Monday, December 31, 2012

National Weather Forecast for December 31,2012

As of 1:30PM,EST,December 31,2012,from weatherunderground.com:






An active weather pattern is expected to progress from the Southwest through the Ohio Valley this New Years Eve as an upper level trough of low pressure moves through the Central U.S. and an active jet stream supplies moisture to the South from the tropics. As the low shifts across the Plains, accumulating snowfall will become possible from parts of the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, through Kansas and into Missouri and southern Illinois. Snow in the these areas may be heavy at times, especially during the afternoon and evening hours, and may be accompanied with periods of freezing rain. Snow totals of 1 to 3 inches are anticipated in the panhandles, while 2 to 4 inches with isolated amounts up to 5 inches accumulate from areas of Kansas through southern Illinois. Expect snow showers to spread into the Ohio Valley through Monday night. Meanwhile to the south, rain showers are expected to fall along and ahead of an associated cold front from areas of the Southern Plains through the Tennessee Valley. Weak instability associated with this front will allow for a few thunderstorms to accompany wet weather activity in southeastern Texas.

Elsewhere in the nation, a frontal system will bring moderate snow showers to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and downwind of Lakes Ontario and Erie in western New York. Out West, the next weather system is expected to reach the Pacific Northwest Coast then dive south in the afternoon. This will bring a threat of precipitation to the area through the afternoon and evening.
Weather Underground Forecast for Monday, December 31, 2012.

An active weather pattern is expected to progress from the Southwest through the Ohio Valley this New Years Eve as an upper level trough of low pressure moves through the Central U.S. and an active jet stream supplies moisture to the South from the tropics. As the low shifts across the Plains, accumulating snowfall will become possible from parts of the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, through Kansas and into Missouri and southern Illinois. Snow in the these areas may be heavy at times, especially during the afternoon and evening hours, and may be accompanied with periods of freezing rain. Snow totals of 1 to 3 inches are anticipated in the panhandles, while 2 to 4 inches with isolated amounts up to 5 inches accumulate from areas of Kansas through southern Illinois. Expect snow showers to spread into the Ohio Valley through Monday night. Meanwhile to the south, rain showers are expected to fall along and ahead of an associated cold front from areas of the Southern Plains through the Tennessee Valley. Weak instability associated with this front will allow for a few thunderstorms to accompany wet weather activity in southeastern Texas.

Elsewhere in the nation, a frontal system will bring moderate snow showers to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and downwind of Lakes Ontario and Erie in western New York. Out West, the next weather system is expected to reach the Pacific Northwest Coast then dive south in the afternoon. This will bring a threat of precipitation to the area through the afternoon and evening.

Today's Worst Weather for December 31,2012

Liberty,Missouri: Snow

2012: Top Three Worst Tornado, Severe Weather Outbreaks

By , Meteorologist
December 31,2012; 11:30AM,EST




Despite the low number of tornadoes across the U.S. in 2012, there were some severe weather and tornado outbreaks that will not soon be forgotten.
The top three tornado and severe weather outbreaks of 2012 are the tornado outbreak of March 2, the tornado outbreak of April 13-14, and the June 29 super derecho due to the number of damage reports and people impacted.




  1. All three of the severe storm and tornado outbreaks highlighted below were billion-dollar disasters in the U.S.

  1. 0 likes
  2.  · 
  3. 0 comments

  4. March 2, 2012, Tornado Outbreak


    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments

    4. More than 130 tornado reports came out on March 2, 2012, making it one of the worst outbreaks ever in early March. Several of the tornadoes were very large and dangerous. The twisters moved very quickly, making them even more dangerous since there was less warning time for people to take shelter.

      The death toll from the tornado outbreak was 40.

