# Temperature Inversion



## hiroto (Dec 21, 2013)

Saw on Brettonwoods' snow condition:


> *Current Weather:* Cloudy with a current base temp of 37 degrees and summit temp of 44 degrees.



That is quite a bit of temperature inversion condition.   Never seen that (or maybe just didn't notice) while actually being on the mountain.


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## steamboat1 (Dec 21, 2013)

It was 47 degrees in the K-1 parking lot when I left yesterday around 1pm. It was 39 degrees in Rutland.


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## andrec10 (Dec 21, 2013)

IN the parking lot this morning at Whiteface it was 45. Up on the hill it was in the upper 50's!


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## billski (Dec 21, 2013)

Yesterday, based on my own skiing:  
32 base Burke, 37 summit Burke

32 valley surrounding Franconia, 39 in the notch.  Lord knows what it was on top.


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## andrec10 (Dec 21, 2013)

Mother nature is DRUNK or HIGH as a kite!


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## ScottySkis (Dec 21, 2013)

andrec10 said:


> Mother nature is DRUNK or HIGH as a kite!



She is mean she needs alcohol and MJ then she be nice.


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## Judder (Dec 21, 2013)

Drove from Bennington up to BTV and back today, and wow, what crazy weather.  In the high 30's with rain leaving Benn.  54 in Rutvegas.  Massive drop in temps when north of Middlebury, with temps diving down to the high 20's.  Freezing rain on top of a mostly intact snowpack in Burlington.

The high peaks got cooked with this inversion.  Most VT mountains saw highs in the 50s with wind and rain...  Venturing to Stratton tomorrow to assess...


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## billski (Dec 21, 2013)

Judder said:


> Drove from Bennington up to BTV and back today, and wow, what crazy weather.  In the high 30's with rain leaving Benn.  54 in Rutvegas.  Massive drop in temps when north of Middlebury, with temps diving down to the high 20's.  Freezing rain on top of a mostly intact snowpack in Burlington.
> 
> The high peaks got cooked with this inversion.  Most VT mountains saw highs in the 50s with wind and rain...  Venturing to Stratton tomorrow to assess...



I recommend we put Judder on a suicide watch.  Don't think I could take it.  Burke is down to 8 trails open..


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## Judder (Dec 21, 2013)

Yup, pretty sad.  Conditions were damn good just a week ago.  I rode over a foot of fresh on top of a solid base last sunday.  Could not be worse timing for all the traffic coming up for the holidays.  This is seriously ruining a lot of folks' vacation plans.  Ohh well, I'm sure the mtns will be blowing snow full force come Monday.


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## BenedictGomez (Dec 22, 2013)

Judder said:


> 54 in Rutvegas.



Rutvegas?    Cant say I've ever heard that before.


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## yeggous (Dec 22, 2013)

BenedictGomez said:


> Rutvegas?    Cant say I've ever heard that before.



Oh I have, but only from those who actually live there.


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## billski (Dec 22, 2013)

BenedictGomez said:


> Rutvegas?    Cant say I've ever heard that before.



Yep.  Been there.  It's not part of Vermont.  Nothing to see there.  Move along...


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## Judder (Dec 22, 2013)

Yup, Rutvegas.  Just like Bennington, not much to see.  Do your shopping and get out.

:flame:
Holy crap things got cooked today.  66 at the base of Stratton (maybe higher up top).  The winds were ripping, which combined with the high temps, stripped 90% of the natural snowpack from the mountain.

The trails were in horrid shape by the end of the day.  Tons of massive bare spots, creek beds in the trails, snowmelt just gushing off of the mountain.

A real Vermont treat for all the vacationers coming up from NY/NJ!  Rumor has it, that maybe Stowe and points North did not see such an extreme inversion.  I know Sugarbush and points south got absolutely clobbered


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## drjeff (Dec 22, 2013)

Here was the WILD inversions I drove through tonight on my way home to CT from Mount Snow.

