More than 50% of continental US covered in snow on 11/17/14 greatly exceeding average for this time of year-Andrew Freedman

11/17/14, "There is more snow cover across the U.S. now than there usually is on Christmas," Andrew Freedman, Mashable.com

"A little more than 50% of the continental U.S. is covered in snow, with more to come in the next week, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This greatly exceeds the average amount at this time of year, and is a more typical reading for late December or early January.

What's more remarkable is that most of the snow has fallen in just the past seven days, and now stretches from coast-to-coast
along the northern tier of the country, dipping south all the way to northern Texas.

The snow has come during an unusually intense early-season Arctic air outbreak that has brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to cities such as Portland, Oregon, Denver, Colorado, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Chicago, Illinois, and Cleveland, Ohio. The next, and perhaps final, surge of cold air is now moving across the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley region, destined to set up shop for a few days across the eastern states.

The 50.4% snow cover extent on Nov. 17 is the greatest snow cover extent so early in the season in NOAA's database, which dates back to 2003. The Rutgers University Global Snow Lab also shows a highly unusual snow cover extent at this time of year across the Lower 48 states, potentially leading to a record high snow cover reading for the Northern Hemisphere this month.

The daytime high temperature on Tuesday may not get above 32 degrees Fahrenheit from Washington, D.C., to Boston, Massachusetts, with strong winds making it feel even more like mid-winter than the week before Thanksgiving. According to weather.com, more than 200 million people will wake up to temperatures below freezing on Tuesday.

In the past seven days across the lower 48 states, there have been 1,455 record daily low high temperatures set or tied, along with 682 daily records for the coldest overnight low temperature.

This compares to just 113 record daily high temperatures set or tied, and 99 record daily high minimum temperatures during the same period.

As the frigid air blows over the relatively mild waters of the Great Lakes, which have not yet had enough time to freeze over, it will set off a long duration lake effect snow event in the lee of Lakes Michigan, Erie and Ontario. Some areas may see up to three feet of snow, particularly the Tughill Plateau of New York and areas just to the southeast of Buffalo, New York. Lake effect snow warnings are in effect in these areas through Wednesday.

Lake effect snow bans are notoriously fickle and difficult to predict, since the areas of intense snowfall tend to be highly localized, with one town picking up several feet while a neighboring community gets a few inches. In this case, the potential exists for extreme snow totals as the wind blows across the lakes for multiple days, picking up moisture as it does so.

Fortunately, the winter weather pattern that has been locked in place for the past week and a half is forecast to break down and give way to milder conditions across much of the lower 48 states, melting some of the snow that has fallen." via IceAgeNow.info

Top image: US snow map: "National snow depth as of Nov. 17, 2014, Image: NOAA"

2nd image: Upstate NY map: "Image: National Weather Service"

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11/17/14, "Daily Snow - November 17, 2014," Rutgers Snow Lab  

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"NOAA-IMS derived Daily Snow"
 


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