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Showing posts from June, 2011

Unseasonably Large Cold Front Knocking at the Door

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Normally this blog is in hibernation this time of year, but this is no normal year. There is a very large cold front pushing down the Oregon coast that is coming our way. With this front will come wind, rain, snow in the upper elevations (> 9,500) and much cooler weather. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday temperatures will probably not get out of the 70's in the leeward valleys of the Sierra. Likewise, in California, high temps will by 20-30 degrees below average. Here is a look: This satellite picture is unheard of this time of year. Enjoy the cool weather while it lasts as summer is coming in full force as the jet will shift far to the north allowing much warmer air to come into the Northern Sierra. Temperatures could reach 100 by the beginning of next week in areas like Reno and Carson City. Mother Nature willing, I can now go back to hibernation. Stay tuned ...

Human Induced Global Warming Predictions Falling Like Dominoes

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Quick Weather Update It is going to be hot this week. It is going to be really hot next week with high's in the upper 90's or above. So if you are waiting for the warm weather, your wait is almost over.   Colorado River Flows Some amazing numbers are coming out concerning the water levels of Lake Mead and Lake Powell in Nevada/Arizona. Before we go into those numbers read this quote from the New York Times. The link to the ridiculous article is published at the end of this post: " Lake Mead has a 50 percent chance of becoming unusable by 2021, the scientists say, if the demand for water remains unchanged and if human-induced climate change follows climate scientists’ moderate forecasts, resulting in a reduction in average river flows. " The headline of the article is: "Lake Mead Could Be Within a Few Years of Going Dry, Study Finds" This article was published in 2008. What is amazing and something you find all the time in the liberal media, is

Record Rains and Snows

Wow. The foothills of Reno picked up nearly 3 inches of rain over the weekend. The upper elevations of the Sierra picked up 5+ feet of snow. The Carson Range, west of Reno, probably picked up in the 4 foot range. Truly an amazing storm for June. As of 9:30am, we still have heavy to moderate snow in the upper elevations (8,000+) of the Carson Range. That will be winding down late this morning. There could be some wrap around moisture, but for the most part, this should mark the end of winter. Prior to this storm, we were running very high from a snowpack point of view. In fact the Northern Sierra (North of Lake Tahoe) was at 559% of average. That is measured as a snow to water content. The Central Sierra (Lake Tahoe South to Yosemite, was at 332% of average. That was before this storm. Why do you never hear that? When we were running below average, it was a major story. Hmmm ... Take a look for yourself: California Snowpack This may be the last time you hear from me for a while.

This Aint Over Yet

Sunday at noon has brought a brief reprieve from the last 24 hours of rain. However, the low pressure system is about to make it's move. It appears that the heaviest precip will now come just north of Lake Tahoe. Reno could see an additional inch of rain, tonight and tomorrow morning. The rest of the forecast remains the same. Summer coming with mid-70's by Thursday, followed by upper 80's and low 90's the following week. I am going to summit Slide Mountain in about a half hour and will report on snow levels. Tomorrow could be an epic day if snow levels stay below 8,000, which is expected. Slide Mountain is right in the path of the heaviest precip.

Quick Update

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Not much has changed as the large storm is stationary off the Northern/Central California coast. The NWS is increasing it's precip totals in areas further south, which includes the Tahoe Basin. Snow levels should be around 8,000 feet until Sunday night when the real cold air comes in on the back side of the low. They will then drop down to 6,000 feet. The NWS will issue a Winter Weather Advisory for the Sierra Starting very early Monday morning. I am still sticking with my forecast of a major change to a summer pattern coming on the 9th of June. Then by the 16th or 17th, the leeward valley's will be in the upper 80's and low 90's, which is above the average temperature. It will, however, be a slow transition. This final storm of the winter will be very beneficial for the entire area and push back the fire season some 2-4 weeks, as many areas will receive 2-4 inches of rain. Here is a quick look at the regional radar at 1:00 pst today:   This moisture should push no

Huge, Cold, Wet Storm Knocking on the Door

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 An unseasonably large storm is gaining strength and knocking on our door. This would be a pretty impressive January storm. It is unheard of for June. It does appear to be the last major storm until next fall. This storm will stick around for the next 4-5 days and drop copious amounts of precip in the region, especially Northern California. Here is a look at the storm as it approaches, this afternoon:    This storm is going to stay stationary for a couple of days and send waves of moisture into California and the Lake Tahoe Basin. Around Sunday evening, it will make it's move and come ashore and track right over Lake Tahoe. Here is a look at early Monday morning (June 6):     Finally, here is a look at the projected precipitation totals. Some parts of California are going to pick up 4+ inches of liquid precipitation. This map has Tahoe in the 1-2 inch range, but I think that is low, especially over the crest of the Sierra, which could be looking at 2-4 feet of snow.     Su

When Will Winter End?

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As our temperatures hover around 20 degrees below average and our mountains continue to get pounded with snow, the overwhelming majority of people (including my 9 year old daughter) are asking, "When will winter end?" If you read the links of my last post, you saw that the stars aligned for a very turbulent winter this past year. That weather continues and will continue for about another 7-10 days, at least. About the middle of next week, our temperatures should rebound and get close to average for this time of year. What is happening, is a large area of low pressure to our north continues to cut off pieces of energy and send them our way. The blocking high pressure channels these "cutoff lows" down the coast where they come ashore over Northern California. They bring with them unseasonably cold air. We have another system coming late this weekend with more mountain snow on Sunday night. On it's heels we have another weaker system. The NWS has described this