Weather

[Gatordev]

That's a sporty area. The pass at the Bridgers between Bozeman and BIllings will get shut down for trucks sometimes due to wind. That area will also get "shut down" for the air ambulance guys going through the passes due to wind or weather.

BZN is higher, but sits in a bowl. Livingston is down in a river valley, so I wonder if you're seeing a local phenomenon. Regardless of all that, both places are freakin' cold in the winter!

 

[taxi1]

so I wonder if you're seeing a local phenomenon

I saw some comment from a meteorologist about a cold blob stuck in western Canada dropping into the US, and how sharp the gradient is, and went looking. It persists today too.

Billings, MT and Hardin, MT (the -2F) are about 40 miles apart and 40F apart yet the same elevation. Interesting!

 

[insanebikerboy]

Talk about interesting weather. Tule fog here in California’s Central Valley has been one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen.

Since about Nov 24th, the fog has created ceilings of 400 feet or less with vis dropping to 1/4 or less at times. The top of the fog is about 1,500, so in and out of the fog quickly on climb out. The flip side, I’ve flown the ILS to minimums pretty much every flight. But, flying high and looking down, it is a really cool sight to see.

What is really crazy is in the valley temps have hovered 40-45F while up the mountains it’s 20-30 degrees warmer. Until some low pressure/stormy weather rolls through, this fog isn’t going anywhere.

These are the Sutter Buttes, just north of Sacramento. Elevation on the peaks is around 2,100 feet. The California coastal mountains are way off in the background.

 

[sevenhelmet]

I sure don’t miss the Central Valley inversion and all the pollution it traps down low. Yuck.

 

[insanebikerboy]

This is my fourth winter here and it’s never been like this. Some of the guys who have been around longer say the same, although my neighbor said growing up in the 70s and 80/ that it used to be this way frequently.