Saturday, February 1, 2014

feb bringing changes... (am.01.feb.14)>

It is partly cloudy at sunrise on this first morning of February, and the humidity is 37%.  Temperatures have been nearly stationary overnight -- I'm recording a low of 47.8F (8.8C), and it's been between that and 49.3F (9.6C) ever since last evening around 9pm.  There has been no precipitation since last report, and not even a trace for the last nine days.

After our recent long stretch of quiet and uneventful weather, we are on the brink of some changes as the new month arrives.  Computer models all week have been right on target in projecting the development of a rather strong upper-level disturbance/circulation in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea today, which is expected to swing east-southeastward into northern Pakistan by late Monday.  Already there is a lot of cloudiness developing out ahead of that system -- some of which we are seeing this morning.  By late tonight or tomorrow (Sun), a moderate amount of moisture will be drawn northward across much of northwest India, and will await the arrival of the upper-level energy and accompanying much colder air aloft tomorrow night into Monday.

The last couple of runs of the data suggest that the more substantial precipitation is going to occur in the higher elevations to our north, but there are still projections of around 2cm (0.8") right over the top of us -- still most likely between very late Sunday night and very early Tuesday morning.  It's going to be tough for this unseasonably mild air to be displaced, so at the moment I am skeptical about snowfall much below about 2100m (6900ft).

After this initial system moves out, we're going to remain in a very unstable and changeable pattern throughout next week and even beyond -- with several more chances to get some significant rain and/or snow in our area.  Temperatures will be settling back below normal for the season as well.

Check all the CURRENT FORECAST details on the tab at the top of the page.