Weather by the Numbers, 12/6/10

* 39% is how much of the Lower 48 states had a blanket of snow this morning. That is off to a very good start for so early in the season. One month ago today the coverage was only 1%

* 21 was the low in Russellville this morning, one of the coldest places in the state. However, I do not have a complete list.

* 2 above zero was the low on Mt. LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains this morning Their high Sunday was only 10.

* 13 inches is how much snow was on the ground this morning on Mt. LeConte. There was eight inches on Newfound Gap and one inch at the Park Headquarters in Gatlinburg.

* 11 inches is the snow depth on Mount Mitchell, N.C., this morning with a low temperature of 2 above zero.

* 12 inches of snow at Buffalo so far this season. There has been lots of “lake effect” snow lately.

* 23 inches of snow in Salt Lake City so far this season, 11 inches more than average

* 27 inches of snow in Spokane so far, an excess of 17 inches. Was it last winter, or winter before last that Spokane had such a tremendous batch of snow that many roofs caved in. My brother-in-law lives there so I will ask him.

* 35 inches of snow so far this season at Barrow, on the north coast of Alaska. That is about 18 inches more than average.

* 0 is how much sunlight Barrow gets now. They are in their long stretch with no sunlight. Of course in summer, the sun never sets over Barrow.

* Water covers 71% of the surface of the globe and only 29% is land.

* 2 times as large as the Gulf of Mexico (well almost) is the Caribbean Sea (a 28 to 15 ratio) Both bodies of water are vital players in the USA tropical storm and hurricane history.

(Hope this is not too long…

Category: Hodgepodge