Snow and ski - Why do we only get snow after days of hot rain?

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Hey Jeff-
At least based on what I've learned through the years (80% from an enthusiastic local weather-man, 20% in formal schooling), the reason is that in the winter, moisture often comes from the south (Gulf of Mexico) and cold air comes from the north. Cold air doesn't carry much moisture (it all keeps falling out), so the perfect storm is when the cold air collides with the warm moist air mass right over your head. The cold air cools the warm moist air, and all that water falls out of the sky and ends up on your ski trails as snow. However, if the warm air beats the cold air, you get rain followed by cold (highly, highly simplified).

Watch the weather channel enough (if your tolerance is high enough) and root for those storms to get more synchronized!

Chris C.
SLC

wrote:
It's been a couple years now since we got snow when there's been snow
on the ground.

We always get a nice dump of fresh snow one day after all the previous
snow has been melted by a two-day bout of heat and rain.

What's up there?

Why does there have to be a hiccup of heat/rain before a big snow dump?

--Here in Mid-Michigan, anyway.

Does heat ride ahead of snow in these weather systems?

Why can't we have cold weather, then snow, then cold, then snow? It
that too much to ask?

Maybe it always gets a bit warmer before a snowstorm and it's just that
now with global warming it's warming into the rainy-40's before
snowing. It gets to snowy zero then swings up to 40 and bare ground.
Maybe in decades past it got to 20-below zero then swung up to 20 with
fresh snow.

Is it just that the swings are higher up on the temp-scale?

--JP

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DIVHey Jeff-/DIV
DIVAt least based on what I've learned through the years (80% from an enthusiastic local weather-man, 20% in formal schooling), the reason is that in the winter, moisture often comes from the south (Gulf of Mexico) and cold air comes from the north.  Cold air doesn't carry much moisture (it all keeps falling out), so the perfect storm is when the cold air collides with the warm moist air mass right over your head.  The cold air cools the warm moist air, and all that water falls out of the sky and ends up on your ski trails as snow.  However, if the warm air beats the cold air, you get rain followed by cold (highly, highly simplified).  /DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVWatch the weather channel enough (if your tolerance is high enough) and root for those storms to get more synchronized!/DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVChris C./DIV
/I/B wrote:/DIV
BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"It's been a couple years now since we got snow when there's been snowBRon the ground.BRBRWe always get a nice dump of fresh snow one day after all the previousBRsnow has been melted by a two-day bout of heat and rain.BRBRWhat's up there?BRBRWhy does there have to be a hiccup of heat/rain before a big snow dump?BRBR--Here in Mid-Michigan, anyway.BRBRDoes heat ride ahead of snow in these weather systems?BRBRWhy can't we have cold weather, then snow, then cold, then snow? ItBRthat too much to ask?BRBRMaybe it always gets a bit warmer before a snowstorm and it's just thatBRnow with global warming it's warming into the rainy-40's beforeBRsnowing. It gets to snowy zero then swings up to 40 and bare ground.BRMaybe in decades past it got to 20-below zero then swung up to 20 withBRfresh snow.BRBRIs it just that the swings are higher up on !
the
temp-scale?BRBR--JPBRBRBRBRBRBR/BLOCKQUOTEp
hr size=1Do you Yahoo!?br
Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=29914/*http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250"Learn more./a
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