we've been waiting for this!... (pm.06.mar.11)>

we have mostly sunny skies late this afternoon... after a high temp of 58.6F (14.8C) here at the top of mcleod ganj.  that's the warmest temperature i've recorded in about a month!  although we had clouds around until the mid-morning, sunshine finally took over.

it's been a long wait, but it's great to be finally getting some decent spring-ish weather.  we should be in pretty good shape this coming week, but as i mentioned before, there are still going to be a few weak little disturbances drifting through which could bring us a few periods of clouds, and possibly some random, isolated showers.  all in all though, we're in for generally pleasant conditions, with temperatures remaining near where they were today, or perhaps a degree or two warmer.

SUNDAY NIGHT: mostly clear skies.
low: 9C (48F)

MONDAY: partly to mostly sunny and pleasant.  slight chance of a PM shower.
high: 16C (60F)

TUESDAY: partly cloudy... an isolated PM shower?
high: 16C (60F)

WEDNESDAY: partly cloudy and mild, with still that slight risk of an afternoon shower.
high: 14C (58F)

THURSDAY: sunny to partly cloudy.
high: 14C (58F)

FRIDAY: mostly sunny skies.
high: 15C (59F)

slowly warming... (am.06.mar.11)>

we have mostly cloudy skies at sunrise, with a mild morning temp of 47.5F (8.6C).  the high yesterday for the start of tibetan losar was exactly 55F (12.8C), thanks to the sunshine which was most prevalent in the morning hours.  there has been no rainfall in the past 24 hours.

the atmosphere is still undergoing a pattern shift... temperatures are warming at the surface, in the mid-levels, and aloft.  but the flow is still quite strong up around 15,000ft (4600m), and it remains embedded with weak disturbances.  that's why we aren't able to come up with totally sunny skies.  these weak disturbances will continue to stir up some periods of cloudiness, but rain chances will be relatively small, compared to what we went through last week.  still... be aware that a few random sprinkles or brief light showers could pop up, mainly during the afternoon hours over the mountains.

temperatures are not really warm for this time of year, but at least we are clawing our way back into a range that is closer to normal!

SUNDAY: a mix of sunshine and a few clouds.  warming trend continues...
high: 14C (58F)

SUNDAY NIGHT: partly cloudy.
low: 9C (49F)

MONDAY: partly sunny and quite pleasant.  slight chance of a brief shower.
high: 16C (60F)

TUESDAY: partly sunny skies... chance of a shower or two, mainly in the PM.
high: 16C (60F)

WEDNESDAY: partly to mostly cloudy.  some scattered light showers possible.
high: 14C (58F)

THURSDAY: sunny to partly cloudy.
high: 15C (59F)

sun returns, but shower risk... (am.05.mar.11)>

tashi delek phuntsum tsok, ama bhagdo khukham sang!!!  HAPPY LOSAR to all...

we have a beautiful clear sky early this morning, with a temp of 44F (6.7C).  clouds and fog last evening cleared out quite quickly... so we've had no additional rainfall since the last report.  total precipitation from monday night through friday afternoon stands at 2.50" (6.4cm).

the tail of the upper-level system that has been dominating our weather all week is now moving into kashmir.  there is still some energy aloft that is stirring up a few more clouds to our west this morning... and i think it is possible that we could still see a couple of showers pop up yet today (so be prepared, just in case).  but really, the bigger headline is more sun and warmer temps!!  in fact, temps during the next several days will be on the order of 10-12F (5-6C) warmer than they've been for most of the past couple of weeks.

pockets of colder air in the upper atmosphere will create some instability over the mountains during the coming days... so expect a build-up of clouds and maybe an isolated shower or two mainly during the afternoon hours.  but i think we are definitely going to notice a vast improvement...

SATURDAY (first day of LOSAR): sunny early, then becoming partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of a shower or thundershower.  much more mild!
high: 13C (56F)

SATURDAY NIGHT: some evening clouds... then clearing.
low: 8C (47F)

SUNDAY: a mix of sun and clouds... pleasant temps.  an isolated PM shower possible, mainly over the mountains.
high: 15C (59F)

MONDAY: partly to mostly sunny skies.  warmest day in more than a month!
high: 16C (60F)

TUESDAY: partly sunny... still nice.
high: 16C (60F)

WEDNESDAY: partly to mostly cloudy with a little better chance of some showers.
high: 14C (58F)

positive changes... (pm.04.mar.11)

at dusk this evening we have mostly cloudy skies with quite a bit of fog around.  the humidity is 91% at the moment.  our high temp today was 48.4F (9.1C), and i recorded an additional 0.51" (1.3cm) of precipitation since the last report this morning.  that brings us up to 2.50" (6.4cm) since all this stuff began on monday night.

what a day... we've had a few peeks of sunshine... but also one heck of a fierce hailstorm between 1:00 and 1:30pm.  the ground was completely covered with pea to marble-sized hail in the main square of mcleod ganj... and we had at least two cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in the neighborhood.  right now, the atmosphere is realigning itself, so we will be in a bit of a state of transition for the next day or so.  i think the tail-end of this week's weather system will linger into tomorrow, the first day of TIBETAN LOSAR, giving us a fairly good chance of more scattered rain showers.  at the same time, temperatures are warming up, both at the surface and aloft, and that should allow us to see a bit more sun.

although i'm not expecting a string of totally sunny days, we will be into more of a fair weather pattern as we move into the new week.  also, temperatures are going to finally approach the normal range for the first part of march.  random afternoon showers are still not out of the question, but there should be general agreement that we are moving in the right direction...

FRIDAY NIGHT: occasional clouds and fog.  still a good chance of a few showers and possible thunder.
low: 7C (45F)

SATURDAY (first day of LOSAR): partly to mostly cloudy skies.  still the risk of some scattered showers in the area (mainly during the morning).  milder!
high: 13C (55F)

SUNDAY: warming trend, with a mix of clouds and sunshine... only a slight chance of a brief PM shower.
high: 15C (59F)

MONDAY: partly sunny and pleasantly mild.
high: 16C (60F)

TUESDAY: a mix of clouds and sun.  still pleasant.
high: 16C (60F)

WEDNESDAY: partly to mostly cloudy... risk of a shower or two.
high: 14C (58F)