AcworthWx Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Here's a picture I took with my phone when I got into Denver on 2/22. I thought it was cool looking with the swirling of the edge of the cloud bank. Can someone explain the ingredients and cause of this phenomena? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geos Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Here's a picture I took with my phone when I got into Denver on 2/22. I thought it was cool looking with the swirling of the edge of the cloud bank. Can someone explain the ingredients and cause of this phenomena? Cool photo. Possibly caused from turbulence at that altitude? No real storm out that way to cause the clouds to turn, so I'm thinking high level winds created this effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Most likely Kelvin-Helmholtz waves that aren't fully defined. There was a lot of vertical wind shear that day.. so the air was forming rotating rolls with the air above flowing faster than the air below. Clouds made it nicely visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 On Wednesday and Thursday we will have a cold front, then a classic four-corners low that stalls in New Mexico, with possibly light snows for Denver and Fort Collins, but heavy snow accumulation for Jefferson County to central and southwest Colorado. The setup looks good for snow in Denver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayjawintastawm Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Guess not- too far south. I don't like this setup- too much like the dry and warm crap we had in June-uary. After some glimmers of moisture, it's looking like things will melt fast and dry out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 December - February analysis for Colorado. Looks like there were quite a few dry spots. I was thinking that eastern Colorado would have ended up more uniformly below normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 lenticular clouds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 lenticular clouds Nice pic. This thread has been sort of dead for a bit, so I'll throw out a question for the longer time locals. Given the forecast for the ski resorts over the next 1.5 weeks, how much terrain will be skiable March 24-25? My 14 year old brother is coming out here from Tennessee for his first time skiing in Colorado for his Spring Break and is super-excited about going to Vail. I'm trying to let him down easy that we may be skiing mush... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayjawintastawm Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Nice pic. This thread has been sort of dead for a bit, so I'll throw out a question for the longer time locals. Given the forecast for the ski resorts over the next 1.5 weeks, how much terrain will be skiable March 24-25? My 14 year old brother is coming out here from Tennessee for his first time skiing in Colorado for his Spring Break and is super-excited about going to Vail. I'm trying to let him down easy that we may be skiing mush... Should be pretty good still, possibly a bit mushy near the bases and getting thinner in the steeper terrain, but all in all not bad. Should see a couple inches of fresh late Sun through Monday of this week. BTW it's the driest I've seen since moving here, I think... KDEN is now 73/-4 (RH 4%). I desiccate just typing this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Should be pretty good still, possibly a bit mushy near the bases and getting thinner in the steeper terrain, but all in all not bad. Should see a couple inches of fresh late Sun through Monday of this week. BTW it's the driest I've seen since moving here, I think... KDEN is now 73/-4 (RH 4%). I desiccate just typing this! I just went snowshoeing. There was 3-5 ft. of snow up high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Nice. I went skiing yesterday at Copper and it was a sheet of ice in the morning and mush in the afternoon. The north-facing slopes still had plenty of snow, but the back side was pretty darn bare and the strips of snow that were left were going fast. Hopefully it'll snow more than expected the next few days and not be quite as warm next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 There's a blizzard warning in Montana, and a winter storm warning at the border of Arizona and Mexico. URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 238 AM MST MON MAR 19 2012 TUCSON METRO AREA- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NOGALES... SIERRA VISTA... 238 AM MST MON MAR 19 2012 ...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MST THIS EVENING... * TIMING...PERIODS OF SHOWERS DEVELOPING AGAIN TODAY WITH UNSEASONABLY LOW SNOW LEVELS. * SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 8 INCHES ABOVE 7000 FEET...3 TO 8 INCHES BETWEEN 5000 AND 7000 FEET... AND 1 TO 4 INCHES BETWEEN 3000 AND 5000 FEET. