Greetings and welcome!
We are on a Snow Watch today. According to the NWS we are under a winter storm watch north of Hwy C and under a winter storm warning south of Hwy C.
The current forecast is for the snow to start overnight with an inch or less by morning. Tomorrow they are saying 3-7″ and another 1-2 is possible tomorrow night.
Earlier forecast models had the storm going too far east and south to be meaningful for us. The latest outputs have the models in pretty good agreement that we are going to get some snow. Farther south and east is expected to get more. Downstate and along the lake some forecasts are for 9-12, and down by Rockford and Woodstock, IL the map that I saw had 12-18″.
Whatever the case, this is a very powerful winter storm ( Central pressure of 978Mb!!) and it is going to take the low pressure area close enough to have some 40+mph winds. Between that and a good snow rate there will likely be some rough travel conditions coming up tomorrow.
The snow is not expected to be very fluffy, so drifting is less of a problem than it could be, but with winds like that there will likely be some.
Here are a couple of screen Caps off of the morning news out of Green Bay this morning from Fox 11 WBAY.com.
Can we believe it?
The standard answer around here is that I can’t believe it until I can roll in it. I have seen storms with this much promise scamper off to the east and pound Indiana and leave our ground bare. I have also seen it go the other way and we got pounded.
I believe enough that I am off to town with gas cans and a grocery list.
Behind this storm there is a clipper system for about Thursday and a bigger storm possible for Friday and Saturday. IF it all lines up as shown we will have enough to open trails. That is a big IF. It is common for the forecast maps to change dramatically after a big storm.
I do want to remind people that if we get snow it takes time to get the trail system open. There are gates to open, trails to brush, signs to put up, wet areas to detour, trails to pack down, and all sorts of stuff. Be patient and don’t ride closed trails.
Also keep in mind that the lakes and rivers are pretty sketchy this year. Last week the lakes and rivers had open water.
So now we wait.
Have a good Monday and thank you for visiting!
RJB