Thursday, November 6, 2014

Next Week's Cold: Typhoon Nuri to Blame?

It looks like next week will be the first time we've see highs in the 30s since late March. While cold temperatures aren't unusual for November, this will be a pretty drastic cold snap for this time of year. So what is causing this frigid forecast? Part of the answer may surprise you: Typhoon Nuri in the Pacific Ocean.

Here's how a storm almost 6,000 miles away can affect the Stateline. Hurricanes and typhoons give off a lot of energy. In this case, some of that energy is being absorbed into the polar jet stream. When the jet becomes energized, it develops a kink and becomes wavier. The wavier the jet, the more active the weather pattern.

Nuri is forecast to move into the Aleutian Islands off the Alaska coast by this weekend. As Nuri gets closer to North America, that "kink" in the jet stream will develop right over the United States. Unfortunately for us, we'll be on the cold side of the jet stream.


So how bad is it going to be? Right now, the forecast is calling for highs in the low 30s starting Tuesday and continuing into the weekend. We're also looking at several nights with overnight lows in the teens. It doesn't look like we'll break any temperature records at this point, but we could see a little bit of snow early Tuesday. -BA


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