The posts in this forum are NOT official forecast and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or 
Quixotic wrote:Cerlin wrote:Quixotic wrote:If there are a lot of newbies around, perhaps a discussion about the 540 line and 850 mb temps is in order.
That would be beneficial to me. I’m an aspiring meteorologist but I have zero experience and I’m using this forum (and other resources) to gain exposure to meteorology.
Great honesty. You’re golden.
540 line and the 850 0 line are basically demarcations of snow. If the 540 line (upper level) is over or south of your area, Snow is possible. 850 0 line is indicative of wwx. If you have the combo, well, hip hiop hooray. As bubbahotep pointed out though, soundings ( which indicate temps, dewpoints and winds throughout the atmosphere) are a better indicator. If you get used to this basic concept: progress by calculating thicknesses. That’s when you really have a grasp on what will happen. I’ve seen rain at 20F. I’ve seen snow at 50F. Keep that layer in mind and you’ll be good. Smarter people than me can explain it. I’m just bad at jargon. Best of luck to you.
That makes sense. I’m sure as I see it happen as time goes on I’ll get even more used to it. I’m more of a “throw yourself out there and learn by doing” kinda guy so it’s good to get some genuine, directed-towards-me info sometimes. You explained it well, thank you!
east of us
