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Pat Shingleton: "400 Years for 40 Inches?"

8 years 3 months 23 hours ago Friday, January 29 2016 Jan 29, 2016 January 29, 2016 4:15 AM January 29, 2016 in Pat Shingleton Column
By: Pat Shingleton

Meteorologist Robert Gauthreaux handles our weekend weathercasts in addition to other assignments within our weather department. He received some data from the Southern Regional Climate Center and generated an on-air graphic from their message. The S.R.C.C.  targeted Glengary, West Virginia and their recent accumulation of snow. The community recorded 40 inches of snow from the single storm this past weekend  that buried many sections of their state and other cities into New England. Meteorologists from the Center decided to advance a comparison on how many "years" it would take for designated communities to accumulate that same amount of snow. The methodology doesn't reflect the odds of a one time storm event in a particular city but the time needed to totally achieve the matching accumulation. Some of the cities that regularly receive a winter-time accumulation included Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville. That same one day storm amount of 40 inches reflects that it would take Memphis ten years to do the same. It would be six years for Nashville and six years for Knoxville. Amarillo and Oklahoma City would capture their yearly amounts in two and five years with El Paso getting theirs in six. Dallas would make it in 25 years, Shreveport in 40 years and Jackson, Mississippi would get their 40 inches in 50 years with San Antonio not far behind at 57. Corpus Christi, Texas, would witness their 40 inch amount in 200 years. How about Houston, Texas and Baton Rouge? The projections reflect a 40 inch accumulation for both cities in 400 years!  My apologies, I don't believe I will be able to cover this accumulation, at lease here on Earth, for the next 370 years...

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