Monday, February 2, 2015

system eases in... (am.02.feb.15)>

It's cloudy early on this Monday morning, and there are some light rain showers in the vicinity.  There hasn't been much rain so far though -- my rain gauge is barely registering a measurement -- 0.01" (less than 1mm).  The low temp has been 41.9F (5.5C) here in the upper part of town.

Our long-anticipated storm system is still slowly coming together, with conditions expected to deteriorate further during the next 12-18 hours or so.  This broad trough of low pressure in the upper atmosphere is deepening just west of us, with a circulation center visible on satellite pics over central Afghanistan.  A lot of moisture is gathering, and being lifted upward as it encounters the mountain ranges across northern India.  We've still seen only brief and widely scattered precipitation here in the lower elevations, but already there has been more extensive snowfall occurring up above.

That target of late today (Mon) through tomorrow (Tue) night still seems to be when the vast majority of our rainfall will occur... and computer models seem to be averaging around 4-5cm (1.6 - 2.0") in their projections for precipitation totals by early Wednesday morning.  I think we can expect the risk of steadier rain to increase as today wears on.

Snow... it should stay above us, based on what the atmospheric temperature profiles are looking like.  But it's always good to stay tuned in to what that snow line is doing in the hills above town, and that's what we'll need to do by late tomorrow and tomorrow night.  Triund should pick up another couple of feet of snow if all goes according to plan.

A return to a more calm and quiet scenario is on the way for the latter half of the week.  Forecast details above.