A weak storm system to the west is kicking in high thin clouds, warm temperatures and increasing winds from the southwest. As of 4am, temperatures are in the mid to upper 30s, about 10°F warmer than they were Sunday morning. Winds are from the southwest and are beginning to blow 15mph with gusts to 25. Along the 11,000' level, hourly wind speeds are already 30-35mph with gusts to 40.
For today, we'll have thin and patchy high and mid level clouds (greenhousing?) with mountain temperatures in the upper 30s to mid-40s. Winds will be blow 25-30mph+ from the southwest.
The Outlook: at this point, we'll take anything that'll mix out the haze in the valleys. It may be awhile. We have a couple of weak waves this week that will increase cloud cover and drop the temperatures a few degrees. It's possible the mountains may squeeze a snowflake or two out of these systems. The weekend holds promise, but it may be just a mirage.
- There is a beautiful book, written by the French aviator Antoine de St. Exupery, called Wind, Sand, and Stars. Part of it details a time when his plane crashed in the Libyan desert. I think it was 1935. With little water between them, it wasn’t long until he and his navigator began experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations. Mirages appeared on the landscape, though they were always just out of reach. It’s a little like looking at the weather models these days…
