February 11, 2010 broke the all-time snowfall record for any calendar day and any 24-hour period with 11.2 inches of snow, as of midnight. This surpasses the previous daily record of 1.4 inches on Feb 11, 1988. This also exceeds our 24-hour record of 7.5 inches on Feb 17, 1978 and Feb 25, 1924. Lastly this breaks our greatest calendar-day snowfall total of 7.8 inches from January 15, 1964 and January 14, 1917.

Thursday’s snowfall has brought our seasonal snowfall total to 14.4 inches, the 3rd snowiest winter on record for DFW. Had there been no other snowfall events this entire season, our winter would have still made the top five snowiest, wow! Below are snowfall totals reported as of 11:30pm 2/11/10.

The impacts from this snowfall will be felt quite heavily the morning of Friday February 12th with heavy snowfall accumulations on area roads, plus icing on roadways and bridges. Afternoon temperatures for Friday have been revised downward to 38 degrees. This means snow will melt significantly but not all of it will melt before re-freezing overnight through Saturday. Expect icing conditions Saturday morning as well. Saturday high temps will reach the 50s and any remaining snow will melt off.

Additionally, I walked around and snapped some great pictures with my camera this evening. I have attached the updated gallery below.

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Public Information Statement issued by the National Weather Service as of Midnight 2/12/10:

...Snow event one for the record books...

At midnight...dfw Airport had recorded 11.2 inches of snow today.
This breaks the previous daily record for February 11 of 1.4 inches
set in 1988. This also breaks the previous 24-hour record for
February...7.5 inches on February 17, 1978 and February 25, 1924.

This is the greatest calendar-day snowfall total on record for
Dallas/Fort Worth. The previous record was 7.8 inches on January 15,
1964 and January 14, 1917.

This brings the seasonal snowfall total to 14.4 inches...which is
the 3rd highest seasonal total on record for Dallas/Fort Worth. This
is the snowiest winter in 32 seasons (since 1977-1978).

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Dallas/Fort Worth - snowiest seasons

   1   17.6   1977-78
   2   15.3   1963-64
   3   14.4   2009-10*
   4   13.5   1923-24
   5   10.4   1976-77
   6    9.5   1909-10
   7    9.2   1916-17
   8    8.8   1947-48
   9    8.1   1937-38
  10    7.3   1965-66
        7.3   1941-42

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Dallas/Fort Worth - most snow in February

   1   13.5   1978
   2   11.2   2010*
   3    7.5   1924

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Dallas/Fort Worth - greatest 24-hour snowfall totals

   1   12.1   January 15-16, 1964
   2   11.2   February 12, 2010*
   3    8.2   January 14-15, 1917
   4    7.5   February 17, 1978
        7.5   February 25, 1924
   6    6.0   March 13, 1924
   7    5.5   December 9, 1898
   8    5.0   November 22, 1937
        5.0   January 5, 1910
  10    4.7   November 13, 1976

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The latest from the National Weather Service, snowfall today now shatters the previous record at DFW Airport. A whopping 7.9 inches 11.2 inches of snow has fallen today 2/11/10, surpassing the previous single calendar day record of 7.8 inches set on 1/15/1964 and 1/14/1917.  The real kicker, snowfall is set to continue for a few more hours! This makes February 11th the snowiest calendar day, and snowiest 24 hour period in the history of DFW Airport. This winter season is now the 4th 3rd snowiest winter on record at 11.1 14.4 inches total. Details below…

...Snow event one for the record books...

At 7 PM...dfw Airport had recorded 7.9 inches of snow today. This
breaks the previous daily record for February 11 of 1.4 inches set
in 1988. This also breaks the previous 24-hour record for
February...7.5 inches on February 17, 1978 and February 25, 1924.

This is the greatest calendar-day snowfall total on record for
Dallas/Fort Worth. The previous record was 7.8 inches on January 15,
1964 and January 14, 1917.

This brings the seasonal snowfall total to 11.1 inches...which is
the 4th highest seasonal total on record for Dallas/Fort Worth. This
is the snowiest winter in 32 seasons (since 1977-1978).

