Wednesday, February 12, 2014

temporarily awesome... (pm.12.feb.14)>

Wednesday's stats:

Low temp: 37.8F (3.2C)
High temp: 50.4F (10.2C)
Precipitation: none

A clear, beautiful, yet chilly evening is underway, after a day featuring more sunshine than we've enjoyed since the 30th of January, and the mildest high temp since Sunday, the 2nd of Feb.  There were only a few random cumulus clouds over the mountain peaks during the afternoon hours, otherwise it was just sun and blue sky overhead.

We're in the midst of a much-needed break in the action after a very active and cold February thus far.  A drier air mass underneath a large ridge of high pressure in the upper-atmosphere is providing us with these pleasantly stable conditions, and should hold on for another day.  The sunshine should dominate for at least the morning hours tomorrow (Thu), with temperatures finally approaching normal for this time of year, for the first time since the first couple of days of the month.

The next potential big event is still on the calendar for Friday and Saturday -- but there is an amazing amount of disagreement between computer model data tonight, leaving many question unanswered at this stage.  There is a strong upper-level circulation currently over southern Iran, which is expected to be located right over Himachal Pradesh by mid-day Saturday.  Very cold air will accompany this system as it moves in from the west, while a stream of tropical moisture is drawn northward up against the front ranges of the mountains.  The problem is -- the computer models are all coming up with very different solutions as to how the cold air and moisture will interact here across Himalayan north India.  It still looks like the air mass by that time will be very favorable for snow instead of rain... even at our elevation.  BUT -- we're going to have to keep watching the latest data to see if the increase in moisture will be significant enough to feed this whole thing.

Anyway, be prepared for increasing chances of rain mixed with snow by Friday morning, with periods of snow lasting through much of Saturday.  And stay tuned for adjustments and changes to the ongoing forecast...

CURRENT FORECAST information can be found on the tab above.