      Southern Indiana was hit the hardest by the most violent tornadoes, which entirely leveled some towns. Henryville, Ind., was among the hardest-hit communities.
    1. 2012 in Review: March 2012 Tornado Outbreak

    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments


    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments


    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments

    1. Tornado Borden, IN 2012-03-02-15-06-41.mp4

    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments


    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments

    1. Damage pic from Etowah (McMinn Co.) from earlier tornado warning (~1:30pm) from Josh Ault #WATE #Tornado http://yfrog.com/nv8k8tgj

    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments

    1. Tornado damage up the street.

    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments

    4. April 13-14, 2012 Tornado Outbreak


    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments

    4. One of the tornadoes on April 13, 2012, touched down in Norman, Okla., dangerously close to Oklahoma University.
    5. The image above shows tornado damage at Rotary Park in Norman, Okla.

    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments

    4. There were more than 120 tornado reports on April 14, 2012. One of the most devastating tornadoes touched down in Woodward, Okla., at night and the sirens failed to sound.

    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments

    4. A tornado also struck Wichita, Kan., late in the evening, causing severe damage.
    1. 2012 in Review: April 14th, 2012 Plains Tornado Outbreak

    1. 0 likes
    2.  · 
    3. 0 comments

    2012: The Year of Drought and Heat


    By , Expert Senior Meteorologist
    December 31,2012; 12:15PM,EST



    The "Heat and Drought of 2012" caused crops to wither and Mississippi River levels to plunge while yielding the warmest year on record for the U.S.
    The Setup
    The drought and heat had their origins during the prior winter.
    A fast storm track over northern Canada during the winter of 2011-2012 prevented cold air from making many visits into the U.S. and kept the frigid air locked up near the Arctic Circle.
    According to Expert Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson, "This pattern, in turn, resulted in mild Pacific air over much of the U.S. and southern Canada. Additionally, a lack of snow cover over southern Canada then allowed any air coming southward to further warm up before entering the U.S."

    The lack of cold air in the U.S. then greatly limited the intensity of storms during the winter and influenced the form of precipitation.
    Many stream and river systems are fed by the melting of snow cover and the release of frozen water in the ground through the spring and early summer.
    Drought Begins, Heat Blossoms
    The warm start to the spring allowed some crops to be planted early in the Midwest. However, the soil also dried out very quickly.
    As the days lengthened and the angle of the sun increased, temperatures climbed much higher than average over the Midwest and occasionally spread into the East as a result of the dry landscape. Many cities over the middle of the nation had weeks of 100-degree temperatures.
    Steve Niedbalski shows his drought- and heat-stricken corn while trying to salvage what was left for feed Wednesday, July 11, 2012 in Nashville, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
    The quick warmup is why also severe weather season spiked very early and was extremely brief.
    According to Agricultural Weather Expert Dale Mohler, "We had a lack of large complexes of thunderstorms during the spring and summer over the Plains and Midwest."



    Crops Shrivel
    The thunderstorm complexes are a major source of rainfall during the spring and summer.
    Mohler stated that corn was the hardest hit major crop during the drought and even though a record number of acres was planted the number of bushels per acre was down about 25 percent from what was originally anticipated.
    In this Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, photo, Debbie Blythe stands in a drying pond on her farm near White City, Kan. Blythe is among thousands of farmers looking for alternative ways to feed their animals this winter after one of the worst droughts in the nation's history dried up grasslands in much of the country. The drought also cut hay production, making it harder and more expensive for farmers to buy supplemental feed. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
    "The heat and drought hit much of the corn belt during the critical pollination period for the crop." Mohler stated.


    Soybeans were not hit as hard. This crop takes much longer to mature, and some rain came the rescue late in the period. However, yields were about 12 percent lower than originally expected.
    Last year's winter wheat fared better. The wheat, which matured during the beginning of the summer of 2012, had only a minor negative impact due to the drought.
    Streams Dry Up, Rivers Shrink


