Saturday, February 1, 2020

a classic cold front

February arrived with another 9/10" of rain, via the classic cold front!

Top lines are temperature/dewpoint. Just over 50° until just after 8AM, then a quick drop to mid-40s. The two lines have begun to diverge, showing some drying to the air-mass - until now we've been in the clouds!

Second line shows calm air before 8AM becoming gusty in a hurry. All winds are under 10mph but are from NW and some NE breezes, as shown by the point-plot in third place. The south wind has a hard time reaching the gage due to the large hill just to our south..

Last and not least is the barometric pressure. The pressure began to rise just before 8AM, pretty much in line with the other charts. Wind shift to more northerly + pressure rise + temperature drop = welcome to the new, cooler air-mass!

Yes, folks east of the Rockies and elsewhere will chuckle at our wimpy temperature drop and winds. When your source pool changes from the mid-latitude ocean to the polar ocean, changes are still based on maritime air. The midwest can pull from the Gulf of Mexico or the Yukon, and that can make for a massive drop! Nonetheless, for folks 'round here the shift shown here is as wild as we can really manage.

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