Forecasts: Floods yet to peak

The heaviest rains have passed through Chicagoland, but officials said the worst of the flooding will hit some areas Friday through Sunday.
Because it takes time for water to run its course, flooding can lag behind rains by a day or two, and linger for about a week, according to National Weather Service forecasts.
In general, rainfall collects in headwaters to the north and increases in volume as it flows south, meteorologists said. But many variables including rainfall intensity and duration, ground saturation and the width and depth of the water channels affect when floods peak.
On the Des Plaines River in Gurnee, waters were expected to crest at 11.1 feet Thursday night and Friday morning, 4 feet past flood stage, causing major flooding on the third-worst on record.
Downstream in the suburb of Des Plaines, the peak was expected to come Friday morning, setting a record at 11.2 feet and causing major flooding through Sunday but then quickly tapering off.

Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-flood-outlook-20130419,0,3916145.story

In Denver, No Business Like Snow Business

DENVER — The day here, at least by baseball standards, began with a fairly extraordinary sight.
Early Tuesday morning, hours before the start of the scheduled doubleheader between the Mets and the Colorado Rockies, several dozen Coors Field employees undertook the massive task of removing the thick layer of snow that blanketed every surface at the ballpark.
Everything — the grass, the seats and aisles, the trees behind the center-field wall — was painted thickly white by the previous night’s storm.

Rows of people pushed shoulder to shoulder and lifted the wet accumulation onto carts that circled the field and shuttled in and out of the building. Gigantic mounds were formed in foul territory, before those, too, were broken down and whisked away.

Website: http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/in-denver-no-business-like-snow-business/?ref=weather

The Mets Keep Pounding the Ball to Stay Warm

MINNEAPOLIS — Someone with a sardonic sense of humor at Target Field chose the break between the fourth and fifth innings to play the Andy Williams Christmas classic “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Easy for someone sitting inside to say.After a monumental effort by the Target Field grounds and maintenance crews to clear five inches of snow from the field and the stands, the Mets and the Minnesota Twins played Friday night in snow showers and 34-degree cold. The conditions were better suited for the Vikings and the Giants of the N.F.L., but third baseman David Wright insisted it was no big deal.

Website:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/13/sports/baseball/mets-pound-ball-against-twins-to-stay-warm.html?ref=weather&_r=0

Warm weather, rain may turn to snow on Friday

Don't let the newly green grass and popping tulips fool you: It could snow Friday in the Chicago area.
The rain that's ushering springtime colors onto Chicago's landscape combined with a front of cold Canadian air could be just the mix to cause flurries by week's end.
"Once this system, or nuisance, or whatever you want to call it gets kicked out, right now it's looking like Thursday night there's going to be cold air coming in from Canada and it looks like there's going to be some leftover moisture, which could give us snow here on Friday," said Charles Mott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Website: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-09/news/chi-chicago-weather-20130408_1_snow-showers-charles-mott-national-weather-service

U.S. Plains states brace for more wild weather

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Residents of the central United States braced for a night of nasty weather on Tuesday, with high wind, rain, sleet, hail and possible tornadoes forecast from north Texas through South Dakota.

Meteorologists said the stormy weather results from a clash of warm southern air with a cold air mass sweeping through eastern Colorado, where heavy snow in Denver closed the airport and forced the cancellation of 535 flights on Tuesday.
"These are a couple of last hurrahs for winter," said Mike July, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Kansas City. "We are going through that phase of the season when we can have some rapid changes."

Moderate to heavy snow and gusty winds were forecast for Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. A day earlier in northeast Colorado, four tornado sightings were reported.
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-usa-weather-stormbre93815y-20130409,0,863455.story

When Fig Wasps Can’t Take the Heat

There are more than 700 species of wild fig in the tropics. Remarkably, most can be pollinated only by a unique species of fig wasp. In turn, the wasps rely on fig plants as hosts for their eggs. Neither species can survive without the other, a relationship known as obligate mutualism. Now a new study  from equatorial Singapore, in the journal Biology Letters, finds that the wasps are very vulnerable to climate change meaning that the wild fig plants are, too. And that is ominous news for many other species, the researchers say. “Figs are a very important food resource in the ecosystem,” said an author.

