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| Enormous Texas wildfires, along with huge California blizzard and eastern U.S. record warmth, are all interconnected in one big weather pattern |
So much so, that it is the largest wildfire in Texas history.
There's been plenty of weather excitement going on lately in the United States, and that state of affairs looks like it will go on for the next few days.
Between an extreme blizzard in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, winter storms and high winds in the Rockies, some of the worst wildfires in Texas history, and record warmth in the Great Lakes and Northeast, it's an impressive weather pattern.
Let's break down the news first, then tie it all together:
BLIZZARD
The blizzard in the Sierra Nevada is extreme even by their standards, where snowstorms dumping several feet of snow are fairly common.
In this case, the long lasting storm is dumping up to 10 feet of snow, with wind gusts of 70 mph in populated areas, and gusts to 115 mph or more in the mountains.
This is life threatening. For instance, people were warned in advance not to travel through the blizzard area, and sure enough most roads, including Interstate 80 in the region are shut down. People are reportedly trapped on Interstate 80. I'm not sure why. Forecasters and the media have been advertising this blizzard on blast for days.
Yosemite National Park shut down due to the storm.
Power outages loom, and there's also an extreme avalanche danger. Snow is falling at times at rates of up to six inches per hour, and winds are combining to create highly unstable snow. Thundersnow is also possible.
The storm is powerful enough to affect lower elevations. A rare tornado touched down Friday about 20 miles northwest of Fresno, damaging an elementary school and toppling trees.
High winds and heavy snow are also extending through a large area in several Rocky Mountain states.
WILDFIRES
Texas and other parts of the southern and central Plains are still dealing with horrible wildfires.
The largest and worst of the blazes, dubbed the Smokehouse fire, had covered 1 million acres by Friday. That's about 1/6th the side of Vermont.
The fire had killed two people, destroyed perhaps dozens of homes and killed thousands of livestock.
On Thursday a little snow and rain tamed the fire a bit, but it covered such a large area there was no way firefighters could put the whole thing out. The Smokehouse Fire was only 15% contained by Friday afternoon.
Now, the fire weather is back. For both today and Sunday, the Texas Panhandle will be warm, windy and super dry. Those are perfect conditions for fires to spread. And also allow new fires to spring up and quickly get out of hand.
The dangerous weather conditions might get a little tamer during the early week, but still be sufficient for fires to rage on. Then, forecasters said, it could get worse again by the end of the week.
RECORD WARMTH
After a brief shot of winter weather, record warmth has made, or is making a comeback in the Plains, Great Lakes region and the Northeast.
Temperatures should be back up into the low 70s in Chicago Sunday and Monday. Minneapolis is expecting a high of 72 degrees on Sunday, which would be the city's earliest 70 degree reading on record.
High temperatures in Minnesota and Wisconsin Sunday and Monday could break records for the date by a whopping 10 degrees,
Buffalo, New York, known for its blizzards, is expecting a high near 70 on Monday.
Here in Vermont, we might have some record highs tomorrow if skies clear fast enough, though that's iffy. . Record highs are also expected in the Green Mountain State Monday and possibly Tuesday. The forecast high in Burlington Monday is 61 degrees, which would be the third day within a week in which it makes it to 60 degrees or better.
TYING IT TOGETHER
Weather patterns are usually intertwined and the current situation is not much different. There's a big southward dip in the jet stream near the West Coast. This is allowing moisture streaming in from the central Pacific Ocean to mix with chilly air from the Gulf of Alaska, then slam headlong into California, and especially the Sierra Nevada range.
The pattern is pretty persistent, which is part of the reason why the blizzard is lasting so long out there. The jet stream is pretty powerful out that way, too, which is why storminess is punching well inland through the Rockies.
From there, the jet stream curves northeastward again, forming a big northward bulge in the eastern United States and southern Canada.
This has pulled the storminess - in general - just north of Texas. That opens the door for warm, super dry and strong winds to blow in from the Desert Southwest into the Texas Panhandle. That, in turn led to the wildfires.
The jet stream kept heading north, allowing very warm air to surge northward into the Midwest, Great Lakes, Northeast and southeastern Canada.
Although the warmth has been occasionally interrupted by cold fronts attached to the storms passing north of Texas than on up toward the western Great Lakes, the weather pattern has allowed the warmth to keep surging back in to the eastern U.S.
The overall weather pattern isn't that unusual for this time of year. However, the strength of the California storm, the intensity of the Texas fires and the heat in the East is very, very odd.
I don't know if I can tie the California storms to climate change. Also wildfires do occur in Texas this time of year, but the intensity of the winds and the near record warmth when the fires broke out is definitely odd.
The warm temperatures in the Midwest, Northeast and southeast Canada are insane. This weather pattern would have produced balmy temperatures with or without climate change. But I have to think the margin by which record highs are being broken, and the sheer number of record highs has to be climate influenced.
This weather pattern will break down eventually. In fact here in Vermont it looks like it will turn cooler later next week, but it will still be relatively mild.
For millions of Americans, though, late February and early March will certainly be remembered for a long time. For Texans in particular, those memories will be painful. n
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