What a difference a year makes for the US with the mean ridge-trough positions opposite to last winter.

CHICAGO: January 2013 Was Least Snowy In 12 Years

Last January saw a weather pattern which saw the focus of cold Out West while it was persistently mild across the Midwest and East. Chicago endured record low amounts of snow through December 2012 while January was least snowy in 12 years. By the end of the month, there was only two nights which made 0 degrees. This year, Chicago is practically opposite having seen 12 nights below 0 degrees so far and is the 3rd snowiest winter on record to date with plenty more snow and cold to come.

The average temp in December 2012 was +8.4F, January 2012 +2.8F. The average temperature in December 2013 was -4.3F, in January 2014, -6.7F

SALT LAKE CITY: January 2014 Is Running Over 11F WARMER Than January 2013, Coldest On Record!

Out West, the cold was king in January 2013 and in fact Salt Lake City saw their coldest January on record with at least 1 inch of snow on the ground every day of the month. This year it’s very different and significantly milder with less snow thanks to dominant high pressure while it was a trough last year. The avg temp in January 2013 was an impressive -10.1F with nearly 2 feet of snow falling, this January it’s +1.7F, by no means the warmest but VERY different to last.

LOS ANGELES: January 2013 Produced Most 30s Since The 1990s, January 2014 Running Record Warm & Record Dry!

In January 2013, Downtown Los Angeles saw 6 nights in the 30s which was the most since the early 1990s with the lowest reading being 35 degrees, the coldest reading since 1990 but this January, it’s all about the continued record dry conditions, persistent Santa Anas and highs in the 70s and 80s. LA is running 3.1F above normal to date and that figure will climb as the month wears on with more heat and dry conditions continuing. This is on par to be the driest January on record for not only Los Angeles but ALL of California with no rain in sight over the next 2 weeks. This year has started where last year left off, 2013 was driest on record.

Just look at the shocking contrast in snow cover between January 13 this year vs last year. Note how bone dry the ground is too, especially in the Central Valley.

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Here’s a graphic from the NWS show how dry the air is across California. Note it’s in the 5-10% range in SoCal.

Here’s a graphic produced by the NWS showing water levels in the major reservoirs throughout California.

Check out the clear blue skies over San Francisco on this late afternoon where temperatures have soared into record territory once again thanks to warming northeast ‘Diablo winds’.

Here was the records expected to be challenged today across the Bay and Inland areas.

Bleak Precipitation Outlook!

Pretty much NO RAIN in the next 10 days!

Could Series Of Clippers End With Another Major Cold Outbreak?

With ridging rebuilding over and up the West Coast, a series of clippers will ride the northerly flow from the Yukon to the Mid-Atlantic with snow to freshen over the N Plains, Upper Midwest while it replaces the bare ground of late over the Ohio Valley, Northeast and interior Mid-Atlantic.

Here was the scene from Downtown Fargo early yesterday with the first in the series of clippers passing through the N Plains.

Here’s the projected snowfall over the next 7 days according to the ECMWF.

Next 10 days

Waves of cold will be drawn down with each clipper with each shot colder than the last.

A lot of stirrings about an end of the month major cold outbreak… that’s quite plausible and look at what the CFSv2 is showing between Jan 29-Feb 4…

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