Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Winter Storm Jupiter's Icy, Snowy Mess Spreads Through the Northeast Into Wednesday

January 17,2017
Winter Storm Jupiter is now pushing across New England with ice and snow as this week-long winter storm comes to a close.
During the weekend, Jupiter left a mess of downed trees and power outages across parts of the Plains, namely the Texas panhandle, northwest Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Last week, Jupiter brought snow to the Northwest, Sierra Nevada and the Rockies.
(MORE: How Winter Storms Are Named | Winter Storm Central)
The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories, freezing rain advisories and winter storm warnings for parts of Upstate New York and New England into Wednesday.

Winter Weather Alerts
(INTERACTIVE: Radar | Storm Reports)
Below is the forecast for Jupiter in the Northeast followed by a recap of the storm.

Through Wednesday

  • Primarily snow is expected from northern New York to Vermont, New Hampshire and southern Maine.
  • Some freezing rain is possible on the southern fringe of that snow, including the upper Hudson and Mohawk Valleys.

Current Radar, Temperatures, Conditions
Parts of northeast New York, northern Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and southern Maine may see at least 6 inches of snow into Wednesday. Lighter accumulations are expected over the rest of Maine.
Ice accumulations could cause travel problems on untreated surfaces, mainly in elevated spots of the Berkshires and Adirondacks.

Winter Storm Jupiter Snowfall Forecast

Storm Recap

Monday Reports (Jan. 16)
Sunday night into Monday, Fairbury, Nebraska, saw up to three quarters of an inch of ice, resulting in broken tree limbs and power outages. One-third of an inch of ice accumulation was observed in Grand Island and Hastings, Nebraska.
Ice accumulations were generally less in the upper Midwest compared to the damaging amounts we saw in the Plains during the weekend. Waterloo, Iowa, received a quarter of an inch of ice, while Des Moines picked up 0.20 inches. Up to 0.20 inches of ice was also measured in Wisconsin, with a tenth of an inch being reported in parts of Lower Michigan. This led to travel problems in some locations.
Sunday Reports (Jan. 15)
Up to 1 inch of ice accumulation was observed in parts of the High Plains by January 15, including Beaver, Oklahoma, and Dodge City, Kansas.
Woodward, Oklahoma, estimated 0.60 to 0.70 inches of ice accretion on trees and power lines.
Up to a half-inch of ice was observed in Canadian, Texas, while a quarter inch of ice accumulated on trees and other surfaces in Amarillo, Texas.
Saturday Reports (Jan. 14)
Three-quarters of an inch of ice was reported in Waynesville, Missouri Saturday morning. Some small tree branches were reported to be broken down.
By evening, freezing rain waned in the Ohio River Valley, but accumulations of one-quarter to one-half inch were becoming common in the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma.
Friday Reports (Jan. 13)
During the day on Friday, over 100 reports of freezing rain and ice accumulations had come in from Oklahoma to western Kentucky and southwest Indiana.
Trees were downed and power outages reported in Springfield, Missouri, where about one-quarter inch of ice accumulation was observed by midday Friday. Not far from Springfield, more than half of an inch of ice had accumulated in Aldrich, Missouri.
Ice also accumulated on some surfaces in Carbondale, Illinois, Joplin, Missouri, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, among other locations. Tree damage was observed as far east as Carterville, Illinois.
Tree damage from accumulated ice in Carterville, Illinois, on January 13, 2017, during Winter Storm Jupiter.
(John Chaney)
Some cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were detected along the Interstate 44 corridor of far northeast Oklahoma and southern Missouri early Friday.
Monday - Thursday Reports (Jan. 9-12)
Jupiter's first phase brought major snow accumulations to the West, including lower elevations of the Pacific Northwest.
Up to 15.5 inches of snow was measured in the Portland, Oregon, metro area, beginning Tuesday night into Wednesday, accompanied by thundersnow with rates of up to 4 inches per hour.
According to the National Weather Service, Jupiter was the single biggest snowstorm for many in the metro area in almost 22 years, since a 12-inch snowstorm hammered the city two days before Valentine's Day, 1995.
The weight of this snow downed trees, and numerous vehicles were abandoned on metro streets and freeways.
(NEWS: Thousands Without Power, Hundreds of Cars Abandoned in Oregon)
Since the morning of Jan. 9, parts of the Sierra Nevada picked up almost 80 inches of snow. In Kingvale, California, almost 5 feet of snow fell in 24 hours ending 7 a.m. PST Wednesday.
(LATEST NEWS: Sierra Buried By Feet of Snow)
The combination of this dumping of snow and strong winds Tuesday prompted closure of stretches of Interstate 80, U.S. 50 and California Highway 88 over the Sierra. According to the NWS in Sacramento, the last closure of this magnitude on Interstate 80 over Donner Summit was in March 2011.
In fact, going back over a seven-day period, parts of the Sierra have picked up an almost unfathomable 12 feet of snow, during what the NWS in Reno is calling the biggest Sierra snowstorm in six years.
(MORE: Too Much Snow Shut Down Some Resorts)
The pure volume of snow lead to several avalanches, including a controlled avalanche impacting about a dozen homes in Alpine Meadows, California. Residents of Crystal Bay and Incline Village were asked to shelter in place due to the avalanche threat.
A small avalanche prompting closure of the only plowed road to Crater Lake National Park in southwest Oregon.
Another avalanche also impacted a dozen homes Tuesday in the Greater Lake Tahoe area.
Additionally, heavy snow pounded parts of the Great Basin and Rockies.
The town of Hill City, Idaho, picked up at least 26 inches of snow in 24 hours, with snow so deep, ski lift chairs were said to be dragging in the snow, according to a local media report to the NWS in Boise early Wednesday.
If that all wasn't impressive enough, an EF0 tornado touched down around midnight Wednesday morning near Arco Arena in Sacramento, downing trees and fences and twisting metal awnings.      

