Were you around for the 1993 March Superstorm? Remember how strong that was? There were tornadoes all over Florida (and even a 12 foot storm surge), and a massive blizzard from Alabama to Quebec. If you remember how ferocious that storm was, I'd like you to meet The Chiclone. This afternoon, it blew the '93 Superstorm out of the water (pun intended).
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As per the NWS, this is officially the strongest non-tropical low pressure system ever recorded in the continental United States, clocking in at 955.5 millibars (mb) as of an hour ago -- and the system is still deepening. To put that in perspective, an average Category 3 hurricane has a pressure between 950-960mb.
SPC -- 2100z surface analysis, showing a 955mb low with contours every 2mb. "L" added by me. Red disease looking stuff is a population density layer under the map.
Minnesota has set an all-time record low pressure at 955.5mb. Wisconsin set a low pressure record as well, coming in at 956mb.
Pressure chart showing the lowest 3 pressures ever recorded in a non-tropical cyclone over the Continental United States. Crappy chart made by me in MS Word using data from this NWS Facebook posting
This storm is a textbook example of a massive mid-latitude cyclone at its best, with the small exception that it's the strongest one ever recorded over the US.
On the back end of the system, North Dakotans are dealing with a blizzard. The National Weather Service expects 6+ inches of snow in western North Dakota, with amounts closing in on 2-4 inches closer to Grand Forks and Fargo. The snow will spread into Minnesota (towards the Twin Cities) tonight and tomorrow, bringing anywhere from a dusting to 2 inches, depending on location.
On the south side of the system, people are cleaning up from the tornadoes and damaging winds from thunderstorms yesterday, and are dealing with winds of 40-60 MPH (with higher gusts) today. Wind in the thunderstorms yesterday flipped over and totaled 3 airplanes at DuPage Airport in Chicago, and caused damage everywhere from Wisconsin to Mississippi.
Plane damage from a microburst at Dupage Airport. Photo: (Chuck Berman/Tribune)
As a matter of fact, here in Mobile yesterday morning we had an EF-1 tornado come within one mile of my sound-asleep, blissfully oblivious ass. There was no warning, and very little damage to the college (wind damage, not from the tornado). However, a McDonalds was destroyed as well as the canopy and gas pumps at an adjoining gas station. No injuries were reported to emergency officials or the NWS, thankfully. I didn't know about the twister until around noon yesterday, which kind of creeps me out, and also reminds me to nag you about a weather radio. More about that later.
On the southeast side of the system, everyone from Ontario to Alabama is dealing with a tornado outbreak and extremely strong winds (209 reports of thunderstorm-related wind damage, and 14 tornadoes reported today) as a cold front associated with the system rips through.
SPC image showing tornado watches from Pennsylvania to Mississippi, as of 530PM CT
SPC severe weather reports since 6AM CT. The blue dots are wind reports, green dots are hail reports, and red dots are tornado reports. Black squares are severe wind reports, and black triangles are large hail reports.
I stress and plead with you to get a NOAA Weather Radio, no matter where you live. They are life savers, especially with weather like this. If you get one and need help setting it up, send me an email (in my profile), and I'll gladly assist you.
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