by meteorologist Jim Woodmencey
During the last week of December 2017 the computer models performed so poorly, by grossly over-forecasting snow accumulation over the northern Rockies, that I was about to give up on them. This week is a different story, they all handled the situation this second week of January very well. If anything, they under-forecasted snowfall amounts … Continue reading Models Get This One Right
In my 25 years of forecasting the weather for Jackson Hole and the Teton Mountains, I have never experienced a forecast period that was as big a bust as this past week. Between the Christmas and New Year’s Weekends, as much as two feet of snow was forecast, and less than 6 inches accumulated. In … Continue reading “No-show” Snowstorms December 2017
Many people have asked me, “How much of a temperature drop did we have during the Eclipse?” What’s your guess? Well, according to the thermometers used at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming & Driggs, Idaho airports, the drop was probably not as big as you guessed. Jackson Hole Airport: Temperature went from 60.8 degrees F at … Continue reading Eclipse Temperature Drop
Cloud Cover over the United States on August 21st Below is a compilation of historical Satellite images, taken around noontime MDT (1800 UTC), on August 21st each year for the last 10 years (2016 -2008). These are Infra-red, color enhanced satellite images. The brightest purple colors indicate the warmest temperatures, and thus where the satellite … Continue reading August 21st Clouds from Satellite Images
POSTED: August 15, 2017 A word from meteorologist Jim Woodmencey on the 6 to 10-Day Outlook Maps: As it might relate to the Eclipse date of August 21st… The outlook for the days immediately surrounding the Eclipse are now showing that most of Oregon, all of Idaho and western Wyoming fall under the “Normal” category, … Continue reading Solar Eclipse Weather: Outlook T-minus one week
A word from meteorologist Jim Woodmencey on the August Outlook Maps: As it might relate to the Eclipse date of August 21st… The outlook for the month of August, as a whole is for warmer than normal temperatures along the entire path of the Eclipse, across the U.S.A. From Oregon to Wyoming, warmer than normal … Continue reading Solar Eclipse Weather: First Outlook
Summer’s unofficial start is always over Memorial Day, and I believe most folks are expecting to have nicer weather from now until at least Labor Day. There is a general expectation that summer weather will be “warm and sunny”, however, there have been some summers that weren’t, like 1993, which was cold and wet in … Continue reading The Summer Outlook is: Likely wetter, maybe cooler
The winter season is technically defined as: December, January and February. This is what is known as the “meteorological winter”. According to the “calendar season”, winter doesn’t officially end until the Spring Equinox, which will be this coming Monday, March 20th. In Jackson Hole, winter isn’t over until the “ski season” ends in April. And … Continue reading Jackson Hole’s Winter Season 2016-17 in Review
(This article first appeared in the Mountain Weather column in the Jackson Hole News & Guide on Feb. 1st, 2017). Winter is half over, but already huge! The first half of the winter season draws to a close on Thursday, February 2nd, Groundhog’s Day. That is the halfway point between December’s Solstice and March’s Equinox. … Continue reading February 2nd Marks Halfway Point of Winter
Normally at end of the year, I like to review the weather highlights for the past 12 months. However, this December had so much weather to talk about, that I could easily fill this space with the highlights from this past month alone. Which is what I will do. Two weeks from now, in the … Continue reading A Good Old-Fashioned December in Jackson Hole