Active weather returns

After a relatively quiet 3 weeks across much of Kansas, are you ready for more snow? I've taken some phone calls recently and had comments on social media suggesting people are done with winter and ready for spring. The good news is that January comes to a close and February is a short month, so springtime isn't that far off. I'm not sure if we will have an early spring or not, but if the pattern keeps repeating, we may get lucky and have some nice weather heading into March. We are currently at the start of another active cycle of the weather pattern, and that means several storm systems will be coming through over the next several weeks. Most of the system that will pass through our area should be snow makers. I know that isn't the favorite precipitation type for many, but at least it's moisture. We are still very dry.

We have had so many radical changes in temperatures during the month of January. I count at least 4 different cases of the high temperature changing by at least 25 degrees over a 24 hour period. Those huge temperature swings may come back in March. Could those be our first severe weather events of the year? Time will tell.

What is a "polar vortex" low?

The bitter cold outbreak had the national media talking about a "polar vortex" system on Monday. If you haven't heard of it before, I don't think you are alone. It is something we studied in meteorology and is not new. This kind of low pressure system is pretty common in the wintertime when the jet stream winds (at roughly 40,000 feet) push farther south, delivering much colder air to the eastern half of the United States. The magnitude of cold air varies with each polar vortex low pressure, and this one just happened to latch on to some of the coldest air some places haven't seen in 20 years. Just looking at the wind chills of 20 and 30 below made you cold.

Typically, when a polar vortex system sets up over the Great Lakes and southern Canada, we have dry weather around Kansas with lake effect snows in the upper Midwest. And it can take a few days to a week for these large systems to break down and move away. This one won't be around for much longer. I think by Wednesday, it will be weakening and heading east. Much of the country should be climbing out of the deep freeze as the week continues.

Almost half way through winter, here is how we stand on snowfall for the season. Most areas are near normal on snow, except in the northwest, where several places are 5-10 inches below average. One good winter storm can wipe that out.

Snow to kick off 2014

Is snow on the first day of the year an omen? I really don't think so and there's no way to know, but we are at the start of what will likely be some more active weather over the next few weeks across the central US. I'm most amazed at how much cold air is set to move south at the start of our first full week of January. Temperatures may not get above zero in the upper midwest (places that have already had some cold stretches) Kansas will likely have at least one day (probably Monday) where the highs will only be in the teens. I expect the wind to be gusting from the north, so wind chills could reach extreme levels (down around -20) You know it's unusual when temperatures in the northern US are about as cold as those up around the Arctic Circle.

Here are some snowfall reports from New Years day. Nothing like a few weeks ago, but still enough to cover the ground in some spots.