Fire and Ice

摘要

Hot and cold airmasses are brought into frequent juxtaposition in the middle latitudes. This often makes for interesting weather, since large low pressure systems that move across the United States in the winter and spring often contain severe thunderstorms on their warm, southern side and blizzard conditions on their frigid, northern periphery. In a single stroke, heavy snows and tornadoes canvas the landscape. But in October 2005 there was an unusual weather scenario that simultaneously brought nearly a foot of snow to one part of the eastern United States, while the winds and downpours of Hurricane Wilma raged in another part. What is interesting is that the low latitude moisture and high latitude cold mingled to set up a heavy early season snow in the West Virginia mountains.