Wednesday, February 13, 2013

next on the agenda... (pm.13.feb.13)>

Wednesday's stats:

Early morning low temp: 46.2F (7.9C)
Afternoon high temp: 58.5F (14.7C)
Rainfall: none

Other than a few high clouds to our south and west, we have mostly clear skies at sunset on this Wednesday evening.  Temps today crept up a bit further, and my high in the upper part of town was the new 'warmest' I've recorded in 2013.

Although the sunshine has been the major player the last couple of days, we've still had occasional patches of high clouds, and some PM cumulus development over the mountains -- thanks to a few weak ripples of energy moving through aloft.  But our three official Losar holidays have definitely turned out very nice, considering how early it has fallen on the calendar this year.

I'm sure most people have been lulled into complacency by the relatively pleasant weather of late, but it looks like we are in for a rude awakening starting on Friday.  A rather strong disturbance for this time of year will take an unusually southerly track across the northern third of India over the weekend, putting us in line for a turn to much colder temperatures, along with a good chance of cold rain and snow.  The latest computer models are calling for anywhere from 3 to 6cm (1.2-2.4") of precipitation between Friday and Sunday, with the majority of it expected between Friday and Saturday night.  This is quite a bit less than we received from our most recent storm early last week, but the colder air could make the difference.

Upper-air data is showing a much colder scenario above the 1500m (4900ft) level -- as early as mid-day Friday -- which makes me really nervous about how low the snow line is going to go with this system.  No two storms are alike, and there are always wild cards to be played because of the mountain micro-climate factors, so check in here for regular updates as the weekend approaches!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
increasing clouds.
low: 9C (48F)

THURSDAY:
partly cloudy to mostly cloudy at times.  last mild day for awhile.
high: 14C (58F)

THURSDAY NIGHT:
partly to mostly cloudy.  chance of a light rain shower late.
low: 8C (46F)

FRIDAY:
mostly cloudy and much cooler.  good chance of some rain showers, possibly mixing with or changing to snow.
high: 10C (50) -- but falling PM

SATURDAY:
mostly cloudy and cold with periods of snow and/or rain likely.
low: 1C (34F)
high: 7C (44F)

SUNDAY:
a couple of lingering showers (of snow or rain), otherwise becoming partly cloudy.  unseasonably cold.
morning low: 1C (34F)
daytime high: 7C (45F)

MONDAY:
sunshine and occasional clouds.  still cold for the season.
morning low: 4C (39F)
daytime high: 10C (50F)