Tuesday, February 3, 2015

wild and crazy... (pm.03.feb.15)>

It's been a nightmare trying to get/stay online the last half hour, with this thunder/hail/sleet storm in progress.  Just wanted to take advantage of this small window of opportunity to give a quick update.

We are literally on the very backside of this storm system right now, and should see dramatic improvement during the next few hours.  Most likely the precipitation will have come to an end by midnight, or shortly thereafter, with clearing skies by morning.

As of 4:30pm, I had 2.16" (5.5cm) in the rain gauge since all of this started early yesterday morning... but of course there has been a lot more frozen precipitation in the last hour.  Will update with more info later tonight as I am able....
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**UPDATED @ 6:45pm**

Tuesday's stats:

Low temp: 35.1F (1.7C) 
High temp: 45.5F (7.5C)
Precipitation: 2.16" (5.5cm) -- melting ice in rain gauge... final total tomorrow a.m.

It seems the internet data flow has started up again, after crashing completely just as I was trying to dig through the latest weather info and computer models -- right in the midst of that very impressive thunderstorm that produced a couple of inches of sleet and small hail accumulating on the roads right in the middle of the main market of McLeod.  What a way for this very wet system we've been dealing with the last couple of days to bow out!  There could be a couple of showers of rain/sleet left this evening, but from the satellite vantage point, it appears that a sharp clearing line is advancing.  I will update those temp/precip stats above later this evening.

I have good news to report, and that's that we are in for a much drier and quieter weather scenario starting tomorrow, and continuing through Friday.  Our temperatures will also be a bit milder, probably going slightly above normal for early February.  I'm not sure that we're going to get totally sunny skies, but the next three days will be significantly more pleasant than the last two or three have been.

There is yet another storm system on the horizon, however, and it could bring the first light rain showers by Saturday evening, with a better chance of a few periods of rain on Sunday.  Check the tabs above for forecast specifics and other info...
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**UPDATED @ 8:14pm... My rain gauge is so choked with melting ice that I can't get an accurate measurement, so I guess that will have to come later.  In the meantime, we still have some stubborn thundershower development on the backside of this storm system... right on top of us.  The temperature is near 40F (4.5C), so any additional sleet/small hail we might receive will immediately start to melt.