Snowy weekend forecast: 12/4-12/6/09

Friday forecast:
Chilly, High 49 F/Low 37 F
Cloudy and cool
Light winds

Saturday forecast:
Light snow occasionally mixing with sleet, freezing rain(fr. rain), and rain.
Chance of precipitation: 100% chance
Colder
High 37 F/Low 28 F
Winds N 5-15 mph
(PM all snow)

Sunday forecast:
Snow winding down(?)
Warmer
High 45 F/Low 32 F

Discussion:
An area of low pressure currently in the Gulf of Mexico will rapidly intensify and as a positively tilted trough plays catch up with this low in the Gulf as it rides up the coast. The area of low pressure will ride along the stationary front in central Florida. This front will slowly ooze its way up the coast in a sporadic motion as the coastal low begins trekking northward. As the positively tilted trough amplifies it will help trigger rapid intensification of this coastal low and as a result it “bombs” and throws back a lot of precipitation some in the form of snow, sleet, and freezing rain. If the storm phases and interacts with the trough enough the storm will move a bit westward and be capable of throwing even more moisture back towards the coast. High pressure to our north will help pump in the arctic air from Canada and keep it there. Since positively titled troughs are fast moving in nature this is the reason why it is so hard to really get a major snow storm regardless of coastal low formation.

Stay tuned.

That was your reasons for WHY the snow will happen. It didn’t have to.