Heat and Fire Weather Concerns in the West; Excessive Rainfall Possible in the South-Central U.S.

Heat will build over the Intermountain West and the Southwest the next couple of days. Lightning from dry thunderstorms can create new fire starts and combined with gusty winds may cause a fire to rapidly grow in Oregon and northern California. Flash flooding will be possible in New Mexico and west Texas today, as well as parts of the southern and central Plains due to slow moving thunderstorms. Read More >

A Spring Snowstorm For The Record Books

On May 10, 1990, eastern Wisconsin experienced its latest snowstorm on record. The snow was very wet and heavy, and unfortunately it occurred when most trees and other plants had just leafed out for the new season. As a result, thousands of trees and tree branches came down under the weight of the heavy snow. Many power-lines snapped as the trees/branches came down.

Below is a rough plot of the snow amounts along with a 6-inch contour line.

Below is a Storm Data event narrative for the snowstorm. Click on the image for a larger version.

For the meteorology wonks out there...

Below are maps at 850/700/500mb at 7 PM May 9th, 1 AM May 10th and 7 AM May 10th. Clearly, this was an energetic system that was deepening rapidly. We have a saying in the office, "Upper low, look out below."