And it begins…The Great Christmas Snow of 2009

Things look on track for a big snow event lasting a couple of days in the Twin Cities and much of the Upper Midwest.

Our Forecast in a chestnutshell (couldn’t resist):

• Snow begins this evening
• 2-4″ Accumulation by Christmas Eve morning
• 6″ snow Christmas Eve with periods of sleet
• 4-6″ more Christmas Day with possible breaks during the day
• 1-2″ Light snow Saturday and Sunday
• 10-15″ total

This one will be a workout for our crews and equipment. This storm is a little too involved for Our Plan in words so I made a cool little workflow for our clients with the timeline on the left and our corresponding anticipated actions on the right.

Please be safe and Happy Holidays!

Brad

The Weather is A-Changin’

Good morning –

I woke up today with multiple texts and facebook posts from family/friends in Dallas that it is snowing

Dallas, TX this morning. http://www.flickr.com/photos/xostefaknee/4152431905/

there this morning! Crack out the winter coats because our MN weather is changing. We are heading into a cold period – but more about that in a bit.

The weather has been anything but normal lately. Here are my top goofy weather items from the past few weeks:

1) No measurable snow fell in the entire month of November in the Twin Cities. We were out one time to check for icy conditions and applied a little deicing salt but that was it.

2) 2nd warmest November on record with 42.9 degrees. (#1 is 2001 @ 46.4) Even more amazing, MPR’s Updraft Blog says is it is only the 3rd November in the past 118 years with an average above 40 degrees.

3) Minnesota Lakes are experiencing a late freeze-up this year. Clear into Canada, the lakes have yet to ice over as of yesterday. Here is some satellite imagery from yesterday (I learned of this satellite courtesy of Paul Douglas at