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayjawintastawm Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 There's a blizzard warning in Montana, and a winter storm warning at the border of Arizona and Mexico. Yeah, and meanwhile our dry as a bone, warm as September la-di-dah spring continues uninterrupted. Got all my Spring yard cleanup done the past two days, and even the fence is half painted, which we were hoping to do by Memorial Day! Bring on one more good blizzard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TugHillMatt Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Yeah, and meanwhile our dry as a bone, warm as September la-di-dah spring continues uninterrupted. Got all my Spring yard cleanup done the past two days, and even the fence is half painted, which we were hoping to do by Memorial Day! Bring on one more good blizzard. That's what it's been like here in the midwest since October! Recently, the temps have been around 80 for a high and 60 for a low for days on end...that's how it should be here in JULY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayjawintastawm Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 That's what it's been like here in the midwest since October! Recently, the temps have been around 80 for a high and 60 for a low for days on end...that's how it should be here in JULY! Holy mackerel... when I think of Muskegon, MI in March I think of things like ice fishing that won't freeze you to death anymore, stuff like that. Blackflies yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayjawintastawm Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 ...and don't look now, but if current forecasts and trends are right, DEN is easily looking at a top 10 warmest March, and possibly #1 driest AND #1 least snowy. Records date from 1872. Driest and least snowy in 140 years. That's saying something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 ...and don't look now, but if current forecasts and trends are right, DEN is easily looking at a top 10 warmest March, and possibly #1 driest AND #1 least snowy. Records date from 1872. Driest and least snowy in 140 years. That's saying something! We have had no precipitation since February 23rd here. This March may be at or tied for the driest and least snowy (0.0") March on record. We average 12.1" of snow in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 The relative humidity dropped from 70% to 4.9% today. Fort Collins was in the 50's before noon, and at the same time, there was highest dew point since October (I think) and 70% RH around sunrise. Then the dry downslope air rushed in quickly after 2:00. The dew points dropped to the single digits, with 4.9% RH. Wind gusts are over 30mph near the foothills right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geos Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I just saw the wildfire that is going SW of Denver. Looks like a monster. Wow, only a trace of snowfall along the Front Range this month! That's untypical. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/bou/?n=wildfire-necomarch262012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayjawintastawm Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I just saw the wildfire that is going SW of Denver. Looks like a monster. Wow, only a trace of snowfall along the Front Range this month! That's untypical. http://www.crh.noaa....necomarch262012 Yeah, the southern half of the Metro area had quite a smoky evening yesterday, with an eerie bright red sunset, and that was when the fire was only a few hundred acres. The wind shifted overnight and now is almost calm, so air quality is much better though still not great. Dry, dry, dry, dry, dry. Right now the size of the fire is up to 4500 acres though conditions are better for fighting it. It is still in a fairly sparsely populated part of the foothills. No containment yet. Lots of help coming in from all over. 2 fatalities and 16 structures burned so far. Hopefully it won't turn into a real monster... some more wind predicted in a couple days but hopefully they can get ahead of it before then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Denver International Airport observations yesterday, 2053Z Temp: 80 Dew point: -5 wind: southwest at 37mph gusting to 55mph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayjawintastawm Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Denver International Airport observations yesterday, 2053Z Temp: 80 Dew point: -5 wind: southwest at 37mph gusting to 55mph To borrow an idea from the SNE forum: March + Torch + Parch= what we have... PORCH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnweather Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I experienced quite the "salt storm" the other day west of Salt Lake City. Power outages and very low visibility on the salt flat. A very interesting experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 NWS Great Falls. They even mention me (Chinook) ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM FRIDAY TO 6 AM MDT SATURDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM FRIDAY TO 6 AM MDT SATURDAY. THE BLIZZARD WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. * TIMING AND MAIN IMPACT: LIGHT SNOW WILL DEVELOP LATE TONIGHT IN THE HAVRE...FORT BENTON...AND CHINOOK AREAS. THE SNOW WILL BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES ON FRIDAY...ALONG WITH STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS DEVELOPING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted April 7, 2012 Author Share Posted April 7, 2012 It was 75 today. We got hit by the dryline briefly. Now the cold front came right after the dryline, and it is down to 50, with 30 to 40mph wind gusts. Feels much different! