1st mild airmass of the season. Seasonal tempers experienced in the mid to upper 40s

City snowcover as of March 29th 2013

Today was a beautiful today across Southeastern Minnesota. It was sunny and we had our first taste with highs in the upper 40s which is actually where our temperatures should be this time of year.  Many thought the weather was gorgeous and took the time to be outdoors for the first time this season. The snowpack took a huge hit and melted quite significantly. I'm seeing parts of the today I have not seen in months. Temperatures are expected to continue to be warm for Saturday with rain early in the day which may take care of most of the rest of the snowcover.

Highs Friday March 29th

 West Downtown Rochester ( my sta.) 49.F
Quarry Hill-E Rochester 49.F
Austin 48.F
Winona 48.F
Wabasha 48.F
Zumbrota 47.F
Canton 47.F
Preston 46.F
Red wing 46.F
Cannon Falls 45.F
Rochester Airport 44.F
Byron 44.F
Dodge Center 43.F


 

Spring has sprung! 1st blooms of 2013!

Yellow snow crocus March 27th 2013

The 1st blooms of 2013 are among us! Several sunny days in a row with temperatures in the mid to upper 30s have lead to sheltered early blooming plants to begin flowering. Most gardens still have some snowcover but gardens located along southern exposures melt snow much quicker which allows for earlier blooms. Pictured above are yellow snow crocus located along the southern foundation of the house. Along this same area Dutch crocuses are also now budding and will soon follow. Around other places in the city I've  Winter Aconite and Snowdrops in bloom. These flowered literally popped into bloom over the past few days! It seems the long extended winter has rushed the spring bulbs into catching up to where there supposed to be, in which we are about a week and a half to 2 weeks behind. Daffodils, Tulips, Snow Iris and Hyacinths are also sprouting and will soon follow in a couple of weeks depending on weather.

White snow Crocus March 28th 2013.

Here is a White snow crocus located in a different southern exposure garden in the lawn. These were actually sprouted back in December from very mild conditions and just have been dormant under the leaf cover until about 2 weeks ago when the snow melted away. They are very hardy flowers and can take hard freezes without damage. Last night fell to 18.F the early spring flowers are not effected.

Spring finally arriving! Significant warm up and decreasing snowcover this week as calm weather is expected with temps rising each day, 30s, 40s then 50s a real possibility by the end of the week! Updated X1

Regional Weather view

After a very long winter with snowstorms lasting through most of this month, spring is finally going to show its face here in the Upper Midwest. A high pressure system will bring calm weather to the region through the week and the jet stream will be moving northward. This will finally bring in warm air from the southwest. By weeks end 50s could be seen as far north as Southern Minnesota with 60s in Iowa. Currently there is a significant amount of snowcover across the region, but with warm temperatures expected this week this will be decreasing significantly over the next 7 days. Weather will remain fairly quiet through the work week with only a chance of light rain showers across Southern Minnesota and Iowa come Sunday.

Local and metro views

It's quite difficult to contain my excitement by looking at the weather maps this week. Get ready for a real Spring-like warm up! Those that have been waiting for spring will finally get to see it this week as temperatures are expected to significantly warm up through the week. We will start off cool, and end out the week with the possibility of seeing our first 50.F temperature of the season. Monday and Tuesday will be cool and will feature more clouds then sun. North winds will be breezy at times. High temperatures in the middle 30s are expected with lows in the mid to upper 10s. Wednesday and Thursday we will have brilliant blue skies and light winds and it will feel very nice. Highs will be in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Lows will be in the lower to middle 20s. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we will likely see some clouds coming back into the picture with a slight chance of light rain shows on Saturday, the rain will be very light in nature and not cause any problems. Even with the clouds and precipitation we will see the full brunt of the spring-like warm up as south winds pump in warm temperatures in the lower to middle 40s Friday and Saturday and highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s on Sunday. This will be the warmest air we have seen in month and its going to feel quite nice and the is 4-8" deep snowcover that currently covers the area will be mostly gone by Sunday.

Monday, Breezy north winds, Partly sunny skies with highs in the mid 30s. Monday Night, Mostly cloudy with lows in the mid to upper 10s.

Tuesday, Decreasing clouds. Partly Sunny skies with highs in the mid to upper 30s. Tuesday Night, Mostly cloudy with lows in the mid to upper 10s.

Wednesday, Nice! Sunny skies, light winds. Highs in the upper 30s. Wednesday Night, Partly Cloudy, lows in the upper 10s to low 30s

Thursday, Nice! Sunny skies, light winds. Highs in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Partly cloudy, lows in the mid to upper 20s

Friday, Nice! Increasing clouds. Partly cloudy to partly sunny with highs in the middle 40s. Friday Night, Cloudy skies, lows in the upper 20s to low 30s

Saturday, Mostly cloudy with showers and the possibility of an thunderstorm. Highs in the mid to upper 40s. Saturday Night, Cloudy, chance of rain mixed with snow. Rainfall amounts around 0.25"  lows in the lower 30s.

