Winter storm Nika on Tuesday might miss Forsyth!

With a little tiny bit of luck, the widely publicized winter storm called Nika, due to impact the region on Tuesday, February the 4th may just miss the Branson-Forsyth MO area and track off to the north and west. The exact amounts and the geographic orientation of the heaviest snow and or of ice are uncertain and will depend on the track of the area of the central area of low pressure.

That said, it would be a good idea for everyone to take note of what is going on when they arise on

Tuesday morning. An even better bet would be to have a weather alert radio turned on to help you stay on top of events as they unfold. I use a Midland WR300 radio that can be purchased at Amazon for about $45.

Update: Well, this much publicized storm did do a number on northeast Missouri while down my way it amount to about two inches. On a positive note, the snow sure did look pretty. On a sour note, we now have to endure really cold 20'ish degree weather until Monday, Feb the 10th1

Well, wasn't that surprise snowfall a lot of fun?

Forsyth MO - Sunday morning, February the 2^nd broke overcast and cold. Up in Springfield, at the National Weather Service, more than one meteorologist must have looked with growing concern at a snow shield that was quickly moving in to the Taney County area from the southwest. A winter weather advisory was issued, but many of the people who needed to see it were already heading out for church services.

By 9AM, as many were just arriving at their church of choice, a very light snow had begun to fall. Not really all that much at first, but then it started to come down steady and hard as the morning advanced. I sure a few took note and maybe headed for the exits to make their way home. They were the fortunate ones, as the door to safety was now swiftly closing. By 10 AM, I feel that door had closed and that perhaps hundreds were now effectively stranded (although they might not have been aware of it).

I suppose it will never be known how many places of worship decided to close early and let their flocks go home. What is sure is that by 11 PM the roads in and around Branson and Forsyth were now packed with vehicles all trying to get home. This at a time where the snow amounts were quickly exceeding two or more inches! Events unfolded so fast that snow plows could not respond quickly enough and so, by 11:30 AM the slide offs began to... well, snowball as it were. Those unfortunates combined with spin outs and wrecks to quickly clog up major access roads. A situation that hampered or prevented outright the ability of the plows to get through and stay ahead of the problems. Emergency services were likewise adversely affected and so hundreds and hundreds of people suddenly found themselves in dire straits.

How could this complete mess have been prevented or reduced? I think that the responsibility lies, in part at least, with the churches themselves. Or to put it another way, any establishment that attracts a large venue of people must be on extra high alert whenever inclement weather might strike. And, they must take affirmative action to protect the public form harm even if by doing so they lose a few pieces of silver.

February 2nd surprise snowfall was a disaster for many motorists!

Right on schedule and as predicted by the National Weather Service, snow began to fall in the Forsyth area at around 9:30 AM. And with the ground cold and temperatures that hovered in the upper twenties, accumulation began to occur almost immediately! Such that by 11 AM, the side roads had become covered with about a quarter of an inch of the white stuff with more to come! It's too bad this happened on Super bowl Sunday when a lot of folks may have made plans to go to friends homes to watch the

game.

At half past eleven in the morning, my police scanner was reporting numerous slide offs all over the area. The NWS was also now predicting 2 inches in the Taney County area with up to six falling north of the I-44 corridor!

By noontime, a report came over the police scanner informing me that they had shut down Hey 76 pending the removal of a ton of slide offs  with some vehicles completely overturned!

Time lapse of entire event

anyone who has been to Branson can testify to just how hilly the area is - I can just picture how terrified some of the motorists must be to find themselves basically trapped on these hills. Locations like Bee Creek road were reported to have as many as 30 vehicles off the road and in a jumble! And the snow continues to fall... If you have a scanner, be sure to tune to 460.300 to listen in as the local police dispatch tries to work their way through a big mess of stranded motorists. I'm always flabbergasted that people don't do a better job of planning whenever the weather service puts out a winter advisory as they had done in this case.

Being the weather watcher that I am, I made sure to get out early and get my grocery shopping done before the nine o'clock hour. I bought enough for a few days, just in case. (Another winter storm is shaping up for next weekend). Most concerning to me is the possibility of freezing rain or sleet on this coming Monday night. Down here in the hills of the Ozarks, it's just not worth the risk when the weather gets like that.

Late note: From the stories that have been filtering in on Facebook and the scanner, I'm sure this storm will be talked about for some time to come. It appears as though hundreds of motorists were involved in slide off and accidents due to the unexpected heavy snowfall.

Old Man Winter wakes up!

After nearly a month, in January, of chilly somnolence; contenting himself with an occasional cold wave or two, Old man Winter is back!

