I'M DIGGING IT, HOW ABOUT YOU...

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I'M DIGGING IT, HOW ABOUT YOU?

Ladies and Gentlemen, for once I was not in the black hole! Snow actually came to my house in Dubuque Thursday, big, fat, and super heavy. Officially 9.4" was measured at the Dubuque Municipal Airport. Most of it came in 5 hours time when the snow was accumulating at a rate of 2" per hour. Here's some pictures from around my neck of the woods.

Nothing like teamwork with the shovels.

The tape measure tells the tale after the snow settled late in the day,

At it's peak, visibility was less than a quarter of a mile.

As beautiful as the snow was, it was extremely wet and heavy. I was struggling to dig out the 2 foot wall of snow the plow left in my driveway and lo and behold, a guy plowing a spot across the street took pity on me. He rolled up and made several swipes with his blade and saved me from some sore muscles Friday. He wouldn't take any money. I don't even know his name but it might be SAINT. There were still some rugged spots and an hour later I look out and there's my man Mike Hoffman from up the street with his highfalutin snow blower tidying up, shooting the left-overs 20 feet off to the side. There are plenty of good people in the world and those gus met the qualifications today. Thanks boys!

Needless to say, I was "digging" the snow...in more ways than one. How about you? As expected the storm took its aim on the area near and west of the Mississippi. The swath was relatively narrow with the brunt of the heavier snow from EC Iowa into central Wisconsin.

Here's a tighter perspective. Look at that 9.4" total in Dubuque, the largest amount reported any place in the Midwest. Hooray for me!!! (About time). On that note, here in Dubuque we have had nearly 19 inches of snow in the past 3 weeks. After falling way behind on seasonal snowfall going into mid-January, we are now a bit above normal up this way thanks to Thursday's hefty amounts.

The other remarkable aspect of Thursday's storm was the precipitation it produced. Amounts in my area commonly exceeded an inch with some totals exceeding 1.5 inches. The Quad City Internation Airport checked in with 1.34 inches. I assume that was a record (or near record) for the date and probably was one of the largest 24 hour totals in February history. Here's the Doppler estimates of precipitation. Something else interesting is how dramatic the cut-off to the precipitation was on the NW fringe of the storm. That is sharp.

A MELLO, MILD WEEKEND AHEAD

With the soaker behind us and high pressure moving in, the weekend ahead will see dramatically improved weather. In fact, sunshine and relatively mild temperatures will be with us Friday into Monday. Temperatures will be highly dependant on snow cover. Here are three Meteograms depicting the north (Dubuque), the central (Quad Cities), and the south (Ft. Madison) through the weekend, By Sunday the south should be at least 10 degrees warmer than the north with bare ground and the more southerly latitude.

Dubuque

The Quad Cities

Ft. Madison

The quiet weather last into parts of Tuesday before the weather turns active again. The first system is in the que late Tuesday and is likely to pass west of the area meaning it's precipitation should fall as rain, barring an eastward shift in track. Depending on the eventual path, amounts could range from light to moderate (1/4 to 1/2 inch).

After this disturbance passes, models are hinting at the potential for a healthy storm Thursday of next week with the ability to bring another bout of wintry weather. Much will depend on the amount of phasing and the availability of cold air. We're too far out to say anything more at this point other than we should be close to the action zone. I will be watching though!

Happy Friday everyone and roll weather...TS

I'VE GOT A FANTASTIC DEAL FOR YOU, STILL SOME DATES OPEN...

TWO NIGHTS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE...REALLY

Hey everybody, February is the love month and boy do we have a "lovely" deal just for you at my new Airbnb, The Little White Church of Galena. If you book one night, the second one is on "us." totally free. As we celebrate our Grand Opening Month, it is a $500 value. The offer has been such a hit we are extending it into the spring. Come check out the splendor of the church which includes three bedrooms and three full bathrooms. Each bedroom has its own television and ceiling fan. The master suite has an ensuite, private deck and king sized bed. Plus a fireplace, Dish TV and Sirius XM with a great sound system. It's loaded.

Just minutes away from Galena, we have a special spot for you and your sweetheart. With all the space, you can spilt the church with one or two other couples making it a tremendous deal. It is a first come, first serve proposition as far as available dates are concerned. It truly is a religious experience! Call carolyn at 563 676 3320 or you can email at carolynswettstone@yahoo.com to secure a date or get more details. Here is a link with pictures. https://www.tswails.com/galena-airbnb