Seasonal snow checkup & is the Arctic air done with?

The last Arctic blast has probably overstayed its welcome for most of you, but it is almost over. It's not a big surprise that it stayed for so long and the stout nature of it goes along with just how much of the United States is covered in snow. Look at the map as of Wednesday afternoon showing just how much real estate is blanketed by some amount of snow. 

And then compare that to one year ago on January 17th when it was quite limited to the northern US and higher elevations. Remember last winter was another season with very low snow amounts for Kansas.

At this point of the winter season, here are some snow amounts for a few select locations in Kansas, and they are all above average. What gave us the biggest boost in south central Kansas was the big snow right after Thanksgiving. Since then, we've had some smaller snows, but there's still plenty more to come before spring arrives. 

What's left in January?

The Arctic air is over for now, but we think it may return in February. A little bit more about that in a second. First, take a look at the next 10-12 days:

And early February looks milder too - at least no sign of bitter cold. This will likely yield highs in the 40s and 50s. The Arctic Oscillation is trending back toward positive for 7-10 days, and I would think most of the country thaw a bit. 

The next 3-4 weeks will likely remain productive when it comes to moisture for the central/southern Plains. This is very fitting with how our winter has been tracking - active southern branch of the jet and more chances to push back on drought. The graphic below is "compared to average", and right now, the average rainfall is low, only about .50" or so. It's even lower in western Kansas. 

Is there more Arctic air? - Yes, I think there is a good chance we will have another encounter with it, but most likely not until the 2nd half of February. However, I don't see it lasting as long, and it more than likely won't be as extreme for Kansas (the heart of it should setup mainly EAST of us). Let's watch for this in the last few weeks of February.

Thanks for reading!