Monday, January 17, 2011

Grades for MLK Birthday Snow

By the time most people woke up on Monday, the snow was already gone. They didn't miss much -- 1.3 inches to be exact. A note on grading: for small "clipper" systems like the past few, grading may seem harsh. After all, a forecast for 3 inches is only 1.7 inches over an actual total of 1.3 inches. However, at those small amounts, it's still a forecast for twice as much as snow as actually fell. And, more to the point, a 3-inch storm creates considerably more havoc than a 1.3-inch storm. Seem tough? There's no crying in weather forecasting. Herewith, the grades for a yawner of a storm.

WCCO: B Held on to a 2-4 inch forecast through Sunday morning.
KSTP: C+ Although there was mention that the snowfall projection might drop to 1 to 3 inches on Saturday night, they maintained 2-4 inches through Sunday night.
FOX: B Generally, a similar forecast to WCCO's.
KARE: A Played it close to the chest, holding off on specific snow estimates until Sunday morning. But when they did, they nailed it.
Star Tribune: A Right on from the start. If only they were as good with their long-range forecast for the coming cold wave.
NWS: B In the same boat as WCCO and FOX.

If you'd like to see the forecasts leading up to this early morning's snow -- or just need some help with  insomnia -- click here.

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