Light snow today and late Friday as mountain slopes warm and valleys stay cold

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Very light snow is currently falling on the hill as a weak wave in northwest flow grazes our area today. Temperatures on the hill are running about 10F warmer than yesterday, and they will warm further, especially Wednesday and Thursday. Mountain valleys, however, will remain cold as temperature inversions maintained by the clearing skies expected tomorrow and Thursday allow for strong nighttime cooling of the snow surface.

Our next chance for snow occurs late Friday as another weak Pacific wave from the northwest is forecast to cross our area. Snowfall is expected to be light at this time, but the bigger effect may be that valley inversion are moderated as the storm passes.

Seasonal weather is expected to continue into the following week before another arctic surge may impact us near the end of the work week. This outbreak may be similar to the current one with sharply colder temperatures and moderate to heavy snows, though a 10 day forecast is likely to change as the event nears.