>
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/FXC/make_img.php?wfo=tfx&iname=Active_Screen1L&size=1&force=no
http://www.meteo.uni-koeln.de/meteo.php?show=En_We_We
BRRRRR is the rule across the Rockies and Plains as a major Arctic chill whisps it’s way west to east across the northern and central United States as well as western and central Canada where it has been forming and brewing over the last 2-3 weeks over the pole.
Meanwhile here in Western Europe, places such as Great Britian (London, 66 degrees), The Netherlands (De Bilt, 62 degrees), Denmark (Copenhagen 55 degrees) and southern Scandinavia enjoy mild and more typical October weather as the trough is drapped over the northern UK bringing us here in Scotland chilly, breezy and showery weather whilst the warm flow is bringing southern Great Britain daytime 20sC as the Azores clockwise flow brings a late taste of Indian summer. Nearer to the core of the high pressure and higher atmospheric thickness values, we have Spain drapped under a very warm October air mass that’s boosting surface readings across Spain to the upper 20s to even low 30s and yesterday seeing a scorching 38 degrees on the southeast coast.
For warmth, head to the Mediterranean coast, Spain and the Canaries where highs skies remain sunny and temps in the upper 20s to low 30s under the still dominant Azores High. Here it’s currently a beautiful, bright sunny afternoon with a brisk breeze blowing at 5-10 mph out of the S, SW. Changes are occuring however as whilst Western Europe is still enjoying the mildside of Autumn 2009, central Europe is feeling winters first chills of cold and snow as a strong trough is digging south from eastern Scandinavia and European Russia. The Alps continue to see heavy snows build their snowpacks early and this upcoming season will likely be a third-in-a-row bumper snow year.
For cold, what we have seen is simply astonishing in terms of severity of cold that’s pooled over Montana and Wyoming and has expanded eastward and set the stage to produce two major snowstorms. The first snowstorm dropped anywhere from between 4 inches to as much as 2 feet with isolated areas seeing more before the huge and very intense October Cold Wave plummeted south into the Rockies, the second snowstorm is producing a band of heavy snow from Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska, which has seen a record 13 inches will bring 4-6 inches across the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and across Ontario. The unusually intense Arctic high and fresh snow cover has plummeted overnight readings below zero in pockets of Montana and Wyoming, some areas are seeing good recoveries from frigid lows into the 30s, some areas the 20s and remarkably, the sheltered areas that even at this stage struggle to get much hours of sunlight have failed to climb above 17 to 18 degrees for a high! Even West Yellowstone which bottomed out at 4 below zero, enjoyed a warmup to around freezing. However, we must remember, talking about this type of cold at this early time is unusual even for these often frigid interior locales, normal highs range from the upper 40s to mid-60s with some areas such as Denver that “should” still enjoy average highs near 70. Plenty of Octobers have gone by that have seen highs top the 80s, even in places that have seen highs only in the teens! That’s the wild, wild West for ya!Many areas have witnessed their coldest lows for so early as well as coldest high’s so early.
Just how cold? The “HIGH” in Cheyenne, Wyo yesterday was 17 degrees with a low that bottomed out at 10 degrees. Denver’s high of 26 was well below the average for this point in October which is by the way 69 degrees!
From the heart of North America’s savage cold and snow that’s stinging the faces of those from Edmonton, AL to Denver, CO are cursing those southeast states and Western Europe from London to Amsterdam to Seville who are enjoying anything from typical October temps with a crisp bite to the air or the still summer-like heat and blistering sunshine along the Med coast.Details of Record Snow and Cold
Statement from the Billings NWS Office
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=byz&sid=BYZ&pil=PNS
Great Falls, Montana NWS Office
Western and Central Wyoming NWS Office
North Platte, Nebraska NWS Office
Comparing Septembers Warmth to October frigidness
Swift Current, Saskatchewan
Oct 1-11 2009: -12.6 degrees
Sept 09: +9 degrees with warmest being 94 degrees.
Denver, Colorado
Oct 1-11 2009: -13.4 degrees
Sept 09: +1 degree with warmest being 91 degrees
Sept 09: +1 degree with warmest being 91 degrees
Cody, Wyoming
Oct 1-11 09: -20.9 degrees
Sept 09: +4.9 degrees with warmest being 90 degrees
Of an interesting note, Montana’s coldest location yesterday morning was at South Fork Judith Raws (Utica 22SW) with a 16 below reading!
Thanks for reading.
-Mark
>Does a warm western Europe lead me to believe that temperatures will lead to record breaking heat this winter? No. I could predict temperatures of 200 degrees C this summer to come. But I shan't as I think thats reading into things too much and highly unlikely. Likewise I think your predictions of extreme cold this winter are highly unlikely to come true and there is no basis to your claims.