Wait 5 Minutes

Today looks to be one of those classic spring days that epitomizes the phrase, "if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes."

A cold and unsettled airmass has settled over northern Utah this morning with nearly everyone experiencing scattered showers.

The morning sounding shows a weak cold pool at the surface, but otherwise very steep, conditionally unstable lapse rates aloft.  A little surface heating should help further destabilize this sounding and keep the shower activity going during the day.

The models suggest some warming in the upper atmosphere during the day today, but with abundant moisture and steep lapse rates at low levels, I think we're going to see some thunderstorm activity anyway.  Snow levels in the stronger cells may drop to the valley floor.  I'm still a bit surprised we haven't seen a few more flakes on the benches so far, but temperatures are about 2ºC warmer than progged by the models yesterday, so the snow level has been hanging out on the foothills.

Looks like about 8 inches since yesterday morning at Alta-Collins.  More on the way today.  A challenge in conditions like this is that there is often enough heating and sunshine between periods of snow to dampen the snow, especially at low to mid elevations.  Getting on it when the getting is good is essential, as well as seeking those high north aspects.