Sunday, Chances of light rain and snow early. Falling temperatures, Windy west winds gusting to 35MPH Highs in the upper 30s before falling Sunday Night, Windy with lows in the upper 10s. Winds gusting to 30MPH 

Looking Ahead

Monday the start of the 1st week of April looks cold with highs only in the 30s with bluster winds. Tuesday April 2nd a warm front brings moves north and brings us rain showers then warm temperatures and calm weather for the middle of that week, 40s and 50s could be common.  Saturday April 6th a strong low pressure system moves through and tracks from Nebraska to Northern Minnesota. This puts us on the warm side for the start but cold air is waiting to move south behind it. The model shows heavy rain showers Sunday April 7th possibly ending as light snow as cold air moves down form the northwest. Right after the storm is clears and sunny skies return out but cold temperatures remain over the area for a few days then temperatures moderate and warm up to more seasonal values around April 9th. 

Monday March 18th snowfall/wind event. Now 3rd snowiest March on Record at Rochester- This year is an extreme difference compared to last year.

 Windblown snow on a cold morning March 19th 2013

Many are starting to get exhausted with this winter weather that seems never ending at this point. Monday a quick moving storm system brought moderate to heavy snows once again into our area. This one was a different then our last few because this one came with very gusty winds 40MPH or over and significant blowing and drifting snow. The actual amounts of snow was not a problem but blowing snow made for very difficult travel. The cause of the snow was a low pressure system centered in Northern Minnesota. As this moved eastward gusty northwest winds and dropping temperatures were found on its southwest side. This storm was more like those we would experience in January and not 2 weeks from April. To add to the January-like weather very cold temperatures were seen behind the storm this morning as lows feel in the low to mid single digits. Typical highs this time of year are in the mid 40s.

Up to 3rd snowiest March at Rochester

La Crosse has not officially released anything  regarding this information but with the snow we had yesterday we are now in 3rd place for the snowiest March in recorded history.

Snowfall and Wind Reports

Minnesota City 4.00"
 West Downtown Rochester ( my sta.) 3.75" 44MPH
Rochester Airport 3.70" 40MPH
Cannon Falls36MPH
Winona 36MPH
Dodge Center 38MPH
Theilman 3.70"
Lake City 3.50"
Red Wing 3.50" 33MPH
Claremont 3.40"
Wabasha 3.20"
 Elgin 3.20"
Preston 3.20" 39MPH
Spring Valley 2.60"
Austin 2.40" 37MPH
Lanesbro 2.0"

 


This year is completely opposite of last year. Taking a look at the photo above shows the huge difference in weather from this year to last year. To emphasis on this extreme difference, this time last year we were, mowing the lawn for the 1st time of the season. Early Trees/shrubs like Lilacs, Maples, Willows were leafing out. Magnolias and Daffodils were in full bloom. This year we have a thick snowcover and cannot even see the lawn.

Very wintery cool pattern will continue for at least the next week. Next chance of minor to moderate snows is Monday. Midweek of next week looks cool to even cold but at least with bright sunshine!

Regional Weather View

The weather pattern for the Midwest looks very cool and wintery like. The reason for this is because the jet stream has been stuck over the Midwest for the past few weeks. Which is also the reason for the very active pattern we have been in. The next chance of a snowstorm will be Monday but there is much disagreement between the model as to where this storm will track. Parts of South & North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin look to be targeted at this time. Snowcover has receded north into Iowa but it does not look like it will be progressing much more north then this because after the storm passes through it will stay cool, but it will bring in a quieter and sunnier pattern.

Local and Metro views

For the local area expect a cool very wintery-like pattern. Because of a southerly placement of the jet stream to out south Spring-like airmass is having only brief visits to southern Minnesota. Saturday and Sunday will be more clouds then sun with highs in the upper 20s to lower 30s which is below the average of low to mid 40s which is where we should be this time of year.

Monday is the next chance of snow

Monday is our next chance for accumulating snow here in Southeastern Minnesota but there is significant disagreement among the forecast models on the placement of this storm. European models takes it more south which would bring minor to moderate (3-5") of snowfall accumulations to our area. GFS takes the storm more north keeping it north of Minneapolis, which would only bring light snow to our area with little to no snow. I decided for right now to go with that will probably see some light snow accumulations on Monday with the majority (heaviest) accumulations being to our north.

Cool into midweek but at least sunny!

