THE STORM TRACK HAS LEFT THE BUILDING...
CONSIDER THE VALUE PLEASE...TSwails.com continues to be a leader in catching and forecasting the trends of our extreme weather pattern the past few weeks. It takes a great deal of commitment, passion, and knowledge to stay on top of the swings. Now that I'm no longer in television, this is my job and that's the reason I'm asking for a voluntary subscription fee of $12 dollars a year, one dollar a month to keep TSwails going. Together we can create one of the best, most unique, and reliable weather sites in the Midwest. Your contribution of 3 cents a day, allows me to stay free of the corporate world and pour my energy into doing what I do best, forecasting the weather! We hope you see the value and hard work that goes into the site everyday. Your support in any way is sincerely appreciated. Thanks and roll weather. To donate click on the secure green box below.
HAVE YOU SEEN THE STORM TRACK?
Since early November the storm track has done an exceptional job of avoiding my part of the Midwest. A split in the 500mb flow has kept us between the northern and southern branches of the jet, essentially creating a dry slot through the heart of my area. Check out these 14 and 30 day precipitation departures.
Past 14 days.

Past 30 days.

Even more interesting is the past 6 months. After a very wet start to the first half of the year slowly but surely our weather has trended drier. I was surprised to see 180 day precipitation departures in the range of 3 to 4 inches in parts of EC and SE Iowa.

Despite the deficits, no part of the Midwest is experiencing moisture shortages as you can see in the latest drought monitor.

Going forward the Climate Prediction Center is showing good chances of above normal precipitation in the 8-14 day period through much of the central U.S. and the heart of my area. A 57 percent chance of above normal is indicated here in Cedar Rapids along with a 58 percent chance of above normal temperatures (this is for the period December 24 through the 30th.

CPC might have to back that outlook down as the operational models are showing little if any precipitation through January 2nd. The GFS has none through 16 days in much of my area. Here are the forecast totals and departures.

Departures

Very little snow falls anywhere in the Midwest.

The EURO is not much better with this for total precipitation through January 1. The departures follow.
