Next Storm Up For Saturday, Then Warming Trend
Our next storm will come in much warmer than this past storm. It could even help DMV get the roads somewhat passible in the valleys. This storm will tap into tropical moisture, but the snow to water ratios will be much lower. Put another way, we will get more moisture but either the same or less snow in the mountains.
Here is the forecast for 4:00pm on Saturday (1/13):
As this storm begins to hit our area, we could see some valley snow due to the Ice Box Effect. Currently, the snow cover and surrounding mountains are holding the cold air in the valley. However, as the storm begins to come through, the warmer air will mix and we believe it will bring rain and a very soupy mess.
As far as the Carson Range, we are looking for 1-2 feet of snow. Again, this is a fast moving storm and will be clear of our area by early Sunday morning.
Much needed relief will follow next week as we will see valley high temps well into the 50's.
El Nino will continue, however, next weekend with what is shaping up to be a pretty large 2-3 day event. Right now we are tracking this storm for around the 21st of January. By no means are the models in agreement for this event, but here is the forecast as seen by the ECMWF, which we believe is the most reliable model:
We will keep an eye on this event and report accordingly.
Here is the precip forecast for the next couple of weeks as we begin to catch up to our seasonal averages after such a slow start. We still believe that a major event, one that lasts several weeks, is still on the horizon.
Stay Tuned ...