Weather for NearSys Station, January 2018

The average low at NearSys Station was 34 degrees F and the average high was 45 degrees F. According to one of our local television meteorologists, this January was 5 degrees warmer than the average.

There was 1.25 inches of rain in January and no snow. No snow is quite an exception. Fortunately, it was cold enough in the mountains that the precip there was in the form of snow.

All Sky Photometer for NearSys Station, 29 January 2018

NearSys Station was foggy and overcast until late afternoon. The sun came out briefly and then promptly passed behind the clouds.

Visibility for NearSys Station, 26 January 2018

The 5:10 PM MST UAVSonde flight indicates visibility at NearSys Station is in excess of 50 miles. Snow is visible on the Owyhee and Boise mountain ranges. The cloud base was higher than 6,500 feet, or the top of Shaffer Butte in the Boise Mountains.

Looking East.

Looking North.

Looking South.

Looking West.

An Observation on Cloud Height as Rains Approach

Starting the afternoon of January 21st, the clouds began building up (from what was originally a clear morning) for a rain shower we were promised. I wondered if the clouds were going to get lower as the "storm" approached, so I measured the temperature of  the ground and clouds with a thermal imager (Seek Reveal) every 30 minutes. When the storm finally arrived at 6:00 PM MST, a light drizzle persisted all night. Here are the results.

The ground temperature dropped only five degrees F over the course of my measurements. The cloud temperatures on the other hand increased 31 degrees F over the same time.

Assuming a dry adiabatic lapse rate of 5.4 degrees F per 1,000 feet, this is the height of the clouds as the rains approached. 

I need to repeat this experiment several more times to see if it remains consistent. This also means making these measurements when I know it''s not going to rain or snow.

All Sky Photometer for NearSys Station, 21 January 2018

What started out as a clear morning turned into a cloudy and eventually rainy night. Below is the photometer's output. You can see at around 1:30 PM MST, the clouds came in pretty heavy.

Ground and Sky Thermal Observation for NearSys Station, 20 January 2018

NearSys Station is partially overcast with altocumulus clouds (I believe). The base of the clouds had a temperature of -12 *F for a temperature between the ground and sky of 31 degrees.

Assuming a dry adiabatic lapse rate of 5.4 degrees per thousand feet, the base of the clouds is at an altitude of 5,700 feet.

Visible image of the clouds over NearSys Station at 3:30 PM MST.

Thermal image of the clouds over NearSys Station.

Visibility for NearSys Station, 20 January 2018

The UAVSonde flight indicates that the visibility from NearSys Station is at least 50 miles. Most interesting is the line of cumulus clouds setting about the Owyhee Mountains. These are most likely created by air moving south and forced to rise over the mountain's higher elevation.

Looking East.

Looking North.

Looking South. Orographically-generated clouds are visible over the edge of the Owyhee Mountains.

Looking West.