We are seeing a massive blocking ridge of high pressure setting up just off the West Coast:
This ridge of high pressure is going to settle in, push all storms well north of Tahoe and stay there through at least the first week in December.
Both the GFS and EC weather models are in agreement, which means the likelihood of this happening is high.
Here is a wider look as the ridge in the jet stream sets up:
This is a classic La Nina pattern.
Having said that, the models have been really struggling with anything more than a few days out this year, so hope is not completely lost.
Currently the long range models are showing a sign of the ridge breaking down around the 10th of December.
All we can do between now and then is hope that Ma Nature flexes her ample muscles and returns us to the snow.
Similar to the weather shutting down, rumor has it that Nevada may be shutting down as well. We certainly hope not as checking the hospital data in both Washoe and Clark counties we are seeing the following:
The bad news: 88% of the hospital beds in Clark County are currently occupied. That number is 71% in Washoe county. However, that is a very misleading stat. If we are going to shut down because of COVID, only 20% of the actual occupancy in Washoe County are confirmed or suspected COVID cases and that number is 18% in Clark County.
So if the case is we are going to shut down again because our hospitals are being overrun with COVID cases, that is very weak. In fact, stopping what the politicians are calling "non-essential" medical treatments, has caused the spike in hospitalizations, not COVID.
A powerful storm tracking down the west coast can only be stopped by it's maker, Ma Nature. The COVID virus is no different, it is going to spread until it has nowhere else to spread. That means herd immunity, as always, is the only solution here. The Vaccines should greatly accelerate herd immunity.
One most ponder the question, how many of those hospitalizations are really necessary? Our media has spread so much false news about this virus, that a positive test sends many in the no risk group to the hospital in a state of panic.
It is this site's contention that shutting down, depriving our citizens of more freedoms, destroying even more businesses would be a terrible mistake. That goes for the ski areas too!
