Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion dmatt on conditions of various locations in the ES

For those interested, here is an update on the condition of various popular locations in the Eastern Sierra:

www.easternsierraforecast.com

A question on the weather reports, Dennis:

"On Thursday that shortwave exits to the east for dry weather. Then on Friday another, colder shortwave will reinforce the long wave pattern off the coast, bringing windy conditions and the chance of mountain showers to Mono County Saturday and Sunday."

Can you explain or help me understand what short wave and long wave patterns are? I have seen those often, but just don't know what it means.

By the way, we're making progress on that web cam setup for your work site!

Steve:

Simply speaking;

A long wave is a pattern in the prevailing westerly flow which is large in length and amplitude. It moves slowly and is of a persistent nature. Its position governs weather patterns over an area for days or weeks.

Short waves are smaller and move much faster than long waves (twice as fast or more). Short waves are embedded within long waves. Short waves effect an area for a shorter time period than a long wave.