A wintry chill invades much of the United States

Much of the country is feeling a flip to wintry conditions as we begin the work week. It’s a quick but intense blast, bringing freezing temperatures deep into the southern United States. The usual snow bullseyes like the Great Lakes and upslope region of the Appalachians are activating, as well.

Weather Watch

Feeling like winter. Freeze warnings are in effect for much of the South, including parts of Florida. This morning, readings in the 20s or colder moved as far south as central Oklahoma to northern Mississippi and Ohio with single digits in the central Plains. The cold blast will be a quick hitter, easing after Tuesday.

Lake effect snow. Parts of the Chicago region saw as much as a foot of snow as the first big cold blast of the year got the lake effect machine going this weekend. Some of the heaviest fell due south of Lake Michigcan, east of Chicago itself, with 9-12 inches reported from Valparaiso, Ind., to Beaverville, Ill. The greatest total so far is south of Lake Superior to the northwest of Marquette, where up to 1.5 feet has been reported. Zones of heavy snow are forecast Monday in the Appalachians and off the eastern Great Lakes.

Gulf Coast red flag warning. An elevated wildfire threat stretches from Southeast Texas to the Florida panhandle Monday. Red flag warnings for the risk include Houston, New Orleans and Tallahassee. The cold blast is bringing very dry air to the region. Add in strong gusty winds, and the potential for fast-moving fires is notable.

Lightning links

Deadly Tornado Destroys Hundreds Of Homes In Brazil. (The Weather Channel)

3 dead and 15 injured in tidal surge on Spain’s Canary Islands. (Associated Press)

Massive waves crash into coastline as Super Typhoon Fung-wong slams into Philippines. (Reuters)

Ten years of naming storms. (Elizabeth Rizzini, BBC)

Retort update

Our household was tricked into a phishing scam last week, so I ended up dealing with multiple computer issues that kept me away. It’s (hopefully) resolved, although I keep finding new tricks — attempts to buy stuff — on new sites, so fingers crossed.

It came at a time that reminded me I have been thinking about the evolution of The Weather Retort. Oddly enough, after years of nonstop extreme weather, it’s possible this newsletter helped calm things down somewhat. Not that there’s no extreme weather, but it may be that it’s not a nonstop barrage.

Whether that’s the actual issue or not, I have — at least for now — decided to go to a MWF schedule rather than every weekday.

Why?

A big part of the reason is I want to keep this fresh and interesting. I have found in recent weeks that I go through stretches where I cover the same several topics every day for several days. That makes it a bit less compelling for me, which in turn probably does similar for readers — I am assuming, but still.

I will begin this switch from every weekday to MWF this week and continue for at least the rest of the year to see how it goes and if it changes anything. Ultimately, this may allow an opening for more when needed and/or not just first thing in the morning. We shall see.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to let me know: [email protected].

About

Weekday MWF morning newsletter by a journalist/forecaster. Connecting weather and climate change dots while occasionally stirring the pot.

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