Snow Day in Raleigh & Much of the East Coast

It's really so beautiful. The snow is just falling steady and I was so ready for it. A little over two weeks ago I looked at several long term forecasts as well as various loops and long range models and decided to go to Miami to see my new granddaughter from January 10th through the 16th. I chose those dates because airfare was crazy cheap during an "End of the Year Sale" on Southwest ($63 one way RDU to FLL) and because I figured I could go to Florida and enjoy some warm weather during the January Thaw. I could get back in time for the possible snow event in Raleigh and basically I nailed it. Kind of proud of myself as forecasting a snow event in Raleigh is close to impossible. When I moved here reading the forecast discussion in the winter was like cutting my teeth while trying to eat glass. It was a whole new weather lingo and trying to understand Miller A and Miller B storms along with warm nose problems makes a tropical weather person feel dizzy. But...over time... I got it down and now the snow is coming down. Years ago online I predicted where Hurricane Charley would most likely make landfall when the NHC was extremely iffy as the projected track paralleled the coastline. I'm more excited about nailing this forecast than that one.... go figure.

You can't control everything in life. Try controlling a two year old baby or a teenager. You can't always control your health or wealth or lack of ... You can't control the weather but you can try and work with the models and be where you want to be when a hurricane makes landfall or heavy rain falls from the ground. Harder to catch a falling star or the Northern Lights or that proverbial green flash as the sun sets into the water. You can control how you react and respond usually. I was in the market this morning picking up a few things fast and when it began to snow children started screaming and most of the people who moved to Raleigh from Pittsburgh began to grit their teeth and bitch. I'm from Miami, the local news is on nonstop and there is no Cat 3 on it's way nor is a storm surge headed towards downtown. Just a rare snow event in Raleigh; last time it snowed heavy was 3 years ago in this particular neck of the woods.

If you think it's intense in Virginia...

...check out those reds in Canada!

So let's get to the weather. This Winter Storm #Inga has left it's mark over a wide area from Texas and Louisiana to Raleigh and up the coast all the way to the NY NJ metro area. There are watches and warnings everywhere. Hopefully it will be a fast mover and move out just as fast. However there is a Low developing over the Carolinas that will give it that extra push that will amp up it's long term snow totals and wicked, winter weather. To quote Jimmy Buffett we are "all in it" and there's snow to the left and snow to the right and pretty much everywhere we are dealing with the Winter of 2017 - 2018. Tomorrow that blue will cover more areas and there may be some expanding lilac.

In North Carolina they dumped over 2 million gallons of brine on the roadways. We try to do everything in Raleigh these days to avoid the national spotlight of the snowmaggedon pictures of stranded tourists with photo shopped monsters standing on a very steep hilltop that iced over immediately as soon as the snow began to fall. Today the snow projections are on the rise with every new model run. If the models are right (GFS and EURO pretty close) five inches would be on the low side. But for now those are the official snow total projections below. If anything they will be upgraded to higher totals.

Allan Huffman always excellent.

NWS Raleigh

NWS NY

And everything in between is seeing snow.

Not a good time to be on I95 traveling.

Tomorrow will be better...

Miami was wonderful and today I'm in a Winter Wonderland in Raleigh. This recent trip was intense as I spent time with two sweet older women and two sweet babies. Kind of puts life into perspective when you hold a baby that weighs about 5 to 6 pounds and then you take your 85 year old mother to get a new pair of glasses and sit for hours with your husband's 97 year old Great Aunt. I'm not sure that my Granddaughter Olivia knew who I was but she's learning. I know my mother-in-law forgets who I am and God Bless the sweet 97 year old who is smart and quick like a whip.Life is short, it's like a fast moving river. Enjoy the moment, savor the moment and share those moments with others. That's what I try to do here on the blog. Sharing... 

One minute you are 3 weeks old...

In the blink of an eye...

..you're getting new glasses.

Or happy that someone came to visit you.

Or just happy to see the snow falling.

As always go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov for official info and to www.spaghettimodels.com for tons of info, models and satellite imagery. Make sure your smart phones are properly enabled for weather warnings.

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter