THE NEW YEAR WILL BRING SOME WINTRY WEATHER

All's quiet this weekend and New Year's Eve, but changes are brewing for the new year!

A blast of cold air will make it to the Ohio Valley on Tuesday when a strong cold front arrives and drops our temperatures dramatically. It could be the coldest air we've experienced so far this season.

We could even have a light accumulation of snow during New Year's Day also. Snow is in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. Morning lows Wednesday will be near 20 degrees and Thursday's low temperature could drop into the mid-teens!

Nationally: The arctic air will continue to significantly drop temperatures across the eastern half of the nation New Year's Day and Wednesday. The cold blast will dive southward, holding high temperatures to the lower 60s in South Florida Wednesday. Miami normally warms to the upper 70s at the beginning of January.

The frigid winds howling across the Great Lakes will touch off lake-effect snow on New Year's Day. Some of the snow will fall in Buffalo, N.Y., when the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins take the ice for the NHL Winter Classic. The event will be the first outdoor hockey game in the U.S. in the modern history of the National Hockey League.

The frigid air will not last more than several days into 2008. Temperatures will rebound from west to east during the latter part of the week as the dome of high pressure delivering the chilly air departs.

This is Meteorologist Lisa Montgomery.

Source: Accu Weather

NO SNOWFALL ON CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR OR IN MANY YEARS PAST!

"Remember the good 'ol days, back when we had lots of snow coming down on Christmas and we were able to go sledding and make snowmen?"

Have you heard this lately coming from the older folk in your family? Well the truth is...statistics tell another story of snow falling on Christmases past in the Ohio Valley.

According to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, which is where the officials stats come from for the Ohio Valley, only 15 times in the last 50 years did we have measurable snowfall on Christmas.

Now, measurable snow would be amounts greater than a tenth of an inch, and this is for snow that was collected on the actual holiday.

The information comes from the National Climatic Data Center and is based on records from December 25, 1957 through December 25, 2007.

However, just to point out, most likely we could have experienced more white Christmases than the 15 days recorded. There's always the snow that fell prior to the Christmas holiday!

This is Meteorologist Lisa Montgomery.

DECEMBER 21, 2007: CHILL MAY HAVE EASED, BUT WINTER ARRIVES EARLY SATURDAY

We will suddenly see milder temperatures make their way back to the Ohio Valley but it can’t hide the fact the clock is ticking toward winter’s official open. The Winter Solstice takes place at 1:08 a.m. Saturday morning—the point at which the sun’s most direct rays fall as far south on the planet as at any time of the year. Winter begins with the year’s shortest day in the northern hemisphere. Sunlight is just one-fifth the strength of June sun. Tomorrow will be the day with the shortest amount of daylight with 9 hours and 17 minutes. The good news is days here begin to lengthen gradually and more than 5 hours of daylight will be added by the time summer begins in June.

The White Christmas dream now appears to be just that a dream as the storm that was depicted to develop on some of the computer models for Christmas is not materializing. This is good for traveling but bad for White Christmas lovers!

TODAY’S HOLIDAY QUIZ

In my favorite movie The Christmas Story, what was the name of the town that Ralphy lived in?

A.Cleveland, OH

B.Hammond, IN

C.Chicago, IL

ANSWER: B. Hammond, IN, although much of the movie was shot in Cleveland

Email your weather questions toweather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Jeff Oechslein.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

National Wildlife Federation supports citizen science, and one of the oldest such efforts is the Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by our friends at Audubon.

Here's how it works: regular folks record bird sightings and scientists then use the data to study bird populations. It's a great way to get outside during the holiday season with the entire family and do something good and meaningful for wildlife. It's going on right now!

Snow and Wildlife: In some parts of the country, recent snows make it harder for a lot of wildlife species to survive but not the lynx. These beautiful, wild cats can still be found in small populations in the Northeast and are often confused with the similar bobcat.

Lynx are more adapted to snowy environments and you can distinguish them from bobcats by their tufted ears, silvery coat and huge, snowshoe-like feet that allow them to move about with ease in deep snow. A beautiful sight to see!

Unique Gifts: And by the way, if you are still trying to come up with a unique gift idea for the animal lover or wildlife enthusiast in your life, why not check out the website of the National Wildlife Federation.

This is Meteorologist Lisa Montgomery.

