Month: July 2019

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a trough in West Tennessee that will be moving toward the Gulf Coast of Florida next week. The trough  of low pressure will encounter very warm Gulf of Mexico temps, along with favorable upper-level winds that could lead to the development of a tropical system.

Right now, this does not look like a major tropical development. However, it could spin up some rain and wind for the Florida coast by the middle of next week. Anyone with travel plans to the Florida Gulf Coast next week needs to monitor this. It’s not something to cancel plans over, but it is something to keep in mind.

I don’t think I have ever seen the hurricane center circle an area of interest that is so far inland. At first, I thought they had drawn their yellow X in the wrong spot (ha). They usually draw these out in the ocean to show a disturbance they are watching.

Again, if you have plans to go to the Florida coast next week just keep this in mind, but don’t cancel plans just yet. Even if this becomes a tropical storm that will just mean a rainy day with gusty winds, which could be a good day to just be lazy inside.

 

Main Threats:

SATURDAY-SUNDAY: Afternoon/evening storms could produce frequent lightning, gusty winds, and heavy rainfall. Widespread severe weather is not expected, though any storm that develops could be locally severe.

Summary

We will be under the threat for more showers and storms today, though it looks like the bulk of the day may be drier than tomorrow. Short term model solutions