Big Story Weather – October 24, 2013

redOrbit Meteorologist Joshua Kelly
Big Story Weather from October 23:
A few snow showers moved through the Northern Plains and the Great Lakes yesterday. The biggest story of the day, however, was the cold air that plunged into the Southeast and also portions of the Gulf Coast.

Big Story Weather Discussion for October 24:
Surface Map 11AM: A clipper system will move through the Great Lakes bringing light snowfall to the region. High pressure will build in over the Plains bringing partly cloudy skies and cold air to the region. Another area of high pressure will settle in over the Northern Rockies bringing cool air to the region. Mild air will be over the West Coast. The Gulf Coast will also see partly cloudy skies and cool weather.
Surface Map 11PM: The clipper system will advance into the Northeast bringing a few rain showers to the region. High pressure will settle in over the rest of the US bringing cold air all the way down into the Gulf Coast and Southeast. The Plains will be cold as well and the West Coast will see partly cloudy skies and mild weather.
Severe Weather: No severe weather for today.
Winter Weather: There will be light snow over the Great Lakes. Snowfall rates should remain below 2 inches. The frost and freeze line will extend all the way down into Northern Mississippi and Alabama along with the Southeast. The frost and freeze line will then extend up into the Mid-Atlantic and back towards the Ohio River Valley.
Flooding: No flooding expected today across the country.
Tropical Weather: Tropical Depression Lorenzo has winds around 30kts and pressure near 1009mb and will continue to weaken and move away from land.
Winds: Strong gradient winds will be over the Great Lakes today with winds around 30-40mph creating large waves over the Western Lakes especially.

