Cold in the west, warm in the east…
A high amplitude upper level pattern is making the 500 millibar chart look like a ride at Cedar Point this weekend with a huge trough in the west and a giant ridge in the west.
Western snow…
As much as 11.5 inches of snow just east of Pocatello, Idaho Friday night and Saturday morning. Three to six inch amounts were common across Utah. Tree limbs and powerlines were down in some areas. Five inches was reported in the Bitterroots of Montana. Freeze warnings are in effect tonight for parts of Idaho. It was snowing at Wolf Creek Pass in southwestern Colorado, where visibilities were less than ¼ mile with a temperature of 32F. Across the state ahead of the front it was 80F in Denver. Nice temperatures for tonight’s NL Division Series baseball game in Coors Field, but it will be very windy. Winds were gusting to 45 mph at Berthoud Pass. A wind gust to 60 mph was recorded at Grand Junction on the western slope. Snow advisories were in effect in Utah, where snow levels were dropping to around 4500 feet. Six to twelve inches and more of snow was reported in some higher mountain locations.
Record bin…
84F at Crossville, TN…90F at Goodland, KS…89F at Pensacola…93F at Memphis…87F at Minneapolis…just a few of the dozens of record highs today. The 81F at Beckley, WV tied their all time October record. The high at Las Vegas was 70F today, setting a record for the coldest October 6th on record there.
