SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
324 AM PST TUE DEC 4 2007

...A WINTER STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO REACH CENTRAL CALIFORNIA THURSDAY NIGHT..

AFTER A LONG PERIOD OF BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION...A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO AND ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA BEGINNING LATE THURSDAY AND LINGER INTO SUNDAY NIGHT.
FORECAST MODELS ARE STRONGLY SUGGESTING THIS DISTURBANCE WILL HAVE PLENTY OF MOISTURE AND COLD AIR TO WORK WITH...AND HEAVY SNOW IS A THREAT FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA.

SNOW LEVELS COULD FALL AS LOW AS 5000 FEET BY LATE FRIDAY...AND EVEN LOWER IN HEAVY SNOW SHOWERS. THIS WOULD BRING THE THREAT OF ACCUMULATING SNOW FRIDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY TO THE HIGHER PARTS OF HEAVILY TRAVELED MOUNTAIN PASSES...SUCH AS INTERSTATE 5 OVER THE GRAPEVINE...AND HIGHWAY 58 THROUGH THE TEHACHAPI PASS.

THE PERIOD OF HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WILL BE FROM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...

HOWEVER A LINGERING CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS WILL PERSIST OVER KERN COUNTY INTO SUNDAY. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS EXCEEDING TWO FEET MAY BE REALIZED IN THE SIERRA ABOVE 7000 FEET AND SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW MAY FALL IN THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS ABOVE 5000 FEET.

DUE TO THE LENGTHY PERIOD OF TIME SINCE THE LAST OCCURRENCE OF A WINTER STORM IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...RESIDENTS AND FREQUENT TRAVELERS INTO AND ACROSS THE
MOUNTAINS NEED TO PREPARE AND PLAN FOR WINTER STORM CONDITIONS LATER THIS WEEK AND THIS WEEKEND.

This one looks promising. All the snow we had earlier at Tahoe is gone except what they are making on the ski slopes.

I suspect Tioga Pass will be closing for the season with this one.

Global warming, whatever that really is, could keep the pass open. Global budgeting, however, won't.

Winter Storm Watch

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1110 AM PST WED DEC 5 2007

...A WINTER STORM FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR IS EXPECTED
LATER THIS WEEK..

.AFTER A LONG PERIOD OF BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION...A WINTER STORM SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO AND ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA BEGINNING LATE THURSDAY AND LINGER INTO SATURDAY.

CAZ096-097-060400-
/O.CON.KHNX.WS.A.0007.071207T0200Z-071208T0600Z/
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
1110 AM PST WED DEC 5 2007

...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON AND THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS..

A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENINGFOR THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON AND THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS.

A WINTER STORM WILL BEGIN MOVING THROUGH THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THURSDAY. MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW WILL OCCUR IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA THURSDAY EVENING AND WILL CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY EVENING. SNOW LEVELS COULD FALL AS LOW AS 5000 FEET BY LATE FRIDAY...AND EVEN LOWER IN HEAVY SNOW SHOWERS. UP TO 18 INCHES OF SNOWFALL COULD OCCUR BY FRIDAY MORNING...WITH ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS ON FRIDAY BRINGING SNOW TOTALS FOR THE EVENT NEAR 2 FEET ABOVE 6500 FEET.

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE.. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.

$$

http://WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Yeah........SNOW.....................Yeah!!!!

Is everyone else as excited as I am??

---

Dan

This afternoon they changed it to a Winter Storm Warning at Tahoe.

Us here in the Truckee Meadows are gonna get it too. I'm driving the 4X4 today.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY -

HANFORD CA
330 AM PST THU DEC 6 2007

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM PST FRIDAY FROM YOSEMITE PARK SOUTH TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE..
...WINTER STORM WATCH NO LONGER IN EFFECT..

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM PST FRIDAY...FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE PARK TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

A WINTER STORM WILL MOVE TOWARD CENTRAL CALIFORNIA TODAY...THEN ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW WILL OCCUR IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA THIS EVENING AND WILL CONTINUE
INTO FRIDAY EVENING. SNOW LEVELS COULD FALL AS LOW AS 4000 FEET BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. TWO TO 3 FEET OF NEW SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE IN AND AROUND YOSEMITE PARK ABOVE 6000 FEET WITH 1 TO 2 FEET AROUND SEQUOIA PARK...TAPERING OFF TO LESS THAN A FOOT NEAR THE KERN
COUNTY LINE. STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS OVER RIDGE TOPS NEAR THE CREST WILL CREATE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. THE SNOW WILL DIMINISH FRIDAY NIGHT...BUT SNOW SHOWERS WILL LINGER INTO THE WEEKEND...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE CREST.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW..SLEET...AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

The person who writes the forecast for Reno kinda likes to lay it on the line:

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
400 AM PST THU DEC 6 2007

TONIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING...THINGS REALLY WIND UP WITH THE STORM
SYSTEM AS IT IS VERY WELL PROGGED TO MOVE TO BETWEEN LAKE TAHOE AND SAN FRANCISCO BY EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. PATTERN RECOGNITION INDICATES THAT THIS AN EXCELLENT POSITION FOR HEAVY SNOW FOR PORTIONS OF THE WESTERN GREAT BASIN. OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE FOR THE RENO AREA IS THE POSITION OF A DRY SLOT/JET CORE WORKING AROUND THE SOUTHEASTERN PERIPHERY OF THE UPPER LOW. THE DRY SLOT IS PROGGED TO MOVE TO NEAR OR A BIT SOUTH OF RENO DEPENDING ON THE EXACT TRACK OF THE LOW. IF THE SLOT SETS UP SOUTH OF RENO...THERE WILL BE A HEAVY BURST OF SNOW APPROXIMATELY BETWEEN 9 PM THURSDAY AND 4 AM FRIDAY WITH THE STRONGEST UPPER MOTION IN THE LEFT FRONT QUAD OF THE POWERFUL JET STREAK. WITH WRAP AROUND SNOW VERY LIKELY ANYWAY...THE POSSIBLE BURST OF HEAVY SNOWFALL WOULD REALLY RAMP UP SNOWFALL TOTALS BETWEEN
THURSDAY EVENING AND FRIDAY MORNING. MODELS/SREF ENSEMBLE QPF SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT A HEAVIER BAND WILL DEVELOP BEFORE 12Z FRIDAY SOMEWHERE ALONG THE INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR. WITH THIS IN MIND...I UPGRADED TO A HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR ZONES 3/4 (RENO/LOVELOCK/FALLON) THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. FRIDAY MORNING`S COMMUTE COULD BE HAIRY INDEED (ESPECIALLY WHEREVER THE EXPECTED HEAVY BURST OF SNOW DEVELOPS) FOR RENO. FURTHER SOUTH...I ADDED A WINTER STORM WATCH TO ZONE 1 AS THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR THE HEAVIER SNOWBAND TO THE NORTH TO MOVE SOUTH INTO MINERAL AND SOUTHERN LYON COUNTIES FRIDAY MORNING.
SNYDER

That Reno forecaster sure isn't at a loss for words.
It's 11 AM at the lake and we are getting a mixture of rain and snow. The temperature is in the upper 30s and falling. I checked and Hwys. 120, 108, and 4 are all closed now.