Temperatures will remain well below normal into the middle to end of next week but at least a high pressure system will bring the sun back into the picture. High temperatures Wednesday will start off downright cold in the middle 20s, then moderate to the upper 20s to lower 30s Thursday and Friday. Friday we have a shot at maybe middle 30s, which is below normal but will feel good with the high sun angle and light winds that are expected.

Saturday, Cool, Flurries possible early otherwise Mostly cloudy with breezy northwest winds to 20MPH. Highs in the upper 20s. Saturday Night, Cold, Partly cloudy with lows in the low to mid 10s

Sunday, Partly sunny skies, breezy cold winds. Highs in the upper 20s to low 30s. Sunday Night, Snow developing, Lows in the mid 20s.

Monday, Snow, possibly heavy at times. Possible Accumulations 2-4" Highs in the lower 30s Monday Night, Cold! Light snow and blowing snow, Windy with west winds gusting to 35MPH. Cold wind chills. Lows in the lower 10s to upper single digits.

Tuesday, Cold sunshine, breezy cold northwest winds. Highs in the mid 20s. Tuesday Night, Cold, lows in the upper single digits to lower 10s

Wednesday, Cool, Sunny, not as windy. Highs in the upper 20s. Wednesday Night, Cold, lows in the low to mid 10s.

Thursday, Sunny light winds, Warmer. Highs in the low to mid 30s. Thursday Night, Partly cloudy and chilly with lows in the upper 10s.

Friday, Partly Cloudy, highs in the low to mid 30s. Friday Night, Increasing clouds with lows in the upper 10s to low 20s.

Looking Ahead

GFS and European model are in complete disagreement in the long range forecast but I tend to lean towards a cooler side and pushing our spring-warmups farther and farther into March. The model shows the cold air sticking around at least for the next week, with maybe an end to that in the last week of the month. For next weekend 23rd and 24th looks sunny and cool but with the high sun angle in place we may see 30s for highs. The models are bringing in a warmer spring-like airmass to start off the last week March with the jet stream finally being allowed to possible go north of our area. If this were to take place we would see significantly warming temps and drastically melting snowcover. It must be taken into consideration the model may not be right with this trend and it could change back to a cooler trend, but at the same time this pattern were currently under wont stick in place forever so I would not be surprised if this turned out to be what happens. It is something we will just have to wait and see.

Thursday March 14th another snow event brought heavy snow and dropped a quick 1-2" Were up to the 5th snowiest March in recorded history at Rochester. Quick warm up and sunshine after the snow helped aid in Tulips sprouting!

Heavy snow during the morning hours of March 14th

A quick moving clipper system and warm front brought a brief burst of heavy snow for mostly the central and northeastern parts of the area. The snow lasted for about an hour or two Thursday morning. Snow from this clipper was compact on radar but was very intense. It dropped a quick 1-2" in a about an hours time. The snow was so heavy here in Rochester I could not see the hospital 2 blocks away which is the 1st time I've had that happen. This snow causes numerous car accidents area wide because of the slippery and visibility restricting nature of the snow.

5th snowiest March in recorded history at Rochester International

NWS La Crosse has announced with the snow Thursday we are now in 5th place  for the snowiest March in recorded history at the Rochester Airport 20.30" have fallen at the airport. This compared to my station which is 7 miles north and several feet lower in elevation compared to the airport 18.25" of snow has fallen this month. If the airport were to see a few more inches before the end of the month we could easily be put in 2nd or 3rd place for the snowiest March on record.

Snow Reports

Winona 2.0"
West Downtown Rochester ( my station) 2.0"
Preston 1.90"
Nerstrand 1.30"
Mantorville 1.50"
Austin 0.30"  

 Sunny backyard view March 14th 2013

What a quick turn around! by 11am the snow ended and eventually by the afternoon hours the clouds cleared and we broke into brilliant sunshine with temperatures in the the mid to upper 30s with low 40s in city protected areas. All of the newly accumulated snow from the morning hours melted with our very strong mid march sun if felt great to finally see some warm sunshine.

 Tulips sprouting March 14th 2013

This brings a little hope to winter weary residents. Even with the very few days of sunshine we have had this month the snow has melted away from the southern foundation garden which has allowed the tulips to sprout! Also sprouting in this garden are Daffodils and Crocuses. To help explain how this is possible this garden is located next to the southern foundation of the garage where the sun heats up this area and melts snow and warms the soil much quicker then in other areas of the yard. Since I knew this would be the case I made use of this effect and planted early flowering bulbs so that I would get to enjoy spring a little earlier! Now if we can get some extended sunshine in place for more then a day or two, I would see blooms from crocus in about a week or two.

