Deepest Storm in 30 Years Tuesday!

How did I miss this.  Tuesday's panhandle system was deep but little did I know that it was VERY deep. Using the Iowa Mesonet site (a fantastic meteorological resource for everything data/graphing you can think of) I was able to check the lowest pressures for each year.  at roughly 7pm, the air pressure dropped to 978.4 mB or 28.89" This ranks the 4th lowest since 1970 and the deepest since January 14, 1992! So mark your calendar, January 9, 2024 at 7pm EST.

This also caused 60+ mph winds across parts of northern Ohio.

The next deep panhandle storm will arrive Friday perhaps as deep as the Tuesday system. Center of the storm tracks across NW Ohio Friday evening 1/12/2024. Expect 50+ mph wind gusts yet again.

Here is where this ranks since 1970. The values below are from the Iowa Mesonet site which might be slightly different. Top 25 listed here.

Here is the daily average surface pressure contour for the top 4 on the list. The current storm at the bottom.

January 26, 1978

April 2, 1979

January 14, 1992

January 9, 2024

How Many Days WITH TEMPERATURES BELOW NORMAL Thus Far?

Our winter outlook back in late October featured a very slow start to winter with above normal temperatures for December. So far, that has worked out.

Interestingly since December (through Jan 10), we've only had 3 DAYS BELOW NORMAL (high & low average). Looking back I can't find a winter with this few BELOW NORMAL days in northern Ohio. Graphic shows last 30 years (left side) with a few notable historically warm/cold winters on right.

About 80% of Ohio is running 5-10 degrees ABOVE NORMAL since the start of December.

Average temperatures across the entire mid-west, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley is ranked close if not the warmest on record.

Midwest/Ohio Valley/Great Lakes Temperature Ranks Since December 1

In fact temperatures across roughly half of the US are now ranked in the top 10 warmest thus far.

Temperature Ranks (Dec 1 to Jan 7)