Snowblind? Fresh snow cover’s bright “albedo”
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Chances are you fumbled for the Ray Bans today. Fresh snow cover. Increasingly intense February sun. It's seriously bright out there these days.
Albedo
So what makes that layer of fresh Arctic fluff so eye-searing? Say hello to our old friend "albedo." Albedo is a measure of the amount of light reflected by various surfaces.
A fresh snow cover reflects 85 to 90 percent of the sun's rays back at your eyes. Compare that with about 30 percent on your lawn in summer and about 10 percent on blacktop.
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Southern snow again Thursday
Our next snow system sails along this week's southern storm track Thursday evening.
The southwest Twin Cities may get dusted one more time. A swath of 1 to 3 inches swipes southern Minnesota Thursday night. The I-90 corridor may pile up another 4 inches, with heavier totals as you head south into Iowa.
Temperatures moderate next week
The weather pattern still looks milder next week. Thermometers push into the upper 20s by Monday and Tuesday.
The European model still pushes highs into the 30s later next week.
Stay tuned.