Coming Soon: Ridge

Next to a good mid-winter storm cycle, there's nothing better in Utah than a high-amplitude ridge in September, and Mother Nature is about to deliver.  Check out the GEFS ensemble-mean forecast for the coming week.

That is one monster ridge, and it should lead to a period of "severe-clear" bone-dry weather for northern Utah.  We should see some large diurnal temperature ranges, especially in noted nighttime cold spots like Rush Valley and the Peter Sinks.  Looking for something geeky to do?  Head to the Peter Sinks on Wednesday or Thursday and ride your mountain bike from the rim to the basin floor first thing in the morning.  I did this during the Peter Sinks experiment, described by Clements et al. (2003), and froze my butt off as the temperature fell from something like the 40s on the rim to the teens at the bottom.

And, I should add that I'm still savoring the Ute beatdown of BYU last night...