Isaac Update

While Isaac slowly moves northward, it leaves a swath of heavy rainfall totals and flooding damage across parts of Lousiana.  New Orleans broke their 24 hour rainfall total record going from 4.96" to 7.86".  Several locations received over 10" of rain while some even saw upwards of 20"!

As Issac moves across Arkansas and Missouri over the next 24 hours, significant rains of 3.00" to 6.00" will be seen in these drought stricken areas.   This, however, is much needed considering how dry the summer has been. 


    11AM Radar



     Projected Path and Rainfall Amounts

 

Eric Szos

Chief Meteorologist

Wind Event 8/4/12

This past Saturday, the Chicagoland area experienced another wind event with gusts of 70-80 MPH.  This now marks the 3rd time that we have had a wind event where speeds were in excess of 58 MPH, and usually there is either none or only 1 event a year. This line of stroms developed across central IA during the early morning hours and quickly moved eastward.  Historically,  northern Illinois experiences strong wind events from mid July through mid August because of northwest flow from the jet stream.    


                                     Radar Recap From 11AM-6PM

                                *Courtesy of the National Weather Service



The picutre below just shows how serious these wind events can be.    

Silo Damage Between Yorkville & Morris IL on Route 47

                                  *Courtesy of local storm spotter Clayton Sobol

Eric Szos

Chief Meteorologist 

                

Looking Ahead.......

We have now completed 2/3 of our meteorological summer, and the obvious headline for this season has been "heat, heat, and more heat."  So, besides the dry conditions being forecasted for the month of August, how will this effect the fall/winter of 2012-2013?   Based on the latest trends and the Pacific waters starting to show signs of warming temperatures, we are heading for a weak El Niño season.  During the fall/winter seasons of an El Niño year, warmer temperatures are typically seen across much of the Northern Plains, however, precipitation is usually at or above average values.  Much of the East Coast sees snowier conditions, while the southern U.S. remains wet and cooler than normal.  

For the Great Lakes region, we are looking at an average snowfall year. FYI, Chicago's average is 38.6".

Is this forecast set in stone?  No, but based on historical data from the past 100 years when El Niño first began, this is how the setup pans out 9 out of 10 times.  Numbers don't lie, and history clearly shows this support. 



Eric Szos

Chief Meteorologist