Who ever said Spring doesn't have snowstorms in Minnesota? Very high precipitation amounts past 2 days. Significant rains 0.75 to 1.00" Saturday the 9th, then Spring Snowstorm dumps half to 1 foot of heavy wet snow on Southeastern Minnesota March 10-11th. Thundersnow reported! Snow had high water contents. 2.00-2.50" precip amounts over the past 3 days

Flooding from significant heavy March rains Saturday/Sunday March 9-10th

A unsual 1-2 punch event impacted Southeastern Minnesota early this week bringing significant amounts of heavy precipitation to Southeastern Minnesota in the past 3-4 days. First in the form of significant amounts of heavy rain fell from a storm system Saturday. Rainfall amounts ranging from 0.30 to exceeding 1.00" were reported, then as significant amounts of snow Sunday into Monday. Heavy snow developed with a snowstorm late Sunday into Monday which dropped significant to major, 6 to 12" amounts of snow on the area on top of the rain. The storm that lead to the significant rain originated in Colorado and moved up through western Kansas to about St Cloud,Minnesota. This placement sent plumes of warm air rich moist air northward out of Iowa. Rain heavy at times developed and lasted much of Saturday. There was bouts of moderate rain through out the day. Temperatures warmed to the mid to upper 30s. The highest temperature we warmed to was 37.F here in Rochester. All this preciptation at this current time could lead to spring flooding issues because with the ground being well frozen solid the rainwater just remained on top of the ground, ran off or soaked into the snowpack. The snowdepth here in my backyard here in Rochester lowered from 10.50" on Tuesday the 5th to 4.50" at the end of the rain/warmth Friday.

Rainfall Reports

Austin 1.47"
Dodge Center 1.28"
Red Wing 1.17"
Rochester airport 1.08"
W.Downtown Rochester-( My Station) 0.94"
Cannon Falls 0.66"
Preston 0.55"
Winona 0.35" 

  Radar from Weather.com

Immediately after the rainstorm Monday a new area of low pressure quickly developed and blossomed into a classic spring snowstorm directly over North Iowa and Southeastern Minnesota. This storm was hard to forecast due to the narrow corridor of snow and the pop up nature of the event. The storm ended up trended north at last second and the models did not pick up on it. Snowfall amounts ranged from an estimated 3-4" in the north where there are no snowfall reports to verify to reported amounts of 8-12" in central and southern parts of the area. The highest reported I came across was Spring Valley at a whopping 12.50" Temperatures dropped from the upper 30s at the start of the storm to 31-32.F producing very  heavy bands of snow reducing visibilities significantly. Snowfall rates were some of the highest the area has seen in over a year ranging from 1-2" per hour. Thundersnow was even reported in parts of the area in convective bands along the Iowa boarder in Le Roy near the city of Austin!

 Backyard in March 10th-11th spring snowstorm

The snow developed Sunday evening was heavy by 7-8pm at night. Snow was of very wet nature and flake size was large due to temperatures being right around 31.F during the event of the snow. 7.25" fell in our backyard with this snowstorm. The snow has a very high moisture content 0.97" combined over the past 2 days with Saturdays rain and Sundays/Mondays snow, my station is picked up 1.91" of precipitation which is very usual. In my backyard we gained back all the snow we had lost. The snow depth rose from 4.50" back to 10.50" where it currently remains

Interesting notes:

My station received 0.94" of rain Saturday and 7.25" of snow Sunday into Monday with a water content of 0.97" this makes precipitation for the past 3 days at 1.91" which is very high for March. Most of this water soaked into the snowpack.

7.25" of snow fell today which brings the monthly total to 15.75" which is 6.85" above normal

Seasons total snow is up to 47.00" which is near normal

Snowdepth here in Rochester is 10.50" currently with a water content of

 Snowcovered trees with the plummer house in the distance

Who ever said Spring doesn't come with snowstorms in Minnesota? It is actually fairly typical to get spring snowstorms in Minnesota. Even though temperatures are starting to warm, as more moisture becomes available and the storm track gets strong once again Minnesota becomes prone to spring snowstorms as the jet stream tries to move north. However despite the snowstorms there is usually a rapid warm up by the middle to end of the month in which the snowcover significantly decreases. The forecast shows temperatures will be in the upper 30s each day at the end of the week and into the weekend which will start to melt some of the snow we currently have. At least until our next snow.

March 9-10th snowfall amounts

Spring Valley 12.50"
Harmony 11.50"
Minnesota City 10.30"
Chatfield 10.00"
Marion 9.50"
Preston 9.0"
Rushford 9.0"
Dodge Center 9.0"
Rochester Airport 8.70"
Lanesbro 8.20"
Winona 7.50"
Kellogg 7.50"
Grand Meadow 7.30"
West Downtown Rochester-(My Station) 7.25"
Mantorville 7.0"
Claremont 6.70"
Oronoco 6.70"
Plainview 6.50"
Byron 6.50"
Wabasha 6.10"
Austin 5.0"