'Twas the week of Christmas and all along the jet stream
Storms were lining up and gathering steam
The skis were all waxed, the kids were excited
Not only for Santa, but what was beside him
The presents are loaded and so are the reindeer
But the thought of fresh powder, brings us a tear
So dig out your snow gear and tighten up your bindings
Mother Nature is certainly bringing Utah glad tidings
A BIG wallop this past weekend brought feet of snow to all of Utah's resorts. This week, Mother Nature is doing a repeat with not one, but a week long snow event. The jet stream is very active right now and aiming itself right into Utah. That basically means the ribbon of strong winds in the upper atmosphere is like a "highway in the sky". The storms ride along it like the freeway and have nowhere to go but dropping into Utah. The latest satellite shows all kinds of pinks, colors south of the Aleutians; this is a good thing. These are the storms, or low pressure systems, lining up, heading into the Pacific Northwest and sliding down into Utah. The first 2 "hits" are small. One hit Sunday morning, one Monday morning. The parent storm comes in for Monday night and continues through Wednesday. It will be the "perfect storm" as it will start as a heavier snow, higher density or more water content. This happens when the upper flow is more of a south, southwest flow. As the front passes, the wind flow becomes more northwest. This will happen on Tuesday. The density becomes lighter and colder air moves in. You want this type of storm where the heavy snow falls first, then the lighter snow falls on top; called a "right side up" storm. By Wednesday, there will be 1-3 feet for fresh powder!
When Santa is getting the last bit of reindeer food out, the jet stream is refueling as well and will deliver another storm by late Christmas Eve through Christmas day. This means 2 things:
1. Santa riding along the jet stream may get him to Utah a little faster, so kids in bed early.
2. Another foot of snow + for those new skis Christmas morning.
Few tips for all this snow and kids:
1. Feet and toe warmers in the pockets
2. Neck gaiters or balaclavas ON!
3. Good socks-my favorites are Euros.
4. Layers of clothes. You can always pull one off.
5. Good mittens or gloves (I prefer gloves). I have no favorite, been searching for years.
6. Take your time! Powder skiing is hard for tiny legs. I can almost guarantee the kids will not make it all day. The quads will burn quicker. Hey, it's the holidays, no reason to hurry!
7. HAVE FUN!
Happy holidays from my motley crew and see you on the slopes!!!
Chevy was filming a commercial at Snowbird this past week and Brennan decided to race the trucks...enjoy.
