KSHB: Weather: Action Weather Blog: Another Nice Fall Day!

Wow: Mostly sunny, nice and cool... a beautiful fall day! I hope you got to enjoy it, as things are about to change around here!

Here is the surface map this evening. Things are pretty quiet for us, with high pressure in control:

But things will change on Monday. First, the high will shift to our east. Remember that air flows CLOCKWISE around high pressure. That means, we will see a RETURN FLOW... or winds with a southerly component... on Monday:

BUT... with warmer air moving in... it looks like we might be in a low overcast throughout the day. That will help to keep high temperatures on the cool side. We could see highs in the low-50s Monday afternoon. AND we can't rule out a spotty shower during the day. Maybe a 20% chance... and it would be light.

HOWEVER... a better chance of showers moves in with a cold front on Monday night. This cold front is also going to bring us the coldest temperatures of the season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is right... Tuesday will be quite BLUSTERY, with highs in the lower to mid 40s and biting northwest winds. Tuesday night, we'll get our first taste of the 20s... falling down into the LOWER 20s for lows! Brrrrr! For all of you that have been waiting for a taste of winter... this is it!! :)

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Jamie,
What elements are necessary for there to be snowfall? I know obviously that it has to be below freezing, but are there certain temperatures or elements that have to be in place other than temperature for it to snow instead of rain? Thanks!

MARLINA:
The temperature profile of the atmosphere is the main determining factor in what TYPE of precipitation we will get: rain, freezing rain, sleet or snow. Of course, moisture and lift are needed to get precip... but the atmospheric temperatures determine WHAT the precip will BE!

If temperatures at the surface and up through 5,000 feet are below freezing... the precipitation will most likely fall as SNOW. But any variation in temp. could alter what we see at the surface.

For example, if temperatures at the surface are below freezing... but up at 5,000 feet they are like 5 C ABOVE freezing... freezing rain or sleet is more likely than rain or snow.

Does that make sense? It can be confusing... but thinking in the atmosphere in terms of LAYERS can help you understand it. :)

Jamie