Saturday, March 1, 2014

new month - same story... (am.01.mar.14)>

*Update @ 2:15pm... A little sun has peeked through in the last few minutes, so we're finally getting a break in the action.  There's still a good chance of more rain development, though... so be prepared just in case.  Total rainfall has been almost exactly one inch (2.5cm) since 7am.  Temp now: 41.9F (5.5C).

*Update @ 11:35am... The monkeys just dismantled one of my thermometers -- and now i am holding vigil to make sure they don't tear apart the rain gauge.  Still raining moderately here with some sleet and a few snowflakes mixed in.  Current temp: 38.3F (3.5C).  The latest satellite pics don't hold much hope for us, as abundant moisture and fresh shower development continue to get pulled northward against the mountains out ahead of the upper-level circulation which is centered along the southwest Kashmir border with Pakistan.  What a horrendous start to March!  No power here since just before 10am.

*Update @ 10:41am... It's really ugly out there at the moment.  Moderate to heavy rain mixed with sleet here at my location.  Temp is 39.0F (3.9C).

*Update @ 9:20am... There's been another 0.27" (7mm) of rain since 7:00am, giving a total of 1.34" (3.4cm) since Thursday afternoon.  Current temp is 41.0F (5.0C) with clouds, fog, and a little light rain.

*Update @ 8:09am... My temp dipped to 38.3F (3.5C) during the past 45 minutes during a period of heavier rain.  Will post a new rain gauge report shortly... I think the tally has increased appreciably.

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It's cloudy with moderate rain and some patches of fog around the area at sunrise on this first day of March.  There have been numerous periods of light to occasionally moderate rain virtually all night long, and my rain gauge shows 0.37" (9mm) between last night at 8pm and this morning at 7am.  That brings the 24 hour total to 0.55" (1.4cm), and the total since Thursday up to 1.07" (2.7cm).  My temperature here in the upper part of town bottomed out at 40.1F (4.5C) overnight -- and has otherwise fluctuated between that and about 42.5F (5.8C) since last evening.  The humidity is near 100% at the moment.

The very slow-moving upper-level circulation that has been in our neighborhood since Thursday is now centered right along the Punjab/Pakistan border, and will continue drifting slowly eastward during the next 24 hours.  We've got plenty of moisture around, obviously, as an unseasonably cold air mass gradually filters into northern India from the north and northwest.  If you've been following the blog, you've seen these variables spelled out over and over again during the past few days, so you're very familiar with the scenario.  Periods of rain will remain likely into this evening, though we could manage a break and some peeks of sun later today if we're really lucky.

Unless we get some significant convective/thunder development, it may not cool down much further at our elevation -- keeping snow/sleet further up-mountain.  But there are/will be some heavy accumulations of snow a couple of hundred meters above us.

Tomorrow is the first day of Losar (Tibetan New Year), and there are signs that we may see some significant improvement by then -- although there could still be some scattered rain showers in the vicinity.  Thereafter, it's still looking quite unstable, unseasonably cool, and potentially wet off-and-on next week.

Check back here for updates.... and get the CURRENT FORECAST details on the tab above.