Snow and Ice Reports

Here are some selected ice reports from Winter Storm Jupiter, as of Tuesday morning.
Colorado: 0.25 inches in Cheyenne Wells
Illinois: 0.37 inches of sleet and freezing rain near Maeystown; 0.25 inches in Steeleville, O'Fallon, Hoyleton, Waterloo and Quincy
Iowa: 0.33 inches in Eldora; 0.25 inches in Waterloo; 0.20 inches in Des Moines
Kansas: Near 1 inch near Dodge City and in Sharon Springs; 0.75 inches near Lenora; 0.50 in Colby
Kentucky: 0.10 inches in Sturgis
Maryland: 0.12 inches in Eckhart Mines
Michigan: 0.12 inches near St. Helen
Minnesota: 0.30 inches in Savage
Missouri: 0.75 inches near Waynesville and Aldrich; 0.20 inches near St. Louis
Nebraska: 0.75 inches in Fairbury; 0.25 inches in Lincoln; 0.10 inches in Omaha
Ohio: 0.06 inches in Hamilton
Oklahoma: 1 inch in Beaver;  0.60-0.70 inches Woodward
Pennsylvania: 0.10 inches in Little Baltimore
Texas: 0.50 inches in Canadian with broken tree limbs; 0.50 inches in Gruver; 0.50 inches in Darrouzett with trees limbs down; 0.25 inches near Amarillo
Wisconsin: 0.30 inches in Prescott and Plover; 0.06 inches in Madison; 0.04 inches in Milwaukee
Here are some selected snowfall reports from Winter Storm Jupiter, as Monday evening.
California: 79 inches at Soda Springs and Kingvale
Colorado: 26 inches at Molas Pass; 2.2 inches at Denver Int'l Airport
Idaho: Estimated 71.4 inches at the Galena Summit Snotel station; Ski lift chairs were dragging in the snow at the Soldier Mountain Ski Area.
Kansas: 3 inches in Hugoton
Montana: 10 inches near Cooke City
Nevada: 54 inches in 48 hours at Diamond Peak Ski near Incline Village
New Mexico: 24 inches at Magdalena Ridge Observatory; 9 inches at Red River Ski Area; 4 inches near Santa Fe
Oklahoma: 3 inches in Boise City
Oregon: 20 inches near La Pine; 15.5 inches just west of downtown Portland; 13 inches in downtown Portland
Texas: 5 inches in Dumas
Washington: 14 inches near Yacolt
Wyoming: 94.5 inches near Encampment at the Old Battle Snotel (total from last Sunday morning to last Thursday morning)
Check weather.com frequently for the latest updates on this system.
MORE: Winter Storm Jupiter, January 2017 (PHOTOS)

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