Clipper with a little at 1st then the (If you read the weather posts here)..the Backside Arctic NW winds blowing off the Great Lakes & then Slamming into The WV Alpps & PA Highlands..


Tonight: Snow. Low around 9. Wind chill values as low as -7. Calm wind becoming northwest between 13 and 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Sunday: Snow showers before 10am, then snow showers likely between 10am and 11am, then snow showers and areas of blowing snow after 11am. High near 18. Wind chill values as low as -11. Windy, with a northwest wind between 21 and 28 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Sunday Night: Snow showers and areas of blowing snow. Low around 10. Wind chill values as low as -12. Windy, with a northwest wind around 32 mph, with gusts as high as 48 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.

PS..To you rookie weather watchers...More times than not you can take the high ends of all those snow totals for SS & Canaan..

PS++ while i'm at it there has been a biggie showing up for the 12/14th time frame....so i guess thats a watch too (DC AREA Included)

while we're at it... been snowing all afternoon here in Durham (the bull city) maybe 2 inches on the ground now, some street coverage. heaven, almost....

Here's the latest fom the NWS:



Issued by The National Weather Service
State College, PA
11:11 am EST, Sun., Dec. 5, 2010

... WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST TUESDAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST TUESDAY.

* LOCATION... LAUREL HIGHLANDS.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE... SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS... 8 TO 12 INCHES... WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OF 15 TO 18 INCHES ON THE RIDGES TO THE WEST OF ROUTE 219.

* TIMING... A PROLONGED PERIOD OF UPSLOPE SNOW SHOWERS AND LOCALIZED HEAVIER SQUALLS WILL OCCUR TODAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH MID WEEK.

There ya go Mr. warmth & to confirm( or not to confirm) my thinking that I posted yest for the storm watch for the 12/14th time frame here is a post from Accuweather...come on..they ain't that bad!

http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/42578/big-upcoming-snowstorm-for-the.asp
Even the worst case scenerio (For the DC Metro & lowland ski areas)) where the storm tracks inland, it would still give the highlands a good snow. I'm seeing cold & Snow all the way till the 22nd of Dec until further notice...I'm loving it!

Crackuweather hasn't got a clue. They hype everything and go out of their way to pander to snow weenies like us. If you want a good, reliable forecast, nothing beats the old NWS or checkout Capital Weather on twitter or the Washington Post blogpage.

Just an update. Buckhannon has about 7-8 inches on the ground. 4-5 on the road this morning.

We now have over a foot here in the Valley

I hate you.

(A foot in the valley)

& 16 or so above 4000'...& also cking out the sat & water vaper obs for the area,They show some thick clouds & moisture banked up on MPC & the roaring plains plateau & on up thru the dolly sods... could be...who knows how much!...SS got 9 more over nite with a good plume off of Lake Michigan...We be rockin! I'll be making the long dr from SE,NC real soon....Its too frickin cold down here!

Just an update:

Parts of W.Va. get up to 2 feet of snow

Is it just me,
is it an artifact of teh weathermap compositing software, or
is it that Western MD got essentially *nothinged* off this storm?

PA is getting it. WVa is getting it. Western Md = ugly stepsister?

This is almost always the case and I am not sure why either, but it is a fact that Garrett County gets less snow than its neighbors to the north and south and can be easily seen in the yearly average snow totals. CV is 1,000 feet higher which certainly makes a difference (= 50 inches annually). Laurel Highlands are further north, but is that enough to explain it.

I think that the 7springs area gets it off of Erie while WV gets it from Lake michigan generaly speaking & wisp has to wait for a shove to the south for Erie & vice versa from Michigan.
Of course you can get wind swings & snow bands that can set up over an area that can really change the norm...I saw a narrow band of snow off of Huron & Erie that cruised all the way over to philly the other day which was Very unusual.

Elevation just enhances everything & you can see that when comparing winterplace vs the shoe especially when they are both in the middle of a good flow off of L. michigan & even if there were no lakes The Higher Elevations could wring out some snow just from the Upslope effect as can be seen after the Lakes are generaly frozen over.

I think that SS & Canaan would get More snow than they do but they have to share the Rations with the Mountains just west of them whereas the PA areas don't have as much competition.

If you watched the radar loops you would think that it never snows in Canaan Valley (Loops show snow from SS South & Wisp north)...Who wants to answer why that is?...Waiting for raised Hands Children...

7 Springs has a better opportunity for LES + orographic lift

The Springs are at the same elevation as wisp so the lift shoudn't be any diff..

.If you go by Wisp's ski report they claim as of 7am this Morn 20 inches in 24 hours & then thier Grooming report as of 430 pm today says they have recieved 11 of nat...SSSsssooo..does that mean 11 total or 31 inches??..Did they hook up with a Streamer off the lakes??...Was Comprex just bitching that No one has mentioned the Snow at Wisp?..Inquiring minds want to Know!

PS..still watching this weekends weather..could get mixy mashy for sun but then all heck breaks loose again...

Not sure on why the radar does not show CV, but your observation is spot on.

While working out tonight the local DC station had a graphic on the TV. Not sure of the exact time frame (no sound) but the weather graphic showed Bayard, WV at 24 inches and Oakland, MD at 1/2 that---its right down the road but far enough I guess to make a difference.

I have no idea was L-skier is talking about.

Nope no bitchin'. Watching the radar loops and not seeing the action.

Still I think Wisp will be the place to be on Sun with the 7 dollar deal. Hopefully, the weather will come in late a set up a bomber BC base for the coming weeks.

LES = Lake effect

Orographic lift = Mountain lift


The difference between a few miles and the trajectory of the fetch can make a HUGE difference in these situations. And radar loops may even be a bit useless because of just how localized the snow can be and how far the radars are from the highlands.

And fish.. spot on, weekend may end as a bit of a mess but it think there is HUGE potential for the mountains. Possibly a sloppy 3-5 followed by a dry and fluffy 1-2 ft more. And really, a bit of freezing rain or wet snow followed by cold is amazing for base this time of year. Also, next week will likely be bone chilling with great snowmaking.

BTW... 7Springs is running a great $85 deal for the weekend (lift, lodging, and breakfast).

They need a radar site near Clarksburg, WV, to fill in the void left between the Charleston and Pittsburgh sites!