OREO IOP1 Is ON!

It's great to finally have some weather again in northern Utah.  I was woken last night by strong southerly winds, and they appear to have transported in a pretty good plume of dust this morning. 

We have a team leaving the University of Utah today at noon to begin operations for the Outreach and Radar Education in Orography (OREO) Intensive Observing Period 1 (IOP1).  Every meteorological field program needs a good acronym (hence OREO) and we usually name each observing period as an "IOP."  IOP0 is typically used for a practice IOP, which we did about 10 days ago on Antelope Island.  Since then we've been waiting on weather.

We plan to operate this evening and tonight from a site just east of Huntsville to examine the spillover of precipitation across the northern Wasatch and into the Ogden Valley.   Already, there's some interesting things happening there.  Radar imagery very clearly shows echoes developing not on the windward side of the Wasatch, but downstream.  Much of this is just sprinkles or virga, but it is a hint that perhaps there is some sort of lee wave present at the moment. 

The HRRR forecast for 1Z (6 PM MST) is optimistic, with band of precipitaiton extending across central Nevada to the northern Wasatch.  The location and movement of that area of precipitation will partly dictate the success or failure of our mission tonight.  We're hoping it is in the right place at the right time. 

Tomorrow, we may be working on post-frontal snowshowers in northwesterly flow.  We have a couple of sites selected to operate out of, but will make final decisions in the morning with updated forecasts in hand.

Keep your fingers crossed!