Cold Tropical Explosions

Okay, a couple little updates today.

Going back and looking at climatological data, I found that the actual lowest temperature in the lower 48 (at least) on December 15th was -39ºF at a COOP observing station along the Canadian Border (6N Simpson, Montana).

On the 16th, both Harlem and Chinook, Montana reached -35ºF (as well as Longville Minnesota as I previously reported.

And finally, here are some not-so-cold things to consider...

In the tropics:
04S (South Indian Ocean)
40kts / 993mb

Click for larger image. Satellite image used with permission; courtesy of IPS Meteostar Inc.

And a giant explosion on the sun. (posted by someone over on Storm Track)



Thanks for shopping,
Dann.

More Cold Than You Can Shake A Popcicle At

Well, how about another update on the cold?

-Denver tied a 111-year-old record by dropping to -8ºF this morning.

-Also, Butte, Montana crushed a record low maximum for December 15th at -9ºF. The previous record was 0ºF.

-The coldest spot in the nation this morning was Longville, Minnesota at -35ºF.

Select Montana minimums for December 16th:
-28º Jordan
-27º Cut Bank
-27º Wolf Point
-26º Glendive
-25º Glasgow
-24º Dillon
-24º Great Falls
-23º Lewistown
-22º Bozeman
-22º Butte
-22º Havre
-22º Sidney
-21º Baker
-20º Miles City
-17º Helena
-17º Malmstrom Air Force Base (Great Falls)
-17º Livingston
-16º Kalispell
-15º Billings
-15º Missoula

If the GFS verifies, we're looking at another cold weekend in the northern Rockies and adjacent plains.


And now, some pretty picture (click for larger) from contributors.

The first two are courtesy of Alan Clark of Rock Springs, Wyoming. Fantastic shots of halos and a moon dog. According to Alan, the pictures were 8 second exposures taken at 100 ISO. They were taken in Rock Springs at 6:30PM on December 11th. Thanks Alan!




The next photo comes from Cassie Robinson in Fargo, North Dakota. I believe it was taken early on the 15th.



Dann.

Continuing Cold

Well, since I was tracking temperatures in Montana yesterday, I figured I'd update a few today. I'm just including the METAR sites this time as there were not outstanding intermediate readings.

Note, these are not official climatological lows for any specific period. They simply are the lowest reported reading or reported minimum within the last 24 hours ending today at 22Z.

-33º Havre (with wind chills approaching -60ºF!)
-32º Glasgow
-32º Jordan
-29º Glendive
-29º Lewistown
-28º Wolf Point
-27º Dillon
-26º Baker
-26º Great Falls
-26º Sydney
-25º Cut Bank
-23º Miles City
-19º Billings
-17º Butte
-16º Helena

The -33ºF in Havre was the lowest observation that I could find. That is cold!



...

Not to be out done, Denver experienced some cold this morning as well. I was coming back from a graduation party at * ahem *, four this morning and I noticed that it seemed "Butte-cold" out. What do I mean by "Butte-cold"? Well, growing up in Butte, Montana, during similar arctic air masses, the cold air would often sink into the valleys of southwestern Montana creating extremely cold pockets of air. I've seen as low as -48ºF and been outside at -46ºF (imagine me sitting in my living room in back in the late 90's, preparing to go out and deliver newspapers when turning on the Weather Channel and seeing THAT on the local forecast). It felt similar in Denver this morning as the cold air hugged the lower areas in the Front Range. It was cool to see all the refineries in Commerce City and their billowing steam plumes coming to an abrupt stop at the top of the inversion. One refinery had a nice flame on the top which was flickering and illuminating the "cloud deck" almost making it look like there were explosions occurring. It was very odd.

Speaking of inversions, check out the sounding from this morning!


Click for larger image.
From http://rap.ucar.edu/weather

Now let's talk temperatures...

Minimums from official stations in the Denver area this morning:
-19º Denver International Airport
-13º Buckley Air Force Base
-11º Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport
-9º Centennial Airport


Minimums from elsewhere along the Front Range and Northeast Colorado:
-20º Greeley
-18º Fort Collins
-16º Sidney, NE
-15º Akron
-13º Cheyenne, WY
-9º Pueblo
-8º Colorado Springs

UDFCD Mesonet Minimums:
-21º Brighton North
-18º Brighton
-17º Pump Station 3 (E Aurora)
-16º Button Rock (Boulder County)
-13º Louisville Lake (Louisville)
-13º Urban Farm (Stapleton-Denver)
-10º Highlands Ranch
-9º Aurora Reservoir
-9º Aurora Town Hall
-9º Quincy Reservoir
-8º Diamond Hill (W Downtown Denver)
-8º Ward (Boulder County)
-6º Squaw Mountain (Clear Creek County)*
-1º Hiwan Golf Club (Jefferson County)*
2º Elbert*
5º Cal-Wood Ranch (Boulder County)*
5º Sugarloaf (Boulder County)*
7º Blue Mountain (Jefferson County)*
11º Castle Rock*
* stations at higher elevations either in the foothills or on the Palmer Divide

Wow, that's cold for Denver! The low at the airport of -19º smashes the record by 15ºF!!


Elsewhere in the world:
Click for larger image.
This is Typhoon 27W Dolphin. Figured that might warm you all up just a bit.

Satellite image used with permission; courtesy of IPS Meteostar Inc.

Dann.