Tuesday, January 6th Update

Not much too exciting going on out there right now. There is a tornado watch in Mississippi and Alabama right now and a couple warnings have been issued. These look to be spinups or supercellular segments in the line of storms pushing through. I wouldn't be too excited to chase these storms as if they do produce, chances are the tornadoes will be shrouded in rain. Compound that with the low cloud bases and the tree-cover, and it wouldn't be too fun. Nw would I be out if I lived down there? You bet I would!

Elsewhere, the Northwest continues to get battered with system after system. They may see a little break later this week and might catch a quick glimpse of the sun. In Alaska, it is very cold right now. This cold air will probably be blocked from reaching the lower 48, but we may see a brief intrusion in the Great Lakes region. The west looks to remain ridged with a few impulses riding over the top.

Here in Colorado, this means wind and downslope warmth in the short term. A weak surface boundary make work down the Front Range toward the weekend cooling us off a little, but pattern won't change much in the next week.

On a walk today, I saw some great Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves over the Front Range. Unfortunately, I had left the camera in the office. When I got back, I ran outside and took a few shots, but they weren't quite as intense. I hope to have those pics up soon.

Finally, a look at the tropics:

Still looking pretty quiet right now. There are a couple areas of interest in the West Pacific and the South Indian, but none look favorable for rapid development at the moment.





Satellite imagery used with permission; courtesy of IPS Meteostar Inc. Click for larger images.


Dann.