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Next Storm/Next Snow Forecast Discussion from the Cherrywood Observatory – January 16, 2019

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Forecast Discussion:

The big sloppy western storm system(s) are dumping their moisture in the western U.S states. Precipitation stops at the continental divide, for the most part (Figure 1). State temperatures are still above average this afternoon (Figure 2) with Longmont at about 8 F warmer than we'd expect for this date.

Figure 1: The forecast surface map for Wednesday PM. From NCEP.

Figure 2: The forecast temperature departure from normal from the GFS and weather5280.com for Colorado, for Wednesday PM.'

The longer range forecast:

The mountains still get a lot of snow over the next 5 days while we 'may' get a coating to an inch of snow (though temperatures still look to warm to me - like last Friday - see Figure 5).  More later!

Eclipse Invitation:

My readers are invited to the (yes it's real) Cherrywood Observatory to observe the total lunar eclipse Sunday evening January 20th.

The scopes will be set up at 8:30pm (the ‘dark bite’ begins 8:34p). Totality begins at 9:41pm. Sunlight begins to return on the limb of the moon at 10:43pm. The last of the ‘dark bite’ will leave at 11:51pm. I’ll keep the observatory open if people want to stay that long after totality begins. If it is cloudy or snowing, text or call to confirm that we’re still open. Contact me if you need the address (720-378-2771 - text your name and request).

(Figure 4.)

Weather for the eclipse: Partly to Mostly Cloudy skies are expected (80% cloudy at first then clearing some). There is a 4% chance of a shower. Temperatures will be around 31F at the start of eclipse dropping to 28F before midnight. (Figure 5)

Figure 3: The forecast accumulated snow map from the GFS and weather5280.com for Colorado, for the next 5 days through Sunday PM.

Figure 4: a graphical depiction of the beginning of totality over Denver from https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/denver

Figure 5: a snippet of the graphical forecast for the weekend forecast for Longmont, CO from weatherunderground.com

Current Weather

Partly cloudy

Partly cloudy

48°F

UV Index
0 Low
Pressure
29.61 Rising
Visibility
8 miles
Dewpoint
18 °F
Humidity
31%
Wind
W 4.4 mph
Gust
11.9 mph
Wind Chill
47 °F

Hourly Forecast

Today
4 AM
45°F
Mostly cloudy w/ showers
Today
5 AM
43°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
6 AM
42°F
Mostly cloudy
Today
7 AM
43°F
Cloudy
Today
8 AM
47°F
Partly sunny w/ showers
Today
9 AM
51°F
Partly sunny
Today
10 AM
54°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
11 AM
56°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
12 PM
58°F
Mostly cloudy
Today
1 PM
59°F
Showers
Today
2 PM
61°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
3 PM
60°F
Intermittent clouds

7 Day Forecast

Showers

Monday

57 °F

A few showers in the morning; otherwise, mostly cloudy, breezy and cooler


Partly cloudy w/ showers

Monday Night

42 °F

Partly cloudy; breezy with a shower in spots late


Partly sunny w/ showers

Tuesday

61 °F

Very windy; a couple of showers this morning; otherwise, times of clouds and sun


Partly cloudy

Tuesday Night

34 °F

Partly cloudy


Intermittent clouds

Wednesday

57 °F

Cool with times of clouds and sun


Mostly cloudy

Wednesday Night

39 °F

Increasing clouds


Partly sunny w/ showers

Thursday

56 °F

Times of clouds and sun with a couple of showers; cool


Cloudy

Thursday Night

40 °F

Cloudy


Mostly cloudy

Friday

66 °F

Mostly cloudy and warmer


Mostly clear

Friday Night

40 °F

Mainly clear


Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise
5:53 AM
Sunset
8:01 PM

Based on AccuWeather data