Bombogenesis leads to High Wind Watch Tues, Wed — 30-40 mph winds, gusts to 60

A very potent low pressure area will go through bombogenesis (a big, fancy meteorological term meaning a quickly strengthening low pressure area (a drop of 24 mb within 24 hours)) as it passes over the area throughout the first half of the week. This will lead to winds sustained between 30-40 mph over many areas, with wind gusts to 60 mph possible. It will be likely that areas will see power outages due to the strong winds, along with very rough travel. This will also be ushering in much colder air from Canada, so it is very likely we will be using the term “wind chill” over the time period. And to top it off, we will likely see everything start off as rain, but by Wednesday change over to a rain/snow mix (if not completely snow) — and just a cold, wind whipped rain will feel bad enough on any exposed skin. Know where your umbrella is, know where your wintery attire is — you are going to need it to get though the first real cold blast of winter, along with the terrible wind storm we will be receiving.

URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1045 PM CDT SUN OCT 24 2010

…VERY STRONG WINDS EXPECTED TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY…

.A POTENT FALL STORM SYSTEM IS SET TO ARRIVE EARLY TUESDAY
MORNING AND LAST UNTIL LATE WEDNESDAY. DEEPENING LOW PRESSURE OVER
NORTHERN PLAINS AND UPPER MIDWEST COULD PRODUCE SUSTAINED WINDS OF
30 TO 40 MPH…AND THE POTENTIAL FOR WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 55 AND 60
MPH. OPEN AREAS AND LOCATIONS OF SLIGHTLY HIGH TERRAIN ARE MOST
LIKELY TO SEE THE HIGHER WINDS. THERE MAY BE A SLIGHT DIMINISHING
OF WINDS TUESDAY NIGHT…BEFORE INCREASING AGAIN WEDNESDAY
MORNING.

MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028-
251200-
/O.CON.KMPX.HW.A.0001.101026T1200Z-101028T0000Z/
DOUGLAS-TODD-MORRISON-MILLE LACS-KANABEC-STEVENS-POPE-STEARNS-
BENTON-SHERBURNE-ISANTI-CHISAGO-LAC QUI PARLE-SWIFT-CHIPPEWA-
KANDIYOHI-MEEKER-WRIGHT-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON-
YELLOW MEDICINE-RENVILLE-MCLEOD-SIBLEY-CARVER-SCOTT-DAKOTA-
REDWOOD-BROWN-NICOLLET-LE SUEUR-RICE-GOODHUE-WATONWAN-BLUE EARTH-
WASECA-STEELE-MARTIN-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-POLK-BARRON-RUSK-
ST. CROIX-PIERCE-DUNN-PEPIN-EAU CLAIRE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…ALEXANDRIA…LONG PRAIRIE…
LITTLE FALLS…PRINCETON…MORA…MORRIS…GLENWOOD…ST. CLOUD…
FOLEY…ELK RIVER…CAMBRIDGE…CENTER CITY…MADISON…BENSON…
MONTEVIDEO…WILLMAR…LITCHFIELD…MONTICELLO…MINNEAPOLIS…
BLAINE…ST. PAUL…STILLWATER…GRANITE FALLS…OLIVIA…
HUTCHINSON…GAYLORD…CHASKA…SHAKOPEE…BURNSVILLE…
REDWOOD FALLS…NEW ULM…ST. PETER…LE SUEUR…FARIBAULT…
RED WING…ST. JAMES…MANKATO…WASECA…OWATONNA…FAIRMONT…
BLUE EARTH…ALBERT LEA…AMERY…BALSAM LAKE…RICE LAKE…
BARRON…LADYSMITH…HUDSON…NEW RICHMOND…RIVER FALLS…
PRESCOTT…MENOMONIE…BOYCEVILLE…DURAND…PEPIN…
CHIPPEWA FALLS…BLOOMER…EAU CLAIRE…ALTOONA
1045 PM CDT SUN OCT 24 2010

…HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY EVENING…

A HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY EVENING.

* TIMING…STRONG WEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP EARLY TUESDAY MORNING
AND LAST AT LEAST THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

* WINDS…SUSTAINED WEST WINDS COULD REACH 30 TO 40 MPH…WITH
GUSTS BETWEEN 55 TO 60 MPH ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. OPEN
AREAS OR LOCATIONS OF SLIGHTLY HIGHER TERRAIN ARE VULNERABLE
TO THE HIGHEST WIND GUSTS.

* IMPACTS…WINDS THIS STRONG COULD LEAD TO DOWNED TREES OR
MINOR DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES. DRIVING MAY BECOME CHALLENGING FOR
HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES AND LOOSE OUTDOOR OBJECTS MAY BE BLOWN
AROUND.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A HIGH WIND WATCH MEANS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A HAZARDOUS
HIGH WIND EVENT. SUSTAINED WINDS OF AT LEAST 40 MPH…OR GUSTS OF
58 MPH OR STRONGER MAY OCCUR. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST
FORECASTS.

Little Richard and the First Major Snowstorm

Today’s Ham Weather blog…

Little Richard and the First Major Snowstorm

Happy Sunday to everyone out there — got a number of topics to approach today, so lets get started!

First Major Winter Storm

We are seeing our first major winter storm currently taking shape and getting ready to hit parts of the Sierra Nevada and the Rockies over the next couple of days. A deepening low pressure center will be moving into British Columbia and the NW United States, bringing heavy rainfall to areas of lower elevation and heavy snows to the higher elevations. Locations over 7,500 feet could see a foot or two of snow in areas due to this system, along with howling winds out of the southwest at 20-40 mph sustained, gusting up to 70.

Many locations in the mountains are under Winter Storm Warnings or Winter Weather Advisories due to how much snow could fall. But lower elevations could again see some rain due to the fact that the air at the ground will be warmer than the air aloft — so we might also have to watch for the possibility of icy patches over the next few days. This system is expected to push off towards the Upper Midwest by midweek and strengthen even more, bringing wind and much colder air to these areas — and the possibility of the first snow across many of the northern states? In fact they are already warning of possible power outages in northern Wisconsin for the middle of the week due to high winds. I guess this is just the sign that winter is knocking on the door step — and that we could have a long winter ahead in parts of the nation. Guess I might as well break out the Straight No Chaser Christmas music on the iPod…

Meanwhile, this snow can only help some ski resorts out in those mountains. One such resort is the Loveland Ski Area in Georgetown, Colorado, who has been making snow the past few weeks and finally has enough on the trails to open to the public today. This will mark the second year in a row that Loveland will be the first ski resort to open in Colorado — the first in the nation to open honors went to Sunday River, Maine, who opened yesterday.

Little Richard

We are tracking Richard, which is a small storm in comparison to typical tropical systems. As of this morning it had winds of 70 mph and was starting to show signs that an eye may be forming. It is still possible that this system could become a minimal hurricane before making landfall in Belize later tonight and starting its weakening trend as it moves across the Yucatan. The storm track over the past few days has continue to move it more to the west, but it is still expected to move into the southern Gulf of Mexico early next week. But if the Yucatan does not destroy the system, some very dry air in the Gulf of Mexico will. The system doesn’t look like it will have that great of impact on the United States, maybe bringing in some rain to southern Texas by the end of the week.

Severe Potential

Another day of possible severe weather — today it stretches from Illinois down to Louisiana and Texas. Large hail, damaging winds, and an isolated tornado are the threats today.

And that’s your weather roundup for today. Hope you have a great Sunday — and check back in throughout the week for more on the first major wintery storm for many areas of the northern United States.

D.J. Kayser from WeatherNation
Twitter @weathrlver