News

Aug 2016
18

Warm, sunny and windy today. Rain develops tomorrow then turns to snow, then it snows nearly every day up to next weekend. 

A high to our northeast brings sunshine and lets warm air from up north come down to us, but a strong cold front is approaching, so its becoming very windy.

The front passes through on Friday, driven by a deep low well to our south. Rain develops during the morning (10 to 20 mm), then the winds moderate and it changes to snow mid-afternoon to early evening (west to east), and by dawn there should be 10 to 20 cm of snow. 

The deep low lingers, pushing cold air and troughs of low pressure over us, across the weekend and on Monday. Expect 5 to 10 cm of snow each day, possibly 15 cm on Saturday and Sunday - adding up to 25 to 50 (maybe 60) cm of snow from Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon. Then a small ridge of high pressure makes it mostly dry (chance of flurries) on Tuesday. 

The next system is a big one. Our stationary low will force upper level energy northwards, moving over the interior of the continent early next week. This energy will interact with tropical moisture and let a low form. And there is great news: there is no time for our atmosphere to warm up too much before the precipitation gets here. 

Snow develops (up high) on Wednesday and continues (throughout alpine elevations) on Thursday and Friday, wrapping around the low. This should bring heavy snowfalls - first from the northwest then up from the south. 

Then we might see yet another big snow system...

* Commentary above  Courtesy of Jane Bunn #janesweather  www.janebunn.net