DECEMBER 20, 2007: WHITE CHRISTMAS WATCH

Just a few more shopping days left until Christmas and a bare ground isn’t a good sign for White Christmas lovers. Will we be dreaming like Bing Crosby or will this be the year our dreams come true? White Christmas written by Irving Berlin, was made famous by Bing Crosby in the 1942 film, Holiday Inn. The songs wistful lyrics long for glistening treetops and "sleigh bells in the snow," thereby painting an idyllic picture of Christmases from days gone by. White Christmas won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and has become a holiday classic, selling millions of copies worldwide. The song, White Christmas, was used again in the soundtrack to the 1954 film of the same name, again starring Bing Crosby.

Christmases past tell us that it is uncommon for us to see snow on Christmas day. The odds are stacked against us. We only have a 17% chance of 1 inch or more of snow on the ground for Christmas day. We have a 38% chance of seeing some snow in the air on Christmas. Last Christmas a chilly rain fell with a temperature in the 40’s. Our last true White Christmas occurred back in 2002 when 1 inch of snow fell.

Looking into the crystal ball this Thursday morning, there is some small hope for those still dreaming. A cold front will come through early Sunday morning. Much colder weather and a few flurries are possible by Sunday afternoon and evening. This will not give us a White Christmas, but it will lay down a foundation of fresh cold air, one key ingredient for snowfall. Then an area of low pressure will develop near Mississippi on Christmas Eve. The question from here is where does the low go? One computer model pushes the storm off the Carolina coast on Christmas day, this would not be good news for snow here. Another model has the storm riding up the east coast, possibly close enough to give us some light snow. We need a track to go further west for some snow locally. Trying to pinpoint where storms will develop and track 5 days out can be tough, so by no means is any track cast in stone. So there is hope, all be it small right now, but time will tell if our Christmas will be white.

TODAY’S HOLIDAY QUIZ

How many people get sick each year from tainted Christmas leftovers?

A.4,000

B.40,000

C.400,000

ANSWER: C. 400,000! Don’t let food sit out for more than 2 hours at holiday parties!

Email your weather questions toweather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Jeff Oechslein.

ON THE RISE

The average Ohio home that uses natural gas for heating can expect to pay about 115 dollars more on energy bills during the 2007-2008 heating season than they did during the 2006-2007 heating season. Homes that use heating oil can expect an increase of about 300 dollars, propane heating costs will increase by about 365 dollars, and electric costs are expected to increase by about 30 dollars. When it comes to heating efficiently and saving money, a little programming goes a long way! Using a programmable thermostat to control home temperatures can save Ohio residents between 95 and 190 dollars per year (a programmable thermostat costs around 100 dollars). Set a lower temperature when you're not home and when you're sleeping -- dropping down by just one degree can save between 35 and 75 dollars, depending on the type of heating system you have.

Climate Fact: Greenland Update

Ten percent of the world’s fresh water is stored in Greenland’s ice sheet. Since 1991, the average summertime temperature in Greenland has risen five degrees Fahrenheit, a trend associated with increased melting. Greenland is losing an average of 170 tons, or 41 cubic miles, of ice each year. For comparison, this is close to 10 times the average annual flow from the Colorado River; 2.5 times the total volume of the Chesapeake Bay; or enough water to submerge the entire Washington, D.C. area one-mile deep. This melting accounts for about 28 percent of the annual rise in global sea level. The 2007 season broke the previous record for annual melt, set in 2005, by ten percent.

Email your weather questions toweather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Jeff Oechslein.

NOAA: 2007 a Top Ten Warm Year for U.S. and Globe

The year 2007 is on pace to become one of the 10 warmest years for the contiguous U.S., since national records began in 1895, according to preliminary data from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The year was marked by exceptional drought in the U.S.

Southeast and the West, which helped fuel another extremely active wildfire season. The year also brought outbreaks of cold air, and killer heat waves and floods. Meanwhile, the global surface temperature for 2007 is expected to be fifth warmest since records began in 1880. Preliminary data will be updated in early January to reflect the final three weeks of December and is not considered final until a full analysis is complete next spring.

U.S. Temperatures

* The preliminary annual average temperature for 2007 across the contiguous United States will likely be near 54.3 degrees F- 1.5 degrees F (0.8 degrees C) above the twentieth century average of 52.8 degrees F. This currently establishes 2007 as the eighth warmest on record. Only February and April were cooler-than-average, while March and August were second warmest in the 113-year record.

* The warmer-than-average conditions in 2007 influenced residential energy demand in opposing ways, as measured by the nation’s Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index. Using this index, NOAA scientists determined that the U.S. residential energy demand was about three percent less during the winter and eight percent higher during the summer than what would have occurred under average climate conditions.

