Finally...Some Sunshine!

After a few gloomy February days it's nice to see some sunshine in the Quad Cities today! From the QC to Galena it's been a decent afternoon with a mix of sun and clouds and temps that are close to normal. We are on track for a big cooldown starting Friday though! Here are the 4pm temps!

Record Cold in Europe

Europe is still dealing with a record breaking cold streak. Temperatures in Eastern Europe have been hovering around -22°F and with record snow on top of that, some folks are not making it out alive. Over 300 people have been reported dead due to the cold weather and most of the dead are homeless individuals who succumbed to hypothermia.

In Serbia, schools were closed to save power so hundreds of kids flocked to the nation's capital parks to sled and make snow angels. Also in some of the mountainous regions snow totals amount to almost 15 feet of snow, making it difficult for rescuers to even see the rooftops of houses. Rome also had some of its heaviest snowfall in decades.

In Northern Germany penguins at a zoo are also having a bit of trouble with the cold. As the penguins exited their pool, the water would freeze to their heads and feet, making it difficult for them to move around. Who would have thought it could be too cold for a penguin!

Light Snow Continues

There's more light snow falling in the Quad Cities as we approach 10pm...totals will still be very light, up to half an inch in most places. However, thanks to the drizzle earlier today and the fact that temps are below freezing now there are some icy spots on area roads...

FULL MOON!

It's a Full Moon tonight and the name for this month's Full Moon doesn't exactly fit this year! The FM in February is known as the Snow Moon...and our lack of snow continues!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_moon

Drizzle, Flurries and Light Snow

So far in the QC today we've seen a little bit of a drizzle and a few flurries also. In Burlington, IA, they've seen a little light snow over the last hour or so...all of this is very light though and will end later this evening. Catch a full forecast update on CBS4 News at 5 and 6!

Feeling Colder, Finally!

After a lot of mild weather lately, Monday finally feels a little more like winter in the Quad Cities! The normal high for Feb 6th is 33° and through 3pm the high today is 30°...if we don't clear out within the next hour or so our high temp will end up below the normal high for the 1st time since January 21st!

Record Snow in Denver

At the end of last week Denver was hit with an intense low pressure that dumped record amounts of snow. After it was all said and done Denver had 15.9" of snow over the 2 days, making it the record of a storm in the month of February. Boulder, CO also smashed their previous storm snow total record of 16.5" with a whopping 22.7" of snow! Some spots in the mountains, like Jamestown had 46" in this storm only. In Pine Junction they totaled 39" of snow in 2 days. Snow fall rates were at times close to 1-2" per hour. At some points in the foothills, the snow fall rate was in excess of 2" per hour. With winds out of the north at 15-25 mph and gusts up to 35 mph, some snow drifts were close to 5 feet tall!

A Few Planets can be seen in February...

This month is the time to look up to the sky to see some of the planets. Right now, Venus and Jupiter can be seen beginning at dusk. They are the first "stars" to pop out at dusk.

Venus can be seen lower in the sky while Jupiter will sit higher in the sky. At the end of February if the skies are clear enough you could be able to see Mercury! So keep your eyes peeled!

Little Snow, Little Ice on the Great Lakes...

The Quad Cities isn't the only area experiencing warmer than normal temps and little snow. Areas around the Great Lakes are as well this winter. In fact, it has been so warm that many of the Great Lakes are ice free (The two images above show the lack of ice on the lakes right now).

Typically, the lakes will be completely frozen by the end of January (Below is an image of the Great Lakes frozen in 2009. the image was taken from space at the end of January in 2009).



The lack of ice on the Great Lakes could mean winter lasting into early Spring for the cities that surround the lakes. Since the Great Lakes are so warm, lake effect snow could occur into early spring. Lake effect snow is most common in November and December when the lakes aren't yet cold enough to freeze.

Lake effect snow forms when extremely cold air meets the warm air from the warmer water temperatures of the Great Lakes. The difference in temperature between the cold air and warm lake waters creates snow over land when they come together (shown below).

Super Bowl Sunday Forecast...

It's going to be a pleasant Super Bowl Sunday in Indianapolis tomorrow! Plenty of sunshine during the afternoon with temps in the mid to upper 40s. The nice weather will continue into the evening for kickoff, which is at 5:30 pm CT. They'll have mostly clear skies with temps in the low 40s!