The precipitation map from the GFS for next Saturday evening looks hauntingly familiar to the one from last week, which did not pan out in a snow event, except for the favored lake-effect areas. 
But the key to this one would be colder temperatures, frozen ground in many areas, and most importantly a long duration -- the model shows snow over most of Pennsylvania for more than 60 hours. The only other model which runs in that time frame is the DGEX, which runs from GFS conditions at 84 hours. It is much higher resolution and shows the event as only happening in the higher elevations of the Appalachians Saturday:
It's hard to tell if this is just the difference in resolution talking but it seems that, unlike the GFS, the DGEX never really shows snow outside of the higher mountains.
AccuWeather.com Professional's Joe Bastardi (PRO) is also hyped, predicting a 28.80" Hg low pressure Saturday in the Gulf of Maine (the equivalent of a Category 2 Hurricane according to Saffir Simpson [Wikipedia]). He also says:
"Heavy to excessive rainfalls from Texas to the mid-Atlantic, with heavy precip that could very well turn to snow from the Upper Midwest through the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, strong winds that can gust over 60 mph in the cold part of the storm driving flurries and squalls as far south as we will see them go now, perhaps even further."
Snow was reported in Pennsylvania and New York on May 24, as viewers looked forward to temperatures in the 20s on Memorial Day Weekend.
The damage from the Moore, Okla., tornado of May 20, 2013, is incredible. These radar loops show the immensity of the tragic storm.
When I saw that Google had created a 30-year satellite time-lapse of Earth, I knew where the most impressive weather-related animations would be.
Whatever you call them -- "Ice Needling," "Ice Surges," or "Ice Shoves," or "Ice Heaves" -- a phenomenon that I first blogged about in 2009 is back -- with a vengeance!
17 years ago on this date, while I was taking my freshman exams at UNCA, a "cut-off" low was rumored to dump 57" of snow at nearby Mount Pisgah... but is that reading reliable?
Tornado reports and warnings are down for 2013 so far, and the last 12 months, but what about severe-thunderstorm-warned areas and lightning strikes?
Jesse Ferrell
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