Some parts of Texas experienced a rare heavy snowfall over the weekend as a winter storm swept through the region.

Snow falling across the region forced some school and government office closures and fostered some play time for adults and children cooped up in the pandemic.

As much as 6 inches of snow fell across parts of southern Texas, the National Weather Service in Houston reported Sunday night.

The National Weather Service tweeted on Sunday that "a corridor of locally heavy snow, with up to 1 inch per hour snow rates, will be noted from east Texas into northern Louisiana."

"Up to 6' of snow fell today in our area," tweeted the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio on Sunday night. "The last time that happened was Christmas day 2004, when our Coastal Plains counties had a very white Christmas."
https://www.sott.net/article/447060-Texas-sees-rare-heavy-snowfall-as-winter-storm-sweeps-through-region

Already more than 4 feet of snow across the central Sierra Nevada.
Widespread additional 1 to 3 feet of snow expected
Travel extremely dangerous and impossible at times.
Bitter wind chills for much of the East coast.
Will feel like 25 degrees below zero at times across Interior Northeast.

“A major winter storm with an active atmospheric river is inundating California with a tremendous amount of moisture,” warns the National Weather Service. Then comes accumulating snowfall for the Midwest and cold, cold, cold.

Heavy to excessive rainfall is likely from central to southern California that may produce dangerous flash flooding along with mudslides and dangerous debris flows near recent and vulnerable burn scars. A significant amount of snow is likely for the California mountains and terrain.

NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
Valid Fri Jan 29 2021 – Sun Jan 31 2021

Heavy rain and flash flooding remains possible across portions of southern California tonight.

Additional heavy snow expected across the Sierra Nevada through early Friday.


 
Low pressure system to develop over the central Plains Saturday and bring accumulating snowfall to parts of the Midwest.

Ongoing heavy precipitation continues to unfold across central and southern California this afternoon as an atmospheric river swings through the region.

Up to 12 inches of rain has already fallen along coastal areas, with more than 4 feet of snow across the central Sierra Nevada.

Heavy rain going into tonight will shift to coastal sections of southern California where up to 3 inches of rain is expected to fall, with locally higher amounts. Flash flooding and debris flows will be possible near recent burn scars, as soil cannot retain much rain in a short amount of time. Flash Flood Watches are currently in effect.

Meanwhile, heavy snow is expected to continue through Friday morning across the central and southern Sierra Nevada. A widespread additional 1 to 3 feet of snow can be expected, making travel extremely dangerous and impossible at times.

This same system is forecast to exit the Southwest U.S. by Friday evening, with lingering snow showers remaining throughout the Great Basin and Intermountain West. Cold arctic air to the north of the system will allow for precipitation to fall as snow from eastern Nebraska to Indiana.

More wintry weather will be likely with this storm as it tracks east later in the weekend.

Elsewhere, much of the East Coast will be dealing with bitter wind chills tonight into Friday morning. Wind Chill advisories are in effect across the Interior Northeast, where it will feel like 25 degrees below zero (-31.7C) at times. Snow showers will also accompany the cold air along immediate coastal sections of New England through Friday.

https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/hpcdiscussions.php?disc=pmdspd

Bitter cold. Wind Chill Warnings and Advisories across 12 states. Wind Chills as low as -50F across far northern portions of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Temperatures well below average reach southward to the Southern Plains and eastward to the Upper Ohio Valley. “Significant” ice storms. Extensive areas of snow. Power outages and scattered tree damage likely.

_________

Winter is gripping much of the U.S. this week as an arctic air mass is entrenched over the Central U.S. and will expand into the South and Northwest. Snow is expected to move through the Northeast and New England on Tuesday and an extensive area of snow and freezing rain is expected to setup from the southern Plains to the Mid-Atlantic over the next several days.

Bitter arctic air to remain entrenched across the north-central U.S. for the upcoming week while slowing expanding southward.

Significant ice storm possible Wednesday into Thursday from the Mid Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley.

Setting the stage for another frigid February day is a brutally cold arctic high pressure system located across the north-central United States. Wind Chills as low as -40 to -50 degrees can be found across far northern portions of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. High temperatures will struggle to make it above zero from Montana to Minnesota through the next few days, with lows in the negative teens and negative twenties.


 
Wind Chill Warnings and Advisories stretch across 12 states from the Northern/Central Plains to the Midwest. Temperatures well below average also reach southward to the Southern Plains and eastward to the Upper Ohio Valley. By Thursday this cold airmass is expected to ooze south across more of the south-central U.S., as well as the Pacific Northwest.

With cold air in place, two separate waves of wintry precipitation are set to impact areas from the Southern Plains to New England through Thursday.

Starting today, an area of low pressure is forecast to develop over the Ohio Valley this morning and move toward the New England coastline by tonight. Light-to-moderate snow will affect regions across the Interior Northeast and New England. Upwards of 3 to 6 inches of snow could be found here and lead to isolated travel disruptions. Winter Weather Advisories and Winter Storm Warnings have been issued.

Meanwhile, light freezing rain may cause slippery conditions from central Oklahoma to western Kentucky today.