When I left my place at Mount Snow, my car thermometer read 54, and the vast majority of the standing natural snow had melted out. The thermometer hit 57 in Wilmington, VT. 7 Miles South on rte 100 down in the valley in Jacksonville, VT, my car thermometer read 35 degrees!! (A 22 degree drop in 7 miles which was about 10 minutes of travel time!). The temp stayed in the 35-38 range, with a still decent snowpack on the ground all the way along rte's 100 and 112 into Colrain, MA! Then in about 2 miles (and about 750 vertical feet) the temp shot up from 36 to 51! 

The max temp I saw on my way home, courtesy of the CT River Valley opening up an express lane for the warm air from the South to move in was 62 just outside of Springfield, MA on the Mass Pike!

While I'm quite used to seeing 10-15 degree temp changes in my CT to VT drives, I don't ever recall seeing a 27 degree variation like I did today!! Wild stuff!!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AlpineZone mobile app


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## St. Bear (Dec 22, 2013)

Saw that the summit of Mt. Washington was higher than Boston.

Stayed in the low to mid 30s all day here in southern NH.


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## Bene288 (Dec 22, 2013)

I was driving to work today. In a town called Stuyvesant that runs along the Hudson River. I turned away from the river and started climbing out of the river valley. In a matter of 3 seconds, no exaggeration, the temp shot from 35 to 57. The windows in my truck fogged so quickly I almost went off the road and had to stop. Never have seen anything like it before.


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## steamboat1 (Dec 22, 2013)

Bene288 said:


> I was driving to work today. In a town called Stuyvesant that runs along the Hudson River. I turned away from the river and started climbing out of the river valley. In a matter of 3 seconds, no exaggeration, the temp shot from 35 to 57. The windows in my truck fogged so quickly I almost went off the road and had to stop. Never have seen anything like it before.



Had something similar to that happen going over Sherburne Pass the other day. I was like WTF.


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## goldsbar (Dec 23, 2013)

What was it about this heat wave that caused such massive melting?  It gets warm in the spring with a more intense sun angle and not nearly this much melts.


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## Rowsdower (Dec 23, 2013)

goldsbar said:


> What was it about this heat wave that caused such massive melting?  It gets warm in the spring with a more intense sun angle and not nearly this much melts.



We had a fairly new, loose snowpack containing a good deal of natural snow. Lot's of space for warm air and water to infiltrate, rather than running over the surface.


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## yeggous (Dec 23, 2013)

It was also very humid, lasted several days, and did not cool down at night. The humidity /rain and night time temperatures are the real killers.


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## from_the_NEK (Dec 24, 2013)

Upper level warm wind too. Picture a giant hairdryer blowing across the mountaintops but leaving the cold air in the valleys. With no wind, snow can insulate itself pretty well up to 45 degrees. Once the wind starts, it is kind of the opposite of wind chill to snow. The cool layer of air just above the snow gets stripped away and the warm air can infiltrate into the loose new snowpack.


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## bigbog (Dec 24, 2013)

Looks like the freezing niar(warm air aloft) is out of the picture for now up here(& over towards SL & Saddleback).
Was really fun while it lasted...uke:
Back to square one in certain areas.....


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## skiNEwhere (Dec 24, 2013)

How did a temperature inversion this severe happen? I'm sure I'm not the only one who's curuious


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## C-Rex (Dec 29, 2013)

skiNEwhere said:


> How did a temperature inversion this severe happen? I'm sure I'm not the only one who's curuious



Must be all the SUV's driving around causing global warming.


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## steamboat1 (Jan 4, 2014)




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## bigbog (Jan 4, 2014)

SE temps sneaking in on Monday:roll:, another round of some melt then freeze-up..  Hope it doesn't turn everything into a glacier...


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## billski (Jan 4, 2014)

skiNEwhere said:


> How did a temperature inversion this severe happen? I'm sure I'm not the only one who's curuious


Usually it's when air masses collide, often when a warm front comes over a cold air mass.


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## billski (Jan 4, 2014)

bigbog said:


> SE temps sneaking in on Monday...._great(although I'll believe it when I feel it)_, another round of some melt then freeze-up..



This is garbage.    I hope that cold air mass in Canada makes it over faster.  We've had enough thaws for the whole season.


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## billski (Jan 4, 2014)

C-Rex said:


> Must be all the SUV's driving around causing global warming.


  Or too much bragging on AZ


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## ehorvitz (Jan 27, 2014)

Yikes


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