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Dallas/Fort Worth - snowiest seasons

   1   17.6   1977-78
   2   15.3   1963-64
   3   13.5   1923-24
   4   11.1   2009-10*
   5   10.4   1976-77
   6    9.5   1909-10
   7    9.2   1916-17
   8    8.8   1947-48
   9    8.1   1937-38
  10    7.3   1965-66
        7.3   1941-42

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Dallas/Fort Worth - most snow in February

   1   13.5   1978
   2    7.9   2010*
   3    7.5   1924

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Dallas/Fort Worth - greatest 24-hour snowfall totals

   1   12.1   January 15-16, 1964
   2    8.2   January 14-15, 1917
   3    7.9   February 11, 2010*
   4    7.5   February 17, 1978
        7.5   February 25, 1924
   6    6.0   March 13, 1924
   7    5.5   December 9, 1898
   8    5.0   November 22, 1937
        5.0   January 5, 1910
  10    4.7   November 13, 1976

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Some images from my Flickr of this record breaking snowfall for the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

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Brief snowfall update, time is limited so I will provide a narration, courtesy of the National Weather Service…
6.2 inches of snow so far at DFW airport, and counting. Today is snowiest 24-hour period on record since February 17, 1978.
Snowfall totals for today now increased up to 9 inches, with isolated areas of 10 inches!

Record snowfall today at DFW Airport of 0.2 inches, breaking the previous record of a trace.

…Record daily maximum snowfall set at Dallas/Fort Worth…

A record snowfall of 0.2 inches was set at dfw Airport today. This
is the first measurable snowfall on record for December 29. Trace
snowfall amounts were previously recorded on this date in 1925…
1954…and 1969.

DFW Airport reported 3.0 inches of snowfall As of 6:29pm 12/24/09, DFW Airport recorded 2.3 inches of snowfall, far exceeding the previous record for this date of a trace. Snowfall is starting to end across the metroplex and should be over by 9 to 10pm in all areas. Temperatures are forecast to drop to the low 20s across the region so any ice or snow accumulations in place now, will persist all night until Christmas day. Temps on Christmas day will rise above freezing in the afternoon, allowing the snow/ice to mostly melt off.

Road conditions around the region are in horrible shape. Numerous roads to our north and west have been closed including I-35 through most of Oklahoma. In fact, all interstates in the Oklahoma City metro area have been shut down for most of the afternoon.

I will send more complete updates after the snowfall ends and additional weather reports come in… Below is most recent daily climate report from DFW Airport:

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
629 PM CST THU DEC 24 2009

...................................

...THE DALLAS FORT WORTH CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 24 2009...
VALID TODAY AS OF 600 PM LOCAL TIME.

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1898 TO 2009

WEATHER ITEM   OBSERVED TIME   RECORD YEAR NORMAL DEPARTURE LAST
                VALUE   (LST)  VALUE       VALUE  FROM      YEAR
                                                  NORMAL
..................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
 TODAY
  MAXIMUM         53    113 AM  88    1955  55     -2       57
  MINIMUM         29    626 PM   7    1983  35     -6       39
  AVERAGE         41

PRECIPITATION (IN)
  TODAY            0.42          1.41 1975   0.08   0.34     0.00
  MONTH TO DATE    1.49                      2.04  -0.55     0.12
  SINCE DEC 1      1.49                      2.04  -0.55     0.12
  SINCE JAN 1     40.53                     34.20   6.33    26.95

SNOWFALL (IN)
  TODAY            2.3 R         T    2002   0.0    2.3      0.0
                                      1975
                                      1943
  MONTH TO DATE    2.3                       T      2.3       T
  SINCE DEC 1      2.3                       T      2.3       T
  SINCE JUL 1      2.3                       0.2    2.1       T
  SNOW DEPTH       0

..................................................................

WIND (MPH)
  HIGHEST WIND SPEED    38   HIGHEST WIND DIRECTION    NW (310)
  HIGHEST GUST SPEED    46   HIGHEST GUST DIRECTION    NW (300)
  AVERAGE WIND SPEED    20.4

..........................................................