* Exceptional warmth in late March was followed by a record cold outbreak from the central Plains to the Southeast in early April. The combination of premature growth from the March warmth and the record-breaking freeze behind it caused more than an estimated $1 billion in losses to crops (agricultural and horticultural).

* A severe heat wave affected large parts of the central and southeastern U.S. in August, setting more than 2,500 new daily record highs.

Global Temperatures

* The global annual temperature ? for combined land and ocean surfaces – for 2007 is expected to be near 58.0 F – and would be the fifth warmest since records began in 1880. Some of the largest and most widespread warm anomalies occurred from eastern Europe to central Asia.

* Including 2007, seven of the eight warmest years on record have occurred since 2001 and the 10 warmest years have all occurred since 1997. The global average surface temperature has risen between 0.6 degrees C and 0.7 degrees C since the start of the twentieth century, and the rate of increase since 1976 has been approximately three times faster than the century-scale trend.

* The greatest warming has taken place in high latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Anomalous warmth in 2007 contributed to the lowest Arctic sea ice extent since satellite records began in 1979, surpassing the previous record low set in 2005 by a remarkable 23 percent. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, this is part of a continuing trend in end-of-summer Arctic sea ice extent reductions of about 10 percent per decade since 1979.

U.S. Precipitation and Drought Highlights

* Severe to exceptional drought affected the Southeast and western U.S. More than three-quarters of the Southeast was in drought from mid-summer into December. Increased evaporation from usually warm temperatures, combined with a lack of precipitation, worsened drought conditions. Drought conditions also affected large parts of the Upper Midwest and areas of the Northeast.

* Water conservation measures and drought disasters, or states of emergency, were declared by governors in at least five southeastern states, along with California, Oregon, Maryland, Connecticut, and Delaware at some point during the year.

* A series of storms brought flooding, millions of dollars in damages and loss of life from Texas to Kansas and Missouri in June and July. Making matters worse were the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin, which produced heavy rainfall in the same region in August.

* Drought and unusual warmth contributed to another extremely active wildfire season. Approximately nine million acres burned through early December, most of it in the contiguous U.S., according to preliminary estimates by the National Interagency Fire Center.

* There were 15 named storms in the Atlantic Basin (Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) in 2007, four more than the long-term average. Six storms developed into hurricanes, including Hurricanes Dean and Felix, two category 5 storms that struck Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and Nicaragua, respectively (the first two recorded category 5 landfalls in the Atlantic Basin in the same year). No major hurricanes made landfall in the U.S., but three tropical depressions, one tropical storm and one Category 1 Hurricane made landfall along the Southeast and Gulf coasts.

* La Niña conditions developed during the latter half of 2007, and by the end of November, sea surface temperatures near the equator of the eastern Pacific were more than 3.6 degrees F (2 degrees C) below average. This La Niña event is likely to continue into early 2008, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

DECEMBER 7, 2007: GLOBAL WARMING HEARTACHE

At the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting in September, global warming was hot news for the heart. Some physicians warned that the warming of the planet could potentially lead to more heart problems. The chief of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University likens the hardening of arteries to rust on a car. Rust develops much more quickly at warm temperatures and so does atherosclerosis. When people sweat in high heat, blood is sent to the skin where temperatures are cooler, resulting in a rise in heart rate and drop in blood pressure, a dangerous combination. Although these experts believe more attention should be paid to the correlation, there are way too many uncertainties about the connection between climate change and heart condition to predict a definitive increase in cardiovascular problems.

Email your weather questions toweather@wtov.com.
I'm meteorologist Jeff Oechslein.

DECEMBER 3, 2007: GUSTY WINDS WITH MORE SNOW COMING!

A peak wind gust of 39 mph was reported at Wheeling airport Monday afternoon. A Wind Advisory was posted for the Ohio Valley through midnight Monday as a strong cold front pushed through the region. This storm affected much of the country, with much worse conditions.

Some lake-effect snow showers and flurries arrived as the storm brought the cold blast of air over the Great Lakes. But more snow is on the way for Wednesday as a fast-moving "clipper" type system passes through. At this point, snow accumulation should remain light, with 1-2 inches of snow.

Although winter doesn't officially arrive until Dec. 22 this year, the wintry weather is here!

Please use caution on the roadways this week...snow and cold can create slippery roads especially on overpasses and bridges.

This is Meteorologist Lisa Montgomery.