Friday, April 20, 2007

Spring has Sprung!

Hard to believe - but just a couple of days after the big April snow, we are snow free again. Just a few piles of "snirt" lying around in parking lots. Today's sunny, warm weather, with temperatures over 21C (70F) should put an end to that. So fire up the BBQ's and get the rake out it is going to be a spectacular weekend across our area.

By the way it took almost a week for the effects of that storm to leave us. Some time last evening the winds drifted out of the south putting an end to those cold, damp northeast winds that had been howling in our area since last Sunday. Enjoy the weather...please be safe.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Brockville this morning

Classic comma shape of Nor'Easter

Nor'Easter still pounding area


The powerful Storm centred near Long Island continues to pound our area with 50-80km/h winds and rain. Power is out to over 200,000 homes in Ontario and Quebec. So far 20cm of snow fell in the Ottawa to Brockville area with another 20-30mm of rain. Trees are down as are power lines. Flooding is also a problem as the snow begins to rapidly melt.


The most snow reported to date was Tupper Lake NY with 26 inches! In Ontario, Green Valley north of Cornwall had 25cm but Ottawa was not far behind. It was Kemptville's biggest storm of the winter, in April, go figure.



The rain and wind should taper off in Ontario and Quebec by tomorrow morning.




Flooding in New Jersey
This morning in Kemptville.....


15cm & counting...
Record Nor'Easter Slams area

The much anticipated nor'easter has delivered a hard hit to our area overnight. Heavy Snow began around midnight and has accumulated around 10cm in Kemptville and it continues to snow heavily. Visibility overnight was less than a km at times. The system this morning is near Long Island, NY. A dry slot and slightly milder air has moved into Montreal. At this time the precip is lighter there, but winds are fierce. A gust to 71km/h out of the northeast was reported in the last hour.

The weather is making for difficult travel with hundreds of flights cancelled in the east. Call ahead. Road travel is very difficult in a narrow band from Brockville to the Quebec border and north to Ottawa, with snow covered roads and low visibility. Power outages have been reported in NY State.

Yesterday the storm produced coastal flooding and a record 200mm (8 inches) of rain in Central Park. That was the second highest 24 hour total ever for NYC.

As expected, Environment Canada issued warnings at 0245 AM this morning, when everyone was sleeping, a full 24 hours after their US counterparts, for Heavy Snow in Eastern Ontario. I know it was a difficult forecast, but please! The MTO has been slow to respond with plowing this morning, but with no warnings in place, I imagine they were slow to react to the "rainy forecast" All in all this Nor'Easter behaved just as US forecasters said it would last Thursday. Needless to say travel safe today.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Record Snowstorm
possible for our area

Portions of our area will receive a tremendous amount of Wet SNOW tonight and Monday. Where? Well that is the tough call. It is going depend heavily on where you live and what your local wind and temperatures are when the precipitation falls. This is Accu-Weather's take on the storm, well worth reading....

http://wwwa.accuweather.com/news-blogs.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&blog=anderson

Looking at all the sources today I think 10-20cm of wet snow will fall in most areas, Montreal especially north of the city, and Ottawa, Cornwall, Kingston, with some areas seeing over 30cm particularly the higher elevations. Wind will be a big factor 60-80km/h in places.

The precipitation will begin today as rain and change over to snow by midnight tonight. The system responsible is off the Carolina Coast today and will move to Southern New England Monday.

Travel will be greatly affected along the entire east coast. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for New York and New England and Heavy Rain Warnings for The Townships with Heavy Snow Warnings for the Laurentians north of Montreal. As usual no warnings are out for Ontario. I imagine those will be issued, typically, after the event begins. No sarcasm there!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Storm produces Tornadoes
across south.....
Snow expected in Kemptville

The big storm predicted to impact Ontario and Quebec spawned severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in North Texas last night killing one person. The storm is forecast to produce more severe weather across the US southeast before moving off the Carolina Coast Sunday. As it moves slowly north along the coast it will intensify rapidly. The storms wide circulation will produce coastal flooding and heavy precipitation.

