Captain's Log 6 Jan 2020 Monday

Happy first Monday in 2020! :)

The snow cover across the U.S. is pretty sparse this morning with only 29% of the country covered in the white stuff. This is well below the average of 43% and least in 8 years, 2nd least in 20 years. CLICK ON IMAGES FOR A LARGER VIEW.



Snowfall for the season and Winter is starting to show a slowing trend after a snowy Fall. While seasonal snowfall since September is still above average nationally, it's 29% below average since meteorological Winter started 1 December. That's still up 34% over last year's really slow start.



Q4 (Nov - Jan) for retail sales overall is generally favorable with strong cold snaps in November and the week before Christmas. Starting in January a warmer/drier pattern is better for overall retail sales and store traffic which looks generally favorable well into Spring 2020. A few short-live major cold snaps on the horizon but the overall theme is more warmer YOY days than colder for the U.S. as a whole.



The next couple weeks show two short-lived cold snaps this week and a bigger one late next week as we go into middle January. The slightly colder YOY trends for the 2-week period show a minor bounce in seasonal sales with the Plains and Upper Midwest the bigger winner for much stronger Winter seasonal sales.



This week (6-12 January) is a tad misleading in the East as there will be a 3-day major cold snap in the middle of the week before another big warm surge moves in over the weekend. The week overall trends 1.3F colder than last year but still 12th warmest of the past 35 years, wettest in 22 years and snowiest in 3 for the U.S. as a whole.



The next bigger snow storm is possible late week into the weekend for the Upper Midwest and especially the Great Lakes by Saturday.



Next week (13-19 January) a more significant cold shot will likely invade much of the U.S. well into the South and eventually the East late in the week. The U.S. overall looks to trend 3.8F colder than last year, near average and 9th coldest of the past 35 years. Rainfall remains heavy in front of this Arctic cold front with snowfall also up 35% and most in 8 years nationally.



If you're looking for an escape from Winter, check out Atlantis in the Bahamas! If you love water this is the spot for you. We enjoyed Christmas on what is indeed Paradise Island. The little Angelina had a great time on her first real vacation and airplane ride...enjoy the end of today's video for our adventure.



Have a great start to 2020 and don't forget to follow us on social media. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Linkedin

- Kirk out.