Weather It Is (Winter Storm Watch)

Having just gotten word that the United States has led a successful effort to be back a Palestinian effort to freeze us in an eternal spring (see previous post), we can now get back to the weather.  Thank you to the United States: home of the free and the brave. 

Now, the weather:

One wonders whether a trend is meaningful. 

Since yesterday's post, the forecast has firmed up a bit, with a trend towards colder and wetter weather, with temperatures below 0 C at 850 mb, below -10 C at 700 mb, and below -25 C at 500 mb.   This combination of temperatures can support good snow development aloft and is cold enough to minimize melting on the way down (at least if one lives above 700 m or so).

Precipitation should develop late Wednesday in the north and then spread southward during the night as cold air and moisture builds in from the Northwest.  Initially, the atmospheric column should support snow at only at the highest elevations, but some time Friday night or Saturday morning snow levels should descend and snow should cover the center of the country as well (and of course the northern mountains of the Galilee). 

This has the potential to be our first major snow in several years, with heavy rain falling elsewhere in strong winds. 

Stay in touch, and hope that this trend towards colder and wetter weather holds up.

Barry Lynn