According to the National weather Service, the first week of February 2014 will be active! Now, when the NWS uses that particular word - ACTIVE, they ain't just playing around! As one weather forecaster put it, 'plan for the best, but expect the worst' when it comes to what might get thrown at the southwest Missouri corridor over the next few days!

Early on the morning of February the 1^st, it now looks like as many as four significant storms... make that winter storms - could impact the Branson-Forsyth area situated in Taney County Missouri. All of these frontal systems will likely include moisture in one of its many varied forms often seen in the winter time; mist, sleet, snow and ice are all in the forecast mix! And, right on cue, Saturday morning saw a light drizzle falling under overcast skies with temperatures in the mid forties. This warm scenario will likely last through the day before the cold front drops on down and changes the mist into some form of sleet later in the evening hours.

So, what's the most likely point at which; A) you'll want to get your grocery shopping done and B) the going gets a bit tough on the highways and byways? Two very good questions.

The first question is really more of a timing issue. The below freezing boundary on Monday morning was draped along the I-44 corridor and is not expected to drop down until the afternoon hours. At the same time a low pressure center will transit diagonally across the area (southwest to northeast) and winds will then begin to pick up from the north. This will set the stage for rapidly cooling temperatures that could result in some light sleet or freezing rain later into the afternoon and early evening. So be careful later today. That said, I don't see any real accumulation and the main roads should be OK. Then, on Sunday, I think our area and locations close to the Arkansas border will see up to an inch of snow from a system that will pass us to the south. This could occur in the afternoon hours on into evening. Based on that assumption, I'd get my vittles in no later than early Saturday afternoon which is today!

I think that the second question, about when it will get really nasty, will wait until sometime Monday night when 'all hell' will likely break lose (my opinion)! The mega weather computers are all coming into agreement that many of the factors needed to make travel next to impossible will slam into our area late Monday into Tuesday morning! So, any last minute procrastinators will need to hit the store for groceries on Monday morning latest! Then, my advice will be to hunker on down....

For an up to date look at the current weather, visit my site at www.taneyservices.com!

Disclaimer: The author of this post is a weather watcher, not a weather professional. The contents of this post constitute his opinions and may or may not be accurate.

February kicks off things with a possible winter storm!

After a somewhat normal January – the high and low averages were only slight below the 30 year averages, things look to get interesting on Saturday, February the 1^st. Freezing rain to the north of my home in Forsyth Missouri on Saturday and then a nice winter storm for the start of the work week! At this time, the estimates are for somewhere between a half and a full inch set to fall by early Tuesday morning. This forecast is still a bit up in the air and could swing from no snow to a lot of snow quite easily.

Typically the high and lows move up a bit in February – to 50 for daytime highs and 26 for lows. So, over the course of the month we might easily expect to see a few warmish days in the mid to upper sixties! Rainfall for the month should come in at around 3 inches – at least we can hope that is what happens. January was a big disappointment coming in at only an inch of precipitation.

More snow to start off February 2014!

Yes, it looks increasingly more likely that the cold and snowy weather we've had this season will continue with a few inches getting dumped on southwest Missouri on or about Monday late or Tuesday early! Prior to that event, central portions of Missouri may see some icing early on Friday, January the 31st.

The National Weather Service thinks that this will be an all snow event with most of the moisture (and therefore snow amounts) in and around the south central parts of the state! So, think about shopping and doing outside stuff over the weekend and then sit back and watch the snow fall....

In other news, the ambient radiation levels seems to be increasing for some reason. Normally Forsyth would see levels at about 11 micro roentgens per hour. Over the past few days, it's been average close to 14 with counts running at 28 per minute versus a more normal rate of 24.

Cold? I think not!

'Oh my gawd! It's so cold out there', I've been known to grumble to passerby as I've dashed from the warm confines of my vehicle to a local store. 'This has just got to be the coldest it's been in a long time', I lament to anyone who cared to listen.

The passersby just glance briefly my way and continue on their way.

The truth be told, this winter has been pretty much dull normal in terms of the high and low averages! The big difference, and what most of us might notice the most, has been what we all experienced in 2012-13 when temps were significantly above what they should have been! December 2012 saw readings, in and around Forsyth MO that were close to or at 70F on a number of occasions! Even January of 2013, typically the coldest month, was a little warmer than normal! So of course, by contrast this year has felt much colder. A few days in both months, where the temperatures flirted with zero or below also helped to enforce those feelings...

Now, with January 2014 fading into the rear view mirror, eyes are turning towards February while we all wonder how bad we'll get whacked in heating costs if the current cold trends continue! Still, I have to wonder where the heck Al Gore got off to? After all the hype, things remain pretty darn normal in all respects...