Hey Folks,

 

Well that was definitely an interesting system that just rolled through Newfoundland. The forecast models never really did get a handle on 1) the amounts that were coming, or 2) how much mixing we were going to see. Just hours before the storm was set to move in, one of the Canadian model runs actually had just 5-10 cm of Snow falling for St. John's. In the end, the mixing of Rain and Snow really was the big story with this storm.

 

Here in St. John's, there was an 18 cm difference between the Airport, which is at about 460 ft above Sea Level and the Weather Station in the West End... again which is closer to the Coast.

 

 

The following are unofficial total snowfall accumulations at selected
sites observed as of today at 5:00 AM Friday NST.

St. John's international airport.................... 38 cm
St. John's west .................................... 20 cm *
Brownsdale ......................................... 12 cm
Cape Race ..........................................  7 cm *
Argentia ...........................................  8 cm *
Winterland .........................................  5 cm *
St. Lawrence .......................................  6 cm *
Terra Nova ......................................... 16 cm *
Gander international airport ....................... 15 cm

 

 

Despite the fact that places like Gander, Terra Nova, Clarenville all picked up as much as 15 cm of Snow yesterday... just up the road, places like Bonavista, New Wes Valley and the Bay of Exploits had just a trace to No Snow at all.

 

This picture is courtesy of Marsha Goodyear. She took this picture in Catalina today. No Snow.

 

 

 

Full proof that those warmer than normal sea temperatures are having a big time impact on the Coasts of Newfoundland. This is a map of Current Sea Surface Temperature Departures from Normal.

 

 

 

Crazy warmth, near Newfoundland. Also note, the Cooler than Normal Sea Surface Temps in the South Pacific, a tell tale sign that La Nina is going strong right now.

 

THE WEEKEND

 

Alright on to the weekend. Saturday is looking fantastic across most of the Province. An area of High pressure off to the Northwest will mean Sunshine for a good chunk of the Province tomorrow. A cool Northerly flow will keep temperatures nice and cold in Labrador. Finally! I'll have your complete Saturday forecast, tonight on H & N.

 

Sunday, I'm watching a system approaching from the Southwest. It's an Alberta Clipper, with not much juice. However it could drop another 3-8 cm across parts of Newfoundland. Time wise, it looks like flurries pushing into the West as early as Saturday night, with the East looking at flurries Sunday morning. Some of the steadier system Snow bands will likely work in Sunday afternoon and into Sunday evening. We could see some mixing with Rain showers across parts of the South Coast and in the East. Here's a look at the Canadian model. 

 

 

RAIN STORM NEXT WEEK?

 

Too soon? I can hear you Snow lovers groaning from here. My advice, if you love the Snow, get our and enjoy the nice weather this weekend. For days now, forecast models have been flirting with a bigger type system for the Province mid next week. More often than not, the idea seems to be that this could be a Rain event. A solid Southerly flow, with lots of moisture.

 

 

Again, 5 or 6 days out... a lot can change... but I wanted to give you a heads up before the weekend.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Ryan