MOUNTAIN WEATHER FORECAST

0630 Monday:

The Snapshot:  Dry with sun breaks today, mixed rain and snow tomorrow, snow on Wednesday, dry Thursday with more snow for the weekend.

The Science:  A high-pressure ridge building over the NW coastline will dry the mountains out today.  The sun may even make an appearance.   A low-pressure cell forming in the Gulf of Alaska will flatten the ridge tonight and allow another frontal system to move through the region.  A warm front is expected to bring, you guessed it, rain below 4500’ and mixed rain and snow on the upper mountain.  Rain changes to snow late Tuesday night as a cold air mass descends from the north. This is a strong cold front so confidence is high that freezing levels will fall well below 4000’ by early Wednesday morning.   There is a good chance for measurable snow (4-6”) on Wednesday.

4-7day Long Range:   Another weak high-pressure ridge passes over Christmas day with more snow expected over the weekend.  The New Year will likely start out dry and clear.

Precipitation ending at 4am: Today’s 24hr Water =.10   Snow = trace Tomorrow’s 24hr Water=.5-.75   Snow = 2-4  Trend and Timing: Today will be mostly dry with rain/snow developing early tomorrow morning.  Rain tomorrow changing to snow by early Wednesday morning.

24hr temperature ending at 4am tomorrow:  Low: 24   High: 36 Freezing level: 4000’    5500’ Trends and Timing: Temperatures will briefly dip into the mid 20’s tonight.  Freezing levels will rise to near 5500’ tomorrow and then fall to 3000’ on Wednesday.

24hr Winds (mph) ending at 4am tomorrow: Base: 0-5 ENE Ridge Top: 5-10 E   Trend and Timing: Westerly flow shifts N then E through the next 24hrs.   SW flow will follow the passing of the front tomorrow.

JM