1 Jan 2012 snow storm follow-up

I'm usually supportive of the National Weather Service, but lately I'm feeling a little disappointed. The NWS Office in Duluth often follows a snow event with a list of reports, often accompanied by a contoured map showing who received how much snow. It's also helpful in seeing how the forecast verified with reality.

Following the storm on Jan 1st, I did not find a finalized list, nor any map. In fact, the NWS in Duluth was mute. The neighboring office in Green Bay was no better (they cover some 'northwoods' counties in my area - Vilas, Oneida).

So, I did it myself from a combination of trained spotter, CoCoRaHS, and Coop reports. I'm sure more reports were sent to NWS Duluth but not listed online, I know my final storm report is nowhere to be seen. I apologize for the holes, but this map is the best I could come up with ((disappointed)).


The highest totals reported seem to be in the Penokee Range, 12 inches in Gile, and 10 inches in Montreal. These amounts match the pre-storm forecast perfectly.

Everyone else didn't quite make the forecast totals of 5 to 8 inches. There seems to be a wide swath of 3 to 5 inches, with Glidden reporting a localized 7 inches.

There were no reports from the hills of the Bayfield Peninsula away from the Lake, so I'm not sure how the forecast verified there.

Remote sensing from NOHRSC didn't pick up on a deep snow pack on the peninsula, but near large bodies of water it seems to under-estimate snow amounts.

And from modeled snow depth at 20:00 (local time) on January 2nd, it's really easy to see the Penokee and Gogebic Ranges. The estimate by satellite is over 20 inches on the highest peaks, which might be a little over-done, but then again, it might be pretty accurate.

After the storm I had 4.3 inches in Ashland, but now after a couple days of settling and sublimating (I measured a dew point of -5 yesterday morning), I measured 3.2 inches at my location this morning.

And then cold temperatures followed. With a fresh snow pack and some clear skies, radiational cooling, combined with some arctic air, allowed inland temperatures to plummet into the negative teens. Exeland (southern Sawyer County) reported -15 at 07:00. Many places in the high terrain and northern highland were well below zero too.

In the city of Ashland, I had -0.1, so it was my first night below zero. I count myself lucky that it wasn't colder, and that the wind was calm so there wasn't a windchill.