by meteorologist Jim Woodmencey
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey We were underneath a Southwesterly flow this week in western Wyoming out ahead of a Trof of Low-pressure that was over the western US. That kept a decent supply of moist and unstable air overhead that produced late day thunderstorms on Monday, none on Tuesday, and then as that Trof got closer, … Continue reading July 15,2015 Thunderstorms
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey Almost everyone probably agrees that we had a weird winter, not just here in Jackson Hole, but across the entire United States. Characterized by warmer and drier than normal conditions in the Western United States and Alaska, contrasted by unusually cold and record breaking snow in the Eastern United States. Even though … Continue reading What can we blame this winter’s weather on?
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey This winter began pretty much the same way it ended, with people thinking about mowing their lawns. Those thoughts were squashed at both ends with abrupt changes from warm and sunny to cold and snowy. In this week’s column I will review the winter season and see how it stacked up against … Continue reading Jackson Hole’s Winter 2014-15 Reviewed
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey Lots of SNOW & wind for Jackson Hole, ski areas and weather instruments around the mountains reporting 20 to 26 inches of new snow from Friday night through Monday morning in the Teton Mountains. But, this is not technically a big “storm system”. It is a STORM, and we are getting very … Continue reading Big Snow & Blow in the Tetons
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey This past year, I became what is known as a “Weather Ready Nation (WRN) Ambassador” The WRN program started in 2011 and it partners private meteorologists, like myself, with NOAA and National Weather Service forecasters, to help spread the word and educate people about how to be prepared for hazardous weather conditions. … Continue reading Understanding Winter Weather Warnings
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey (Note: This blog post was re-printed from the Mountain Weather column in the JH News & Guide, Nov. 12, 2014). Even with the recent snowfall in mid-November, it is a rare day this time of year when someone doesn’t ask me, “What kind of winter are we going to have?” I know … Continue reading Winter Outlook 2014-15
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey It was a much wetter than normal August here in Jackson, as well as in most of Idaho and Wyoming. The Southwestern US from Arizona to Utah was exceptionally wet also.Early in August it was all about the monsoon, then it was about some cold Low pressure systems the last two weekends, … Continue reading Wet August in Jackson and Snow in Tetons
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey (Reposted from the Mountain Weather column in Aug. 6 Jackson Hole News & Guide). I heard some complaining in late July that it was “too hot”, which sparked some memories of Julys not so long ago, which truly were “hot”. This July was not. That also prompted me to dig back through … Continue reading July Not as Hot as it used to be….
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey A couple of summers ago I posted an explanation of the “Monsoon” on this blog, seemed appropriate to re-visit that this week. We were getting some good surges of moisture from the Desert Southwest Monsoon this week, with rain and thunderstorms plaguing us, and some heavy downpors with late day thunderstorms the … Continue reading The Monsoon Explained
Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey (Re-posted from original article that appeared in the Jackson Hole News & Guide’s Mountain Weather column, July 23, 2014). From where I sit, thunderstorm forecasting during the summer season is quite challenging, and on par with snowfall forecasting in the winter. Nailing down where, when and how strong the thunderstorms might be … Continue reading What does Probability of Precipitation Mean?