Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Here Comes the Front

Beautiful cold frontal precipitation band evident on radar as the front approaches Salt Lake.  Check out how the front becomes distorted as it interacts with the Stansbury Mountains and other ranges to the west.  In particular, the frontal precipitation band slows near the Stansbury Mountains, leading to the development of a prominent S-shape.


We've seen similar frontal distortions before, including during the 2002 Tax Day Storm (see West and Steenburgh 2010).

Major changes in the spatial structure and intensity of orographic precipitation should accompany the cold front as the flow shifts to northwesterly.  Look out Cottonwoods!

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