THE DALLAS FORT WORTH CLIMATE NORMALS FOR TOMORROW
                         NORMAL    RECORD    YEAR
 MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE (F)   55        78      1934
                                             1922
 MINIMUM TEMPERATURE (F)   35         6      1983

SUNRISE AND SUNSET
DECEMBER 24 2009......SUNRISE   728 AM CST   SUNSET   527 PM CST
DECEMBER 25 2009......SUNRISE   729 AM CST   SUNSET   528 PM CST

-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.

Update as of 7:49pm: DFW Airport now reports 3.0 inches of snowfall so far today:

...Record daily maximum snowfall set at Dallas/Fort Worth...

A record snowfall of 3.0 inches was set at dfw Airport today. This
is the first measurable snowfall on record for Christmas eve. Trace
snowfall amounts were previously recorded on December 24 in 1924...
1926...1943...1975...and 2002.

Looks like the autumn months of September through November achieved the wettest autumn on record since 1981, the 4th wettest autumn on record. Looks like El Nino is meeting its expectations so far this season…

Dallas/Fort Worth – Autumn Precipitation Extremes

(September through November)

Wettest Rank Total (in.) Year 1 18.11 1981 2 16.88 1919 3 16.37 1964 4 16.33 2009 5 16.07 1973 6 15.61 1994 7 15.47 1913 8 15.29 1974 9 14.97 1991 10 14.02 1932

Driest Rank Total (in.) Year 1 1.29 1975 2 1.66 1921 3 2.06 1938 4 2.27 2005 5 2.67 1912 6 2.78 1948 7 (tie) 3.03 1995 3.03 1910 9 3.22 1963 10 3.30 1898

Source: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=dfall

I have been meaning to get this sent out for 5 days now and just never get a chance! October broke the record for fewest amount of sunshine ever recorded at DFW Airport for the month. Additionally October finished out as the 7th rainiest on record, with well below average temperatures.

For October, DFW Airport recorded only 8798 minutes of sunshine, officially marking this October as the gloomiest on record. The previous record holder was 9302 minutes set in 1984. This works out to only 40% sunshine during daylight hours, or 60% cloud cover average for the month. Source: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=fwd&storyid=35837&source=0

The month also finished out in 7th place for precipitation with 8.05 inches at DFW. The record was 14.18 inches set in 1981 so there was no chance at breaking this. Out of 31 possible days, 18 days recorded measurable precipitation, 20 days reported some form of precipitation, 8 days with thunderstorms, 19 days with fog. We were nearly double the normal October precipitation, receiving 3.94 inches more than average. Source: http://www.weather.gov/climate/getclimate.php?wfo=fwd

Lastly the month of October was significantly cooler than average as well, I believe we ranked within the top 10 coolest Octobers on record too, though I cannot find the exact numbers on this right now. Average temp was 62.7, 4.5 degrees lower than average. The month was very mild, with no temperatures higher than 90, or lower than 32. Additionally overnight lows were never higher than 80 degrees. I’d say this was a very comfortable month for temperatures. Source: http://www.weather.gov/climate/getclimate.php?wfo=fwd

So far in November we are off to a very comfortable start, clear skies and very mild temperatures that are favorable for leaving the windows open all day and night. The conditions will continue until possibly Sunday evening through Tuesday when a weak cold front will be in the vicinity and bump rain chances to around 20%. I will keep an eye on this, but so far this does not look to be much more than a rain event.

Looks like all the overcast skies we have had around are more excessive than normal for October… the National Weather Service released a statement mentioning this October is currently on track to be the cloudiest October ever. Some highlights from the statement include:

• 86% of the month has been under cloudy skies.
• Only 1820 minutes of sunshine have been recorded this month as of Oct 13.
• We will need to average 7 hours of sunlight per day the rest of the month to not break the record.
• 11 days with measurable rain so far this month.
• 4.08 inches of rainfall at DFW this month.
• This months average temperature is 64 degrees, 6.6 below normal.
• So far this is the 3rd coolest October on record.