Website: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/science/fig-wasps-crucial-tropical-pollinators-face-a-climate-threat.html?ref=weather

Sandbag Season Has Fargo Thinking of a Better Way

FARGO, N.D. — Just last fall, the reservoirs and rivers here in the Red River Valley were so low from drought that Mayor Dennis R. Walaker of Fargo was concerned that the faucets and shower heads in his city would run dry.  Now, Fargo residents are bracing for water that is expected to come rushing over those once-parched riverbanks.

As winter’s bite gives way to spring sunshine, weather forecasters are predicting that this region will almost certainly face devastating floods for the fourth time in five years as the snow melts.

 

Website: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/us/fargo-nd-seeks-flood-protection.html?ref=weather&_r=0

It’s Been Chilly, Exceptionally So

Boy has it been not-very-warm lately. How not-very-warm has it been? Kind of history-makingly, reports Stephen Fybish, City Room’s semiofficial amateur New York City weather enthusiast, who left us the following message Tuesday: “I’ve been working up quite a storm about the exceptional features of the period November through March — in particular a lack of days it hit 60 degrees. The streak we had was from February 1 through April 1, and no longer spell of sub-60-degrees maxima existed until you go back to 1970.

Website: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/its-been-chilly-exceptionally-so/?ref=weather

What spring? Snow snarls traffic, flights on U.S. East Coast

 March 25 (Reuters) - The first Monday of spring brought snow
instead of sunshine along the U.S. East Coast, snarling the morning commute in the densely populated stretch betweenWashington and New York.
 A storm that had dropped significant amounts of snow across
the Midwest over the weekend rolled across Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Virginia and New Jersey, bringing a slushy mix of snow and rain
that prompted school closings and contributed to traffic
accidents around the region.
The National Weather Service had winter storm warnings in
effect from Massachusetts to South Carolina, with as much as 10
inches (25 cm) recorded in mountainous parts of West Virginia
and up to a foot (30 cm) expected in Pittsburgh.

Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-usa-weatherl2n0ch0dc-20130325,0,4326413.story

Late season storm could leave foot of snow in central Illinois

Just when we thought we were done with snow, forecasters say we can expect to see more of it Sunday and early Monday with central Illinois seeing as much as a foot.
We can thank a storm system that is moving along the southern high Plains states and southern Rockies, said Mark Ratzer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville.The south suburbs, including the far south side of the city, could see between 2 and 4 inches of the white stuff. The northern suburbs could see only about 1 inch of snow, he said.

Website: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-23/news/chi-late-season-snowstorm-could-leave-1foot-in-central-illinois-20130323_1_lake-effect-snow-snow-showers-storm-system

City ordered to pay decade-old snow removal bill

The City of Chicago has been ordered to reimburse the federal government about $6 million for emergency snow removal costs incurred more than a decade ago.
During two severe snow storms, one in 1999 and one in 2000, the city enlisted help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove snow at O’Hare and Midway airports.
But on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle filed a ruling that sided with FEMA.

Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-city-ordered-to-pay-decadeold-snow-removal-bill-20130325,0,1413462.story

Quiet days ahead after biggest snowstorm in 2 years

Diandre Hines and Shauntae McKnight both of Chicago sleep at O'Hare International Airport. (Michael Tercha, Chicago Tribune)

 

During March 6th,The Chicago area can look forward to some quiet, almost balmy days after being hit by the largest snowstorm in two years.Temperatures will climb into the 40s by this weekend with maybe some rain, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Ben Deubelbeiss.

Short Article: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-06/news/chi-chicago-weather-forecast-snow_1_chicago-weather-center-chicago-area-snowstorm

Subzero wind chills for first day of spring

When spring arrives at 6:02 a.m. Wednesday, it's likely some areas around Chicago will be wincing from wind chills below zero and while temperatures will warm up as the week goes along, there are rumblings about another snow storm Sunday night into Monday morning. The Chicago Weather Center says an intense low pressure system is pulling Arctic air into the Chicago area, powered by wind gusts up to 40 mph. This morning, temperatures were in the teens and wind chills ranged from -4 in Rochelle to -1 in Aurora to zero at O'Hare International Airport. On Wednesday, the highs will only reach into the 20s. But some overnight wind chills could dip to -5 north of the city, according to the National Weather Service.

Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-subzero-wind-chills-for-first-day-of-spring-20130319,0,1041094.story

Late winter snow snarls traffic, shuts schools in northeastern U.S.

BOSTON/CONWAY, Mass., March 19 (Reuters) - Snow, sleek
                                                                                                                                                                                                           rain hit the northeastern United States on Tuesday, the last
full day of winter, slowing traffic, closing schools and
annoying people tired of the wet and cold weather.

In New England, about 6 inches (15 cm) of snow fell on
Boston, with as much as 10 inches (25 cm) recorded in the city's
northern suburbs and southern New Hampshire and Vermont.New England has seen a steady stream of heavy snowfalls this
winter, including a February blizzard that dropped more than 3
feet (90 cm) of snow in parts of the region.

Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-usa-weatherl1n0cb3kr-20130319,0,7467561.story

Light snow makes for slick commute

A dusting of snow this morning was enough to slicken the morning commute and jam the rush hour with dozens of spinouts.
Illinois State Police said they responded to several crashes along a stretch of Route 53 near Higgins Road in the northwest suburbs, and Lake County authorities were called to a major accident at the intersection of Midlothian Road and Ashbrook Drive in Mundelein.

Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-yet-again-snowy-commute-awaits-drivers-20130312,0,5046005.story

Snow causes record tailbacks in Belgium, delays budget talks

Social media were full of messages about the unusual
mid-March snow fall of up to 20 cm (8 inches) and the cold. It
was set to be the first mid-March day since 1925 that the
daytime temperature in Belgium had not risen above freezing.

Foreign Minister Didier Reynders tweeted that budget talks
would be delayed due to the weather.
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-weather-europesnow-pix-tvl6n0c43fo-20130312,0,1398114.story?page=2

Snow disrupts transport across northwestern Europe

Snow and ice contributed to several accidents about 50 km (30 miles) from Frankfurt on the A 45 motorway, including a massive pile-up involving as many as 100 cars and trucks.

In France, a Tunisair plane slid off the runway on landing at Orly airport, forcing the closure of a runway at Paris's second hub while 140 passengers were evacuated.

In Belgium, the breakdown assistance association Touring said the total length of tailbacks on highways and major roads at their rush-hour peak hit 1,670 km (1,038 miles), beating by far the previous record of 1,285 km set on February 3 last year.
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-weather-europe-snowbre92b0c7-20130312,0,3640119.story

Fog, drizzle today, snow showers later in week

Fog and drizzle greeted commuters Monday morning as rivers and streams rise near flood stage because of the melting snow and weekend rain.
An urban and small stream flood advisory was in effect until 1 a.m. today for northern Illinois and a dense fog advisory was issued for McHenry, Lake and Kane counties Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-weather-service-flood-dense-fog-advisories-remain-but-rain-has-halted-20130310,0,6454582.story

Storm Central: Updated School Closings, 7 to 10 Inches Possible

Three area high schools have already announced plans to close Tuesday ahead of what could be the year's largest snowfall. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning that is in effect from 3 a.m. to midnight on Tuesday. Light snow is expected tonight and will become heavier Tuesday morning and throughout the day.

Article : http://beverly-mtgreenwood.patch.com/articles/storm-central-updated-school-closings-7-to-10-inches-possible

Snowstorm hits north-central U.S., heads to mid-Atlantic

The North Dakota transportation department was recommending "no travel" on roads across the northwestern part of the state where there is a blizzard, stretching along the northern edge of the state across to roads north of Grand Forks.
Up to 15 inches of snow was expected in northwestern North Dakota and 9 inches in the Grand Forks area, on the eastern border with Minnesota. But the state took the latest storm in stride.
"It's a normal late winter storm for us," said Adam Jones, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck.
The Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area was dusted by an inch or two of snow on Monday from a separate storm system, and up to 10 inches was expected from the main winter storm, mostly overnight into Tuesday morning, the weather service said.
The storm was expected to dump heavy snow along the Minnesota and Wisconsin border, with up to a foot in the far southeastern corner of Minnesota, before heading across southern Wisconsin and into Illinois.

Article: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/05/us-usa-weather-idUKBRE9230H920130305