MOUNTAIN WEATHER FORECAST

Time and Day:  0700 Friday

The Snapshot:  Light snow today, dry and cold tomorrow, new snow for Christmas. 

Note: The GFS models are off line this morning so a mid day update may be posted if there is a significant change.

The Science

Current Observations: It is lightly snowing with a temperature of  26^0f  in the base area and 23f on the upper mountain.  The RH is 93% and the barometer has bumped up a notch to 1016mb’s.  The winds are light and out of the west.  Satellite imagery has light precipitation starting to pop up around the state.          

The Forecast:  The light snow is a product of a weak low-pressure trough sinking in from the north.  Most of the activity is centered over Oregon which equates to just a few light snow showers with some clear periods for the North Central Cascades.  Tomorrow will be mostly dry with some clearing before next low-pressure system moves in on Sunday.  

Early calculations have Sunday’s storm producing 4-8” of snow.  Confidence in that detail is still a bit shaky.    

The Long Range:  The precipitation moves out on Christmas day with the first half of next week trending dry    

24hr Precipitation ending at 4 a.m: Today 24hr water: .10 snow: 1-2 Tomorrow’s 24hr water: 0 snow: 0 Trend and Timing: Light snow showers this morning.  Tonight will be dry with snow arriving on Sunday.

24hr temperature ending at 4 a.m:  Low: 12    High: 26 Freezing level: 2500’ -500’ Trend and Timing:    Temperatures will fall tonight into the low teens and recover into the low 20’s tomorrow.

24hr Winds (mph) ending at 4 a.m: Base:  0-5 WSW shifting E Ridge Top: 0-10 SW shifting E Trend and Timing: Winds are expected to shift easterly tonight with east flow setting up for the next few days.

jM