Yet another soaker for a good part of the First Coast Thu. Rain at JIA totaled 1.22" breaking the daily record for Feb. 10th of 1.11" set in 1990. The S'side of Jax had 0.90". The maps below are First Alert Doppler HD radar estimates across the area. Heaviest rains - 1-1.5" straddled the I-10 corridor to about the Fl./Ga. border. The dark green is 1"+. The photo is from Bob Brookens in Glen St. Mary, Fl. (Baker Co. 30 mi. west of Jax just north of I-10) where 1.3" of rain fell.
So for Feb. JIA has now had 4.06" of rain -- well above the entire Feb. avg. of 3.15".
I've been talking about the impending pattern change which will lead to a much drier & eventually milder weather pattern for the First Coast. See the map below -- an upper level trough of low pressure will become established over the Western U.S. while a ridge of high pressure tries to become established over or near the Southeast U.S. Such a set-up would lead to much drier days for NE Fl./SE Ga. as well as a warming trend. There's at least some potential for very warm temps. by late next week &/or the week after. I would not be surprised if Jax has little or no rain the rest of this month(!)...at least the next 10-12 days. This pattern shift will also bring a great deal of relief to the northern latitudes east of the Rockies where there will be a major thaw. Storminess & cold weather will now shift to the Western U.S. -- especially the Pacific Northwest. But don't let your guard down on winter yet. La Nina's commonly have cold & stormy springs though this La Nina winter has been anything but typical.
As cool & wet as our weather has been recently, it's nothing compared to parts of the Midwest & Plains. Record cold & snow occurred with this last storm that just dumped rain on the First Coast. Oklahoma, Kansas & Arkansas were the epicenter for this winter storm with all-time record cold & snow in Oklahoma. Check this out from the Tulsa N.W.S.:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK...CORRECTED FOR SNOWFALL DATE
156 PM CST THU FEB 10 2011
...ALL TIME OKLAHOMA RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE SET THIS MORNING...
...ALL TIME OKLAHOMA 24 HOUR SNOWFALL RECORD OCCURRED TUESDAY...
THE STRONG WINTER STORM THAT MOVED THROUGH THE REGION TUESDAY BROUGHT RECORD SNOWFALL FOLLOWED BY RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES THIS MORNING ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
THE OKLAHOMA MESONET STATION A NOWATA REACHED A LOW TEMPERATURE OF -31 DEGREES THIS MORNING. PENDING VERIFICATION BY NOAA`S NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER...THAT MARK WILL ECLIPSE THE PREVIOUS STATEWIDE
RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF -27 DEGREES. THE PREVIOUS RECORD LOW WAS SET AT VINITA IN FEBRUARY 1905 AND AT WATTS IN JANUARY 1930. THE MESONET STATIONS ARE MAINTAINED BY THE OKLAHOMA CLIMATOLOGICAL SURVEY.
NUMEROUS OTHER LOW TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE BROKEN THIS MORNING ACROSS OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS WITH SEVERAL LOCATIONS DROPPING BELOW THE PREVIOUS OKLAHOMA STATE RECORD.
RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES READINGS THIS MORNING FROM THE MESONET AND OTHER SURFACE OBSERVATION SITES IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS INCLUDE:
NOWATA OK -31
PRYOR OK -28
BARTLESVILLE OK -28
BLACKWELL OK -27
FAYETTEVILLE AR -18
TULSA OK -12
MCALESTER OK -4
IN ADDITION TO THE BITTERLY COLD TEMPERATURES...RECORD SNOW FELL TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9TH 2011 AS A STRONG WINTER STORM MOVED OVER THE REGION.
THE SPAVINAW DAM NWS CO-OP SITE MEASURED 27 INCHES OF SNOWFALL WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 9TH 2011 FOR A 24 HOUR PERIOD. PENDING VERIFICATION BY NOAA`S NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER...THAT SNOWFALL TOTAL BREAKS THE PREVIOUS 24 HOUR OKLAHOMA STATE RECORD SNOWFALL OF 26 INCHES SET DURING THE MARCH 2009 BLIZZARD AT BOTH FREEDOM AND WOODWARD.
IN ADDITION...SEVERAL LOCATIONS ACROSS NORTHWEST ARKANSAS REPORTED SNOWFALL THAT LIKELY APPROACHED THE ARKANSAS STATE RECORD FOR 24 HOUR SNOWFALL.
BOTH THE RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES AND SNOWFALL FROM THE FEBRUARY 9TH 2011 WINTER STORM ARE PRELIMINARY AND WILL CONTINUED TO BE INVESTIGATED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA...THE OKLAHOMA
CLIMATOLOGICAL SURVEY AND THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER.
New Red Flag Warning & Fire Weather Watch criteria will go into effect in Fl. beginning March 3rd...from the N.W.S.:
SUBJECT: CHANGE TO (FIRE WEATHER) RED FLAG WARNING AND FIRE WEATHER WATCH ISSUANCE CRITERIA EFFECTIVE MARCH 3 2011
IN COOPERATION WITH THE FLORIDA DIVISION OF FORESTRY...THE US FOREST SERVICE AND OTHER FIRE WEATHER USERS THE CRITERIA FOR RED FLAG WARNINGS AND FIRE WEATHER WATCHES WILL CHANGE AT 1200 AM EST MARCH 3
2011.
THE NEW CRITERIA FOR RED FLAG WARNINGS AND FIRE WEATHER WATCHES WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:
1. 4 CONSECUTIVE HOURS OF FORECAST RELATIVE HUMIDITY LESS THAN 35 PERCENT AND
2. FORECAST ENERGY RELEASE COMPONENT (ERC) 35 OR GREATER OR
1. FORECAST RELATIVE HUMIDITY LESS THAN 35 PERCENT AND
2. FORECAST 20 FOOT SUSTAINED WIND SPEED IN EXCESS OF 15 MPH. OR
1. FORECAST RELATIVE HUMIDITY LESS THAN 35 PERCENT AND
2. FORECAST LAVDAS DISPERSION INDEX 75 OR GREATER.
IN ADDITION..."FIRE DANGER STATEMENTS" /MIARFDMLB/ FOR FORECAST FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS APPROACHING BUT NOT EXCEEDING RED FLAG WARNING CRITERIA WILL BE ISSUED FOR THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:
1. 4 CONSECUTIVE HOURS OF FORECAST RELATIVE HUMIDITY LESS THAN 35 PERCENT AND
2. FORECAST ENERGY RELEASE COMPONENT (ERC) 30 TO 34 OR
1. FORECAST RELATIVE HUMIDITY LESS THAN 35 PERCENT AND
2. FORECAST 20 FOOT WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 15 MPH.
Globally....China is in the grips of a severe drought that's affecting the part of the country that is the world's largest wheat production area. Get the story from the NY Times -- click here....& here from Bloomberg.
