Winter's Wrath

Hum...well, Class, this one definitely is a real "hum dinger." A huge chunk of the northern plains is in a blizzard warning. Winter storms warnings pockmark the Intermountain West. Meanwhile, the Oregon Coast is still getting slammed by 20-25 waves with some exceeding 30 feet. I'm sure you've seen the havoc in the Northeast with over a million people without power. Yeah, I reckon this is going to be an epic winter, afterall. I kinda gave up hope on it for awhile but now it's back with a vengeance. Here in Idaho Falls, the temps were hanging in the upper 20's until the front passed and they nosedived 17-20 degrees in one hour. A whiteout snowfall almost brought traffic to a standstill. Temps are stable right now in single digits and the snow has slacked off. But, yeah, this is actually "the real deal." Click the "Climate Predict Ctr." at left. You will see the next couple of weeks are progged to be "above normal" precip! YAHOO!

Major Winter Storm

We are finally on tap for a genuine winter storm--one that slaps the coast hard and then leaps tall mountains to wreck havoc throughout the interior West. This is a real deal. Every mountain range from the Cascades to the Wasatch is going to get 1-2 feet of snow. Snow could even fall on the Washington-Oregon beaches. Every valley north of Arizona will see some snow, too. Winds will be howling and peak gusts upwards of 50 mph are probable. Meanwhile, a huge tsunami of arctic air will inundate several states, dropping temps upwards of 20 degrees and creating windchills possibly as low as -15°F.

As we roam the various NWS offices reading their Area Forecast Discussions, the enormity of this event grows. Each NWS office tends to look at its own little world.
When taken as a whole, the chatter about this storm is ominous. Salt Lake City NWS has produced by far the best synopsis of this upcoming storm. Your will need Adobe Flash player to see their briefing. It's awesome! Click here to check it out.

As of mid-morning Friday, Idaho Falls is still bathed in bright sun. Our windsock hangs limp for one final day in the proverbial calm before the storm. It's another peaceful day here on the Snake River Plain.

We are changing our blog plan. As a storm evolves, we may or may not make new posts. We are more inclined to delete the top post and make a new one in its place. You may have noticed we've already deleted two post written Thursday. They have no relevance as the storm is now certain to be a big one.

One last note to one loyal reader(s), take a look at the jetstream and watch it evolve. Very impressive!

Buckle up for this one, puppies, it's gonna rock yer doghouse!