14-DEC-1890

Robust remnants of the last weekend/s powerhouse PAC NW storm is muscling its way east across the Central Plains ... Upper Midwest ... and taking aim on the northern M-A and SNE.

Progs pointing to an initial period of over-running snows followed by Miller 'B' re-development off the Jersey Shore ... the parent LOW/s subsequent capture ... and a long-duration event.

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Forecast element: each station/s storm-total snowfall

Deadline for entries: 10:00 PM EST ... SAT ... 30-NOV-19

Forecast verification period
Begins: 12:01 AM EST ... SUN ... 01-DEC-19
Ends: 11:59 PM EST when the flakes stop flyin'.

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Enter your forecast at the NEWxSFC/s home page HERE.
Follow the top-of-page link from 'Enter Storm Forecast' or in the 'Call for Forecasts!' section.

See how well your forecast stacks up against other winter wx enthusiasts and NWS Eastern Region Weather Forecast Offices (turns out the ER WFOs are fairly easy to beat).

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The forecasting contest for Snow Storm #1 may be cancelled prior to the deadline if at least six-to-eight stations are unlikely to observe at least a 4" storm-total snowfall.

Winter '19 / '20 - Snow Storm #1: Outlook

Today/s prog courtesy AWS shows the surface LOW in prime position over the Benchmark (40°W / 70°W).

A cold overland HIGH NW of the LOW is the missing element.  Pinpointing the liquid / freezing / frozen transition zone will be challenging.

NWP model guidance suggests more than nuisance snows for at least six forecast stations qualify the season's inaugral storm as contest-worthy.

Likely 'Call for Forecasts': FRI ... 29-NOV-19
Deadline for entries would be SAT ... 30-NOV-19 @ 10 PM EST.

Winter '19 / '20 - 19th Annual 'Season-total' Snowfall Forecast Contest: Call for Forecasts!

NEWxSFC/s Resident 'Season-total' Snowfall Forecaster

Here comes winter with its oscillating Arctic and North Atlantic indexes ... suddenly warming stratosphere ... so-so ENSO ... and if we/re lucky .... an endless parade of 'Miller A' LOWs raking the eastern seaboard.

NE.Wx/s 19th annual ‘Season-total' Snowfall Forecast Contest is the absolute best ... biggest ... and probably ONLY chance to be honored for your long-range forecasting acumen ;/

And it's s-o-o easy.
Cool prizes ... too!

All you have to do is issue the best forecast for the 'season-total' snowfall at 25 east coast stations between RDU and CAR!

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Forecast element: season-total snowfall @ each station
Forecast period: 01-DEC-19 through 31-MAR-20

Error statistic: total absolute error [Σ abs(forecast - observed)]
Verification: NWS preliminary climate reports (CLM or CF6)

Low score wins.

Deadline: SAT ... 30-NOV-19 @ 11:59 PM EST (01-DEC-19 @ 4:59 UTC)

Visit the Contest's website to enter your forecast.
Follow the link at the top of the page to 'Enter Season-total Forecast.'

Update your forecast as often as you want prior to the deadline.
Only your last entry gets verified.

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1st place prize (delivered post-paid right to your front door):
"Snow in America" by Bernard Mergan (hardcover) and
"The Snow Booklet" by Nolan J. Doesken and Arthur Judson (paperback) and
... the august title 'Chief Season-total Snowfall Forecaster' for Winter '20 / '21 and
... a well-deserved place of honor with past winners.

2nd place prize (delivered post-paid right to your front door):
"New England Weather, New England Climate" by Greg Zielinski and Barry Keim (paperback)

3rd place prize (delivered post-paid right to your front door):
"The Snow Booklet" by Nolan J. Doesken and Arthur Judson (paperback)

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Winter '19 / '20 - Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) - Leading Analogs' 500 mb Anomaly Height Composite ... as of OCT-19

Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) composites of 500 mb (5H) geopotential height anomalies (GPHa) and 2-meter air temperature anomalies (2mTa) for analog winters '53 / '54 ... '59 / '60 ... '69 / '70 ... '80 / '81 ... '90 / '91.

5H GPHa composite
- Ridge-W / Trof-E
- Negative 5H GPHa INVOF Aleutian Is. & positive 5H GPHa INVOF Hawaii ==> EPO  > 0
- Azores-like positive 5H GPHa ==> NAO > 0
- Negative 5H GPHa / lo-latitude trof axis ==> active sub-tropical jet (STJ)

5H GPHa weighted-composite

2mTa weighted-composite

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