    The excessive heat and drought not only resulted in reduced crop yields and brown pasture lands, but it also forced water restrictions in some communities.
    Levels on the Mississippi River, which was near record high levels only a year earlier, plunged to 50-year lows during the summer of 2012.
    These levels continued to dip during the autumn as the lack of storms with heavy precipitation continued.
    During the summer and autumn, levels became so low that drudging operations on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers were stepped up to keep the shipping channel open. However, barge companies were still forced to lighten their loads to avoid running aground.
    Concerns continue for possible closures along the waterway into this winter above where the Ohio River joins in. Most notably affecting the port of St. Louis.
    Barges with excavating machinery are seen working on the Mississippi River on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012, in Thebes, Ill. The Army Corps of Engineers is delaying the use of explosives to blast away treacherous rock pinnacles on the Mississippi River because crews are having so much success removing the rocks with excavating machinery. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
    According to AccuWeather.com's Long Range Team of meteorologists, headed by Paul Pastelok, "During this winter, rain and snow is projected to be adequate over the Ohio Basin but still may be low enough over the upper Mississippi River for concern with low water levels. Little rain and snow is projected over much of the Missouri Basin and other areas farther south over the Plains."


    It will take more than one or two storms like that of the middle of December over the Plains and Upper Midwest to substantially turn things around over the upper Mississippi and Missouri valleys.
    Drought and Heat Extremes
    For some areas of the Central states, this year will finish high on the list of driest years on record. It isn't so much individual cities that have record dryness, but more the number of locations that were abnormally dry throughout the nation. Only the Northwest and portions of the northern Gulf Coast were regions where rainfall was significantly above normal over a broad area.
    Following the warmest first six months of the year and the hottest summer on record across the lower 48 states, it soon became apparent that 2012 in its entirety would be in the running for the hottest years on record.
    According to Steven A. Root, President and CEO of WeatherBank, Inc., "2012 is set to be the warmest year on record in the United States and southern Canada since 1950."
    Steven A. Root, President and CEO of WeatherBank, Inc., used hourly temperature data from 65 key cities in the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) and southern Canada to come up with the average annual temperatures (F) depicted in the graph.
    Not even cooler conditions during November, nor chill the last few day of December took 2012 out of the top spot. Unusual warmth occurred during much of December. Virtually every reporting site in the lower 48 states had temperatures averaging above normal during the first 20 days of the month.

    New Year Wintry Mix in D.C., Flurries NYC

    By , Expert Senior Meteorologist
    December 31,2012; 12:03PM,EST




    A storm system passing by through the South will bring a light wintry mix to the southern part of the mid-Atlantic and flurries farther north on New Year's Day.
    A small accumulation of snow is in store for part of the central Appalachians with a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain possible in part of the West Virginia/Virginia/western Maryland mountains early Tuesday morning.
    For most areas east of the Appalachians, not enough frozen precipitation will fall to accumulate.
    A few flurries can fly in New York City with flurries switching to a dash of plain rain around Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
    Of the major cities in the mid-Atlantic, Pittsburgh has the best shot at picking up an inch or so of natural confetti. A wintry mix is forecast for Charleston, W.Va.
    Folks traveling along I-79 and portions of I-64, I-68, I-76 and I-80 through the central Appalachians should be prepared for slow and slippery travel during the first few hours of 2013. A few patches of snow and a wintry mix could reach part of the I-81 corridor from Pennsylvania to northern Virginia.
    Rain will fall from southeastern Virginia to the Carolinas along I-95.
    While accumulating snow has avoided the I-95 cities from New York City to Washington, D.C., there will be plenty of snow on the slopes in ski country through the coming weekend, thanks to the cold weather. (Photos.com image)

    Weather in 2012: 11 Billion-Dollar Disasters in the US

    By Grace Muller, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
    December 31,2012; 11:28AM,EST


    After a year of wild, expensive and dangerous weather in 2011, 2012's weather in the United States was only a bit calmer. 2011 had a record 14 disasters that caused at least a billion dollars in damage. The damage from 2012's 11 billion-dollar-plus disasters could end up costing even more than 2011, with expensive repairs needed after Hurricane Sandy, as well as severe losses from the Midwest drought.


    "NOAA estimates that the nation experienced 11 such events, to include seven severe weather/tornado events, two tropical storm/hurricane events, and the yearlong drought and associated wildfires."