Message-ID: <5754.1075840566293.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2002 06:06:46 -0800 (PST) From: andy@apbenergy.com To: weathernews@apbenergy.com Subject: MONDAY WEATHER HEADLINES Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Andy Weingarten <andy@apbenergy.com>@ENRON X-To: 'Weather News Distribution' <weathernews@apbenergy.com> X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \ExMerge - Griffith, John\Deleted Items X-Origin: GRIFFITH-J X-FileName: john griffith 6-25-02.PST Weather Headlines Monday January 21, 2002 The battle rages on between the polar vortex and the Caribbean ridge. While widespread cold is still not likely, widespread storminess is. The above headlines are the same from my last post six days ago. That pattern seems to have verified well and it looks to continue through this week as well. One notable difference though is the trough in the West is stronger as well as the ridge in the East. This will have an effect on temperatures and subsequent precipitation type. A series of storms should move through the nation this week. A couple of them look noteworthy. In the Eastern U.S. the rain/snow line should be much farther North this time around. In fact, enough warm air could be in place over the deep South for a severe weather outbreak Wednesday and Thursday. There could be some decent snows in the NE again late in the period, but the storm system will need to take a more Northerly track than I expect. A strong SW flow of air will overwhelm the Eastern half of the nation with double digit above normal air, especially once the melting of this weekends snowfall is finished. The trough in the West is sufficiently strong to produce below normal temperatures this week West of the divide. Precipitation could become quite heavy later in the week especially in the Pacific NW. There is a slight concern that arctic air could get into the Pacific NW late in the period. There continues to be an abundance in Western Canada. I have seen reports of temperatures in Northern Saskatchewan this weekend approaching 60 below zero. It is too close to dismiss entirely, but I still see no real sign of it pressing Southward. Here is a shocker for those interested in the 6-10 day period. The MRF brings a significant shot of arctic air into the Northern U.S.! I guess this continues to be a case of predict it often enough and you'll eventually be right. To be fair, there was some cold this weekend in the Northern Plains. Minneapolis dropped below zero for the first time this winter Saturday morning. Of course the normal low for the date is around 3 degrees. Again I suppose it can't be entirely written off since its in the Canadian vicinity. But, it remains locked to the North on the Canadian and European solutions and I'll stay on the same horse until bucked. This battle only applies to the far North anyway as all signs show the Southern half of the country arctic free and largely above normal. For the period Monday January 21 through Friday January 25, expect the following temperature trends: Average 4 to 6-degrees below normal: Intermountain West, Desert SW, California... Average 1 to 3- degrees below normal: Pacific NW... Average 1 to 3-degrees above normal: Southern Plains and Rockies... Average 4 to 6-degrees above normal: Gulf Coast, Southeast, Central Plains, Mississippi Valley, Northern and Central Rockies... Average 7 to 12-degrees above normal: Northern Plains, Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast... Andy Weingarten, Meteorologist APB Energy / True Quote