Now an update on this evenings weather… we are still on track for maybe some isolated thunderstorms, with a small chance of severe storms. We likely wont see any thunderstorms tonight, but there is a chance they may form… so plan accordingly. The severe weather threat is quite small, but still a possibility. Timing on this places it from close to midnight, through daybreak.

…Gloomy October may be one for the record books…

Through October 13…dfw Airport has recorded a dreary 86 percent
cloud cover (sunrise to sunset) or 14 percent possible sunshine.
Although the month is not yet half over…this is on pace to be
among the cloudiest octobers on record.

Dallas/Fort Worth – cloudiest octobers (1944-present)

cloud cover     sunshine   precip   rain
(sunrise-sunset)   minutes    total   days

1   2002   73 percent       9621       6.44    16
2   1981   71 percent       9587      14.81*   14
3   1984   70 percent       9302*      6.50    20*

* extreme values for October

The average cloud cover the remainder of the month would need to be
64 percent to exceed the amount from 2002.

There have been only 1820 sunshine minutes through October 13. There
will need to be an average of around 7 hours of sunshine every day
for the remainder of the month to prevent 2009 from breaking the
record for fewest sunshine minutes in October.

Other statistics…

The normal cloud cover for October is 45 percent. The normal percent
of possible sunshine 63 percent.

There have been 11 rain days and 4.08 inches of rain so far this
month.

The average temperature for the month so far is 64…which is 6.6
degrees below normal. The average high temperature has been 71.7
and if the month ended today this would rank the 3rd coolest on
record.

This won’t be an extensive review on climate change, simply an observation of current trends and its known impacts based on the past. So far this year El Nino conditions have popped up with average sea surface temperatures in the pacific tropical zone at least 1.0 degrees C above average. El Nino has been known to affect weather patterns globally including less tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic basin during El Nino periods.

Looking at the Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day and 8-14 day forecasts, north Texas can expect more above average temperatures and below average precipitation. Keep in mind these forecast begin 6 days out, which will be after the rain event we will encounter the next several days. Beyond that, El Nino conditions tend to create warmer than average, as well as stormier than usual conditions for north Texas in the Winter.

Below is a small list of reports that NOAA, the National Weather Service, and AccuWeather have put together regarding recent observations where weather conditions have departed from normal.

El Niño Arrives; Expected to Persist through Winter 2009-10

El Niño’s impacts depend on a variety of factors, such as intensity and extent of ocean warming, and the time of year. Contrary to popular belief, not all effects are negative. On the positive side, El Niño can help to suppress Atlantic hurricane activity. In the United States, it typically brings beneficial winter precipitation to the arid Southwest, less wintry weather across the North, and a reduced risk of Florida wildfires.

El Niño’s negative impacts have included damaging winter storms in California and increased storminess across the southern United States. Some past El Niños also have produced severe flooding and mudslides in Central and South America, and drought in Indonesia.

An El Niño event may significantly diminish ocean productivity off the west coast by limiting weather patterns that cause upwelling, or nutrient circulation in the ocean.  These nutrients are the foundation of a vibrant marine food web and could negatively impact food sources for several types of birds, fish and marine mammals.

NOAA: Global Ocean Surface Temperature Warmest on Record for June

The world’s ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for June, breaking the previous high mark set in 2005, according to a preliminary analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Additionally, the combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for June was second-warmest on record. The global records began in 1880.

Climatology of Hurricane Seasons with a Late Start – By NWS WFO Ruskin

As expected, there is no major correlation to a late start to the season and characteristics of the season. Several seasons saw 10 or more TCs form with 5 or more landfalls, while other years saw 4 or 5 storms form with just a couple landfalls.

3,000 Low Temp Records Set This July! – By AccuWeather.com

1,044 daily record low temperatures have been broken this month nationwide according to NCDC — count record “low highs” and the number increases to 2,925, surely to pass 3,000 before the end of the month.