Inland over interior sections of New England, Ontario and Quebec heavy wet snow will fall.
Here is what I think will happen in Kemptville. The rain snow line will be close for the duration of the storm but I feel it will go to all snow on Sunday night in Montreal and eastern Ontario. Amounts will vary due to topography and local temperatures but I feel 10-20cm of heavy wet snow is not out of the question by Monday morning. The snow will be whipped around by 30-60km/h winds form the northeast. It will be cold and miserable so stay home Sunday if you can and travel to work with great care Monday morning.

A Winter Storm Watch has been posted for all of upstate New York and Vermont. These may be extended northward into our areas later today.

Next update around 8pm tonight... The links at the left provide instant updates all day.

Friday, April 13, 2007

AP Photo of the day....Typical Spring 2007 scene in the
Eastern US and Canada.



Nor'Easter Sunday & Monday
could be record breaker

The Nor'Easter forecast to move up the Atlantic Coast late Sunday could be one for the record books. All indications are it will be a big snow maker for interior sections of the Northeast and Quebec and Ontario. Stay tuned. Below is a sat picture of the storm over the southwest US. Prepare for stormy weather Sunday and Monday.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Snow tonight!!

More snow is expected to overspread Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec tonight and Thursday. A Winter Storm Watch is still in effect for the valley area of upstate New York and Vermont. Warnings are in effect for the mountain areas. In Ontario and Quebec the snow should fall north of the 401/20. We can expect it to begin overnight and taper to flurries or showers by noon Thursday. Upwards of 8-13cm of snow may fall. It will be wet and heavy. The snow amounts will vary greatly by area depending on topography and the time of day the snow falls. This is very typical of a spring snowstorm, and it makes it hard to predict amounts. An example is last weeks storm in Montreal, no snow on the West Island and over 15cm on the south shore just 20 minutes to the southeast.

Adjust your speed tomorrow and be prepared for poor weather.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

AP Picture of Snow in Cleveland...not baseball. Below: Valley Weather photo - the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway is underway, a ship sails east towards St. Lambert Locks, Quebec.



Another spring snowstorm...

Greetings everyone! It has been a couple of days since my last post, busy with Easter and all. Speaking of Easter it was a cold one with temperatures 8-10 degrees below normal and endless snow shower activity. The snow has measured up to 15cm across portions of Ontario and Quebec and more in New England.

This brings me to today. More snow is coming. A complex storm over the Rockies is spreading snow into Saskatchewan and Alberta. As the storm moves east it will spread steady precipitation into Ontario Wednesday and Quebec Thursday. At present it looks like snow for our area. It could be a significant snow event. It is too early to tell. We will update this storm early Wednesday. Keep it in mind if you have travel plans tomorrow through Friday in the east. A special weather statement is out for Ontario, and Winter Storm Watches have already been posted for the storm battered area of New Hampshire. The 1-2 feet of wet snow in that area last Thursday knocked out power to thousands of homes, the worst since the 98 ice storm.


Next update at 7am Wednesday morning....

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Late Season storm affects area

A late season winter storm is moving through the Great Lakes this afternoon with heavy snow and rain and the occasional rumble of thunder. The heavy rain in Kemptville, over 20mm expected, will switch over to a period of snow before ending tonight. Winds will become gusty to 50 km/h and stronger this afternoon. West of our area 15-25cm of snow is forecast north of Lakes Superior and Huron. South and east of our area Winter Storm Warnings have been posted for the Green and White Mountains and also in Southern Quebec and north of Montreal in the Laurentian Mountains where 20cm is expected.

It will be a windy and cold Easter Weekend with flurries and squalls. Travel will be poor in many areas tonight and Thursday and again on the weekend. Check the latest forecast before traveling this weekend.