By Wednesday, precipitation is expected to break out to the north possibly produce more noteworthy freezing rain issues. Shallow cold air at the surface being pumped in from the arctic airmass over the north-central U.S. will help set the stage for a potentially significant ice storm from the Southern Plains to the Mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys.

Freezing rain should develop early Wednesday across northern Arkansas and quickly spread east-northeast to the Ohio Valley by Wednesday afternoon. Widespread ice accretion greater than one tenth of an inch will be found across the region by Thursday morning, with over a quarter inch possible in northeast Arkansas. By later in the day Thursday, local amounts exceeding a half inch of freezing rain will be possible between northern Arkansas and western West Virginia. Power outages and scattered tree damage is likely. Slightly to the north, areas of light snow will be found across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic throughout Wednesday and Thursday. Heavier snowfall amounts will be possible across sections of Maryland and northern Virginia starting Wednesday night, which may lead to hazardous travel conditions.

Light to moderate snow likely across the Northeast and New England today.

https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/hpcdiscussions.php?disc=pmdspd

ncluding the Rio Grande Plains, southern Edwards Plateau, Hill Country, and San Antonio metro area. Up to 8 inches (20 cm) of snow.

__________

18  Feb 2021 – National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX

…Final Round of Wintry Precipitation Today…

A final upper level disturbance is producing a wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet, and graupel early this morning. A change over to snow is forecast to take place west to east through the
morning. The heaviest snow is forecast across the northern Rio Grande, southern Edwards Plateau, and western Hill Country. Very difficult driving conditions are expected across this region
today and travel is highly discouraged.

Including the cities of Del Rio, Rocksprings, Leakey, Kerrville, Bandera, Fredericksburg, Boerne, Blanco, Brackettville, Uvalde, Hondo, San Antonio, New Braunfels, Seguin, Eagle Pass,
Crystal City, Pearsall, Pleasanton, Floresville, and Carrizo Springs

…WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS


 
* WHAT…Snow Accumulations of 3 to 6 inches, locally up to 8 inches, will be possible across portions of the Rio Grande Plains, southern Edwards Plateau, and western Hill Country,
mainly west of I-10 and along and north of U.S. 90. Elsewhere, 1 to 3 inches of snow are possible across the warning area. Additional ice accumulation of a light glaze to a few hundredths
of an inch are possible.

* WHERE…Portions of South Central Texas, including the Rio Grande Plains, southern Edwards Plateau, Hill Country, and San Antonio metro area.

* WHEN…Until 6 PM CST Thursday.

* IMPACTS…Travel could be very difficult, especially across portions of the Rio Grande Plains, southern Edwards Plateau and western Hill Country.

https://www.weather.gov/ewx/

Eighty – count em, 80! – all-time coldest daily high temperature records were tied or set from Feb. 14-16. That means it was colder than any day in December. Or January. Or for February. Or any other month. It was the coldest for any day in their history.

Those were the coldest high temperature record-breakers. On top of that came the 50 all-time coldest low temperature records, in 11 different states, from Feb. 11th to 16th, according to NOAA.

Breaks record set in 1893

Bottineau, North Dakota, just 10 miles from the Canadian border, recorded an air temperature (not wind chill, mind you) of minus 51F (-59.8C) on Feb. 13, toppling their previous all-time low of -50F (-45.6C) which had stood for 128 years, since Benjamin Harrison was finishing up his term as President in 1893.

Other notable all-time lows were recorded in Owen, Wisconsin (-45F); Spearfish, South Dakota (-33F); Sioux City, Iowa (-28F; a tie); Lawton, Oklahoma (-12F); and Tyler, Texas (-6F).


 
Temperatures as cold as minus 20F (-28.9C) were recorded as far south as the Texas Panhandle and Arkansas.

This was the first time the National Weather Service’s Houston/Galveston forecast office issued a wind chill warning, during which Hobby Airport’s wind chill bottomed out at 1 degree F (-17.2C), according to NOAA meteorologist Alex Lamers.

Temperatures were 40 to 50 degrees lower than average over a large portions of the central and southern Plains for mid-February, again according to NOAA.

Oklahoma City set its longest stretch below 20 degrees of roughly one week straight, far, far below their average low temperature in mid-February of 34 degrees, according to Lamers.

Lamers also noted Wichita, Kansas, spent 10 straight days below 20 degrees (-6.7), while Kansas City spent 11 straight days without rising above 15F (-9.4C).

Billings, Montana, and Fargo, North Dakota, shivered through their longest subzero streaks since 1983 and 1996, respectively.


 
Abilene and San Angelo, Texas, set all-time snow records.


 
It was the first time on record Little Rock, Arkansas, had two calendar-day 6-inch-plus snowfalls in the same winter season, much less in the same week. Parts of Arkansas picked up over 20 inches of snow from both storms, combined.

This was in the United States alone. Add in Canada, and you’d have even more impressive numbers.

https://weather.com/storms/winter/news/2021-02-19-record-cold-snow-winter-storms-stretch-recap

The link in Marks previous post appears to be russian.

Here's an alternative . . . https://www.fox5ny.com/news/frozen-alligators-stick-noses-through-ice-to-survive-in-oklahoma