Looks like snow for Halloween (Tue.). We won’t get a lot of snow, though it could accumulate an inch or two in places on the grassy areas, particularly across the higher elevations of northern Lower MI. We would need only 1.6″ of snowfall to set a daily snowfall record in Grand Rapids. We have only had 4 Halloweens since 1893 with measurable snowfall on October 31.
Here’s radar (blue is snow – green is rain – however, the radar sometimes shows green (rain) over the Great Lakes instead of blue when the precipitation is actually falling as snow over the lakes – that’s because the radar is trying to factor in the warmer lake water temperatures).
There are Gale Warnings for Lake Michigan for waves up to 6-12 feet.
This is the forecast snowfall on the European model. West Michigan sees 1/2″ to 2″. There’s a 2.3″ total forecast over the (relatively) warmer water of Lake Michigan and up to 2-5″ up toward the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.P. With the relatively warm ground (2″ soil temperature in G.R. was 50° on Sunday) and the fact that air temperatures will likely be at or a touch above freezing, much of the snow will melt as it falls, especially on well-traveled roads.
This map shows where there was snow on the ground Monday. 17.9% of the U.S. had a snow cover. You can see a nice swath of +6″ of snow from Montana to NW Minnesota.
This was a screen grab from a webcam in Glacier National Park, Montana on Sunday. Great Falls MT reported 5″ of snow on the ground, Helena had a 7″ snow cover and Valentine MT takes the “Golden Snow Shovel Award” with an even foot of snow on the ground. The low temperature Sunday morning was -12F at Valentine. It was 10 below zero at Ingemar and Dunkirk MT.
The picture above is from Loveland Pass, Colorado, where they got 12″ of new snow. Here’s some snowfall totals from Colorado: 16.9″ Copper Mt., 16″ Breckenridge, 13″ Estes Park and Berthoud Pass, 12.5″ Castle Rock, 12″ Kentridge, 10.4″ Aurora, 9.0″ Grant, 7.5″ Denver, 6″ Boulder, 5″ Colorado Springs. Leadville reported snow and a temperature of 15°.
Significant snow fell east across N. Dakota, Nebraska and NW Minnesota. International Falls, MN reported 3.5″ of new snow.
Panoramic view of the snow in Cascade, Colorado. Snow in Fairbanks AK. Sunset from K2, the 2nd highest mountain in the world. Snow in South Africa. Snow in North Dakota.
ALSO: The Government of Australia has issued a safety alert to raise awareness of the risks involved with the carriage of battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) on roll-on, roll-off (RORO) ferries. The alert warns of
- High voltage shocks
- Direct jet flames
- Fires develop in intensity quickly and rapidly reach their maximum intensity (typically within 2-3 minutes)
- Toxic gases
- Gas explosion (if the released gas accumulates for a while before being ignited)
- Long lasting re-ignition risk (can ignite or re-ignite weeks, or maybe months after the
- provoking incident)
- Once established fires are difficult to stop/extinguish
- Thermal runaway
- BEVs are approximately 25% heavier than vehicles with internal combustion engines. This should be considered when stowing the vehicles to minimize the potential impact on vessel stability.
- Some battery powered vehicles have a lower ground clearance than internal combustion engine vehicles. This means they are more susceptible to damage from ramps during boarding.
Here’s a link to the alert issued by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
…and remember time change occurs early next Sunday AM – we turn the clocks back one hour.
