Brandon8181 wrote:jasons2k wrote:An old rule I used in the 80's and 90's growing-up: if it got to -40F in Montana, then we were in for a true historical blue norther. It hit -40F this morning.
Could you elaborate a bit? Blue norther?
Yup, it’s a term that Harold Taft and other Mets in Texas and Oklahoma used a lot back in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Don’t hear the term as often now, maybe because they seem less frequent in recent years. You’ll know it when you see it and experience it, I’ll tell you that for sure. I remember one when I was growing up where it was near 80 in Denison, the norther roared in, and we had an inch or two of snow by morning.
And I was duck hunting on a nice December morning a couple of years ago near Wichita Falls when one came rolling in. You could see the dark cloud bank approach from the north, the sky went from sunny to low clouds in minutes, the light and variable wind shifted hard to the north, and the temperature fell from the upper 40s to the low 30s in a half hour.
FYI, here’s a definition from Wikipedia:
“A Blue Norther, also known as a Texas Norther, is a fast moving cold front marked by a rapid drop in temperature, strong winds, and dark blue or "black" skies. The cold front originates from the north, hence the "norther", and can send temperatures plummeting by 20 or 30 degrees in merely minutes.
The Midwestern United States lacks natural geographic barriers to protect itself from the frigid winter air masses that originate in Canada and the arctic. Multiple times per year conditions will become favorable to push severe cold fronts as far south as Texas, bringing sleet and snow and causing the windchill to plunge into the teens. Depending on the time of year, high temperatures that immediately precede a Texas Norther can reach 85 °F or even 90 °F under bright sunlight in nearly-calm conditions before the cold front approaches. However, most Blue Northers don't advance as far south as Mexico, and even the most severe examples typically reach their apex midway through Texas. For example, cities in North Texas, like Dallas, experience drastically more Blue Northers than cities along the Gulf of Mexico, like Houston. As a city is struck by a Blue Norther, its temperatures can be 30 to 50 degrees colder than neighboring cities that are only a few miles away that have not yet been struck. Blue Northers can be dangerous due to their volatile temperature swings which catch some people unprepared.
Blue Northers occur multiple times per year. They are usually recorded between the months of November and March, although they have been recorded less frequently in October and April as well. The Blue Norther phenomenon is especially common in November, when the last vestiges of autumn are still clinging to life. One of the most famous Blue Northers was the Great Blue Norther of November 11, 1911, which spawned multiple tornadoes and dropped temperatures 40 degrees in only 15 minutes and 67 degrees in 10 hours, a world record.”
The posts in this forum are NOT official forecast and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or 
In reference to Joe Bastardi’s last tweet above, I believe States of Emergency have already been issued in Oklahoma and Louisiana.