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALhurricane Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 This Alabama flatlander will be visiting the Colorado Rockies for the first time next. My wife and I are staying in Estes Park for a week. Hope to see some snow while we are out there. The ECMWF looks promising for next weekend but I know little in regards to mountain forecasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weatherMA Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 This Alabama flatlander will be visiting the Colorado Rockies for the first time next. My wife and I are staying in Estes Park for a week. Hope to see some snow while we are out there. The ECMWF looks promising for next weekend but I know little in regards to mountain forecasting. All I know is Estes Park is amazing...regardless of the wx. Good choice. I will be going out to Park City/Salt Lake City/Zion National Park later this week...probably a day or two of spring skiing before they close and then some touristy stuff after that. Looks like the 00z euro had quite a lot of snow for Park City area...but I know nothing about the wx forecasting in that area. Do any mets have any input on snow accumulation potential for that area? Snow levels, etc? I have no idea what we could be looking at. Just some up-slope snow showers? The euro maps on wunderground had like 1'+ of snow, lol. edit: I do see this in the AFD, but it seems pretty vague. CONFIDENCE IS FAIR TO GOOD THAT MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE CWA WILL RECEIVE PRECIP AT SOME POINT DURING THE LATE WED THRU MON TIME FRAME ALTHO THE DISTRIBUTION AND TIMING IS STILL A LITTLE UNCERTAIN. THE AIRMASS SHOULD BE WARM ENOUGH WITH THIS EVENT TO KEEP SNOW OUT OF THE VALLEYS ALTHO SOME OF THE HIGHER VALLEYS COULD PICK UP SOME ACCUMULATION OFF PAVEMENT SURFACES. MOUNTAINS SHOULD PICK UP SOME DECENT ACCUMULATION...ALTHO TRAVEL IMPACT MAY NOT BE ALL THAT GREAT EVEN THERE AS ANY ACCUMULATION ON MTN ROADWAYS SHOULD BE BRIEF AND LIMITED TO TIMES OF HEAVIEST PRECIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALhurricane Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 All I know is Estes Park is amazing...regardless of the wx. Good choice. I will be going out to Park City/Salt Lake City/Zion National Park later this week...probably a day or two of spring skiing before they close and then some touristy stuff after that. Looks like the 00z euro had quite a lot of snow for Park City area...but I know nothing about the wx forecasting in that area. Do any mets have any input on snow accumulation potential for that area? Snow levels, etc? I have no idea what we could be looking at. Just some up-slope snow showers? The euro maps on wunderground had like 1'+ of snow, lol. edit: I do see this in the AFD, but it seems pretty vague. CONFIDENCE IS FAIR TO GOOD THAT MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE CWA WILL RECEIVE PRECIP AT SOME POINT DURING THE LATE WED THRU MON TIME FRAME ALTHO THE DISTRIBUTION AND TIMING IS STILL A LITTLE UNCERTAIN. THE AIRMASS SHOULD BE WARM ENOUGH WITH THIS EVENT TO KEEP SNOW OUT OF THE VALLEYS ALTHO SOME OF THE HIGHER VALLEYS COULD PICK UP SOME ACCUMULATION OFF PAVEMENT SURFACES. MOUNTAINS SHOULD PICK UP SOME DECENT ACCUMULATION...ALTHO TRAVEL IMPACT MAY NOT BE ALL THAT GREAT EVEN THERE AS ANY ACCUMULATION ON MTN ROADWAYS SHOULD BE BRIEF AND LIMITED TO TIMES OF HEAVIEST PRECIP. We can't wait to get out there. Have fun in Utah! The 12z GFS appeared to have an ideal upper low track for a significant accumulation event. The Euro wasn't quite as bold, but still showed good potential. It's still a week out, but with the all the energy coming into the west this week, the pattern appears favorable. Again I am a SE boy, so any mountain pro's opinion would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayjawintastawm Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I'm not a met but I'm doubting there will be enough cold air for any snow to stick around. Way too far out to tell for sure. My guess is that we'd have something similar to last week here around the Front Range at best- few inches snow or some light to moderate rain, more at higher elevations, gone in two days. Estes is high enough for a good shot at snow. Good skiing the day of the storm and the day after. Hopefully some decent QPF- most areas got 0.25" or less after no significant precip the preceding 60 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 This Alabama flatlander will be visiting the Colorado Rockies for the first time next. My wife and I are staying in Estes Park for a week. Hope to see some snow while we are out there. The ECMWF looks promising for next weekend but I know little in regards to mountain forecasting. Check the picture that I posted from March 17. That is at Bear Lake Trailhead. There will still be 2-4 feet there, although it might be slushy. You could walk/hike or snowshoe in at least 2 feet of snow, although it may be very soft and slushy. You can rent snowshoes for a day. You'll see large piles of snow at the Bear Lake Trailhead, Long's Peak Trailhead, Allenspark, or maybe the north RMNP entrance (Fall River Rd). You can't drive all the way through on Trail Ridge Road-- they plow the snow on Memorial Day. You can go to the lodge at the YMCA facility for free. It is actually a hell of a view at the YMCA, and a nice lodge. Take a drive south on State Highway 7 past Long's Peak and Allenspark. By the way, you can also visit the Stanley Hotel for free. That's worth a visit. The GFS shows snow in the mountains for next Sunday. Since it's 6-7 days away, I don't know what exactly to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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