Today’s Spotlight Cities Forecast:
Baltimore MD: Partly cloudy with a high near 51F and overnight lows near 33F. Friday partly cloudy with a high near 52F and overnight lows near 32F. Saturday partly cloudy with high temps near 53F and overnight lows near 37F. Sunday partly cloudy with high temps near 55F and overnight lows near 37F. Monday partly cloudy with high temps around 58F and overnight lows near 40F.
Gulfport MS: Partly cloudy with a high near 74F and overnight lows near 49F. Friday partly cloudy with high temps around 66F and overnight lows near 45F. Saturday partly cloudy with a high near 68F and overnight lows near 55F. Sunday partly cloudy with a high near 74F and overnight lows near 64F. Monday partly cloudy with a high near 78F and overnight lows near 69F.
Omaha NE: Partly cloudy with a high near 47F and overnight lows near 32F. Friday partly cloudy with high temps around 56F and overnight lows near 40F. Saturday partly cloudy with high temps near 49F and overnight lows near 33F. Sunday partly cloudy with high temps around 60F and overnight lows near 38F. Monday mostly cloudy with showers. High temps around 54F and overnight lows near 47F. Total rainfall around 0.25 inches along with slight impacts over the area.
Billings MT: Partly cloudy with high temps around 55F and overnight lows near 42F. Friday partly cloudy with high temps near 60F and overnight lows near 38F. Saturday partly cloudy with high temps near 66F and overnight lows near 40F. Sunday mostly cloudy with moderate snowfall. High temps around 59F and overnight lows near 30F. Total snowfall around 1-3 inches with moderate impacts expected. Monday mostly cloudy with periods of heavy snowfall. High temps around 28F and overnight lows near 9F. Total snowfall around 2-4 inches which will lead to moderate impacts.
Seattle WA: Partly cloudy with a high near 70F and overnight lows near 46F. Friday partly cloudy with high temps around 64F and overnight lows near 40F. Saturday partly cloudy with high temps around 65F and overnight lows near 40F. Sunday partly cloudy with high temps around 60F and overnight lows near 37F. Monday partly cloudy with high temps around 57F and overnight lows near 33F. There will be a slight impact in the area for areas of frost.
Ask The Weatherman for October 23, 2013:
Question: What is meant by the term “upwelling?”
Answer: When we talk about upwelling, we are usually relating to an ocean process by which colder waters from the deeper ocean are being forced upwards to the surface and replace the warmer waters along the surface. This process is most common near the warm ocean currents off the east coast of Northern Hemispheres and the west coast of the Southern Hemispheres.
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October 24, 2013 Storm Tracker Update:
Latest Image: Typhoon Francisco has winds around 65kts and is moving northwest. The bottom image is Super-Typhoon Lekima with winds around 130kts. It is currently tracking to the west-northwest.
Eastern Pacific Ocean: Tropical Storm Raymond will start to move away from Western Mexico with strong winds and heavy rainfall. Winds are now around 40kts and pressure near 1003mb. Low pressure moving into Alaska will bring strong winds, heavy rainfall and mountain snows to the region. A clipper system will move through the Plains bringing light snow to the region.
Atlantic Ocean: Tropical Depression Lorenzo has winds around 30kts and pressure near 1009mb. The storm will remain over the open Atlantic and will have no impacts. Low pressure moving into the Northeast will bring a few showers to the region. Low pressure moving through Western Europe will bring showers to the region. Low pressure moving through Western China will bring showers and snow showers to the region. We are also watching an area in the tropics that has pushed off the coast of Africa for possible tropical development.
Western Pacific: Low pressure moving through Eastern Russia will bring snow showers to the region. Super Typhoon Lekima has winds around 130kts and pressure near 926mb and will continue to move towards the west-northwest and be near the island of Iwo Jima (Iwo To). Typhoon Francisco has winds around 60kts and pressure of 978mb and will continue to move along the Eastern shores of Japan bringing strong winds, heavy rain and storm surge to the region. There is another wave that is beginning to develop to the northeast of Guam that will have to be watched for possible tropical development.
Indian Ocean: There is an area of convection over the Bay of Bengal that is being watched for possible tropical development along with another area over the Central Indian Ocean.
Southern Hemisphere: Low pressure moving through Southern Argentina will bring showers and gusty winds to the region. Low pressure to the southeast of South Africa will bring strong winds to the region. A third low pressure area moving over Southern New Zealand will bring showers and strong winds to the region.
Major Weather Impacts Discussion for October 24, 2013:
Day 1-3: A fast moving clipper system will push across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast bringing light snowfall to the Great Lakes and a few showers to portions of the Northeast. High pressure will build in over the Northern Plains and extend into the Southeast and Gulf Coast bringing some cooler weather to the region. High pressure over the Rockies will keep the West dry and the West Coast mild and dry. Day two will have more of the same with high pressure dominating most of the country. A weak frontal boundary will clip through the Great Lakes bringing a few snow showers to the region. The period will end with the system moving into the Northeast bringing rain and snow showers to the area. High pressure will dominate the weather from the Northern Plains to the Southeast and Gulf Coast. A weak upper level feature will bring a few showers to portions of Texas. The West Coast will remain dry.
Day 4-7: The period will start with high pressure extending from the Northeast all the way back into the Gulf Coast and Southern Plains. The next winter storm will begin to push into the Northern Rockies bringing rain and heavy snowfall to the region. Day five high pressure will be over the Northeast extending back into the Gulf Coast, while the storm system moves into the Central Plains bringing heavy rainfall an also heavy snowfall to the Plains and the Northern Rockies. Day six the storm system will move into the Great Lakes bringing rain showers to the region. The cold front will extend into the Gulf Coast and Texas bringing rain and thunderstorms to the area. Some severe weather may be possible. Snowfall will be found over Colorado. The period will end with the low pressure in the Great Lakes bringing snow to the north, heavy rain to the Ohio River Valley and a strong squall line to the Gulf Coast.
Day 8-12: The period will start with the low pressure pushing into the Northeast bringing rainfall to the region. Some thunderstorms will be possible in the Carolinas. High pressure will be over the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast. Another weak system will bring some light snowfall to the Northern Rockies. Day ten will have a few snow showers moving over the Great Lakes, otherwise high pressure will dominate most of the country again with partly cloudy skies and cool weather. The period will finish with high pressures over both coasts and a weak frontal boundary moving through the Plains bringing another shot of showers and snow showers to the Northern Plains and Western Lakes.
Long Range Outlook: The period will start with a frontal boundary moving across the Great Lakes and Ohio River Valley. Look for showers and a few snow showers to dominate the area. A weak storm system will enter the Northern Rockies bringing another shot of rain and snow to the area. During the middle of the period high pressure will be along the East Coast. A new strong storm system will be entering the Plains with showers and thunderstorms over the Southern Plains and rain and possibly heavy snowfall over the Northern Plains. The period will end with a storm system moving into the Great Lakes and also the Northeast bringing rain and some snowfall to the region. Another strong burst of cold air will plunge into the Plains as high pressure builds back in. A new storm system will enter the Pacific Northwest bringing with it showers and higher elevation snows.

Green Energy Report for October 24:
Wave Energy: There will be moderate amounts of energy along the Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast ahead of the cold front. There will be slight to moderate amounts of energy for both the Southeast and into the Gulf Coast. The entire West Coast will see moderate amounts of energy as the gradient from the high and the next low pressure will keeps strong winds over the waters.
Hydro Energy: There will be some periods of light rain over the Eastern Lakes and the Northeast which will bring some short term energy to the region.
Solar Energy: There will be ample amounts of solar energy from the Southeast to the Southern Plains, further west into the Southwest and all along the West Coast, back into the Rockies and the Northern Plains.
Wind Energy: There will be moderate amounts of wind energy over the Great Lakes behind the frontal boundary and also over portions of Northern Florida near the temperature gradient of the waters and the cold dense high pressure center.

Weather and Your Wallet for New York NY:
A clipper system to the west will bring increased clouds by later in the afternoon along with moderate westerly winds.
Dining: There will be no issues with enjoying a lunch at the park or eating outside at the many diners.
Transportation: There will be no weather issues along the major roadways or at the airports.
Shopping: Today will be a nice day to hit the stores and enjoy the fall sales.
Electricity: There will be some demand for heating to begin later this evening and last through the overnight hours. Around 21HDD’s are forecasted for the day.
Yard Work: There will be no forecasted impacts to enjoying time in the back yard today.
Construction: There should be no issues with the outdoor projects, however, with the high rise projects, the winds may get a little stronger.
Outdoor Venues: A nice day to take a walk in the park or down to the WTC museum.