Friday, January 6, 2017

the wet and the cold... (pm.06.jan.17)>

Friday's stats:

Low temp: 38.3F (3.5C) -- occurred at 5:45pm (coldest of season thus far)
High temp: 50.7F (10.4C) -- occurred just after midnight
Rainfall: 1.49" (3.8cm) -- total thru midnight

**Update @ 8:15pm...  

The temp at my location in the upper part of town just below the mountaineering center is hovering right around 40ºF/4.5ºC.  The rain showers have intensified again, and winds are gusty.  The snow line remains above McLeod Ganj, but should be lowering overnight.

A strong upper-level low pressure system containing the coldest air of this winter season is located mid-way between Kabul and Srinagar late this evening.  The counter-clockwise circulation is drawing moisture northward, then lifting it upward into the much colder air aloft, and that has caused widespread precipitation development all across the western Himalayas today.  This system is a very slow-mover, and that will keep us in prime position for more wet weather all the way into Sunday.  As colder and colder air becomes entrenched, we're going to have to be braced for a changeover from rain to snow in our general elevation range during the coming 24 to 36 hours.

Heavy snow has already fallen up towards Triund, and it is going to be an interesting night to see how much further downhill that heavy snow might occur.  It could go either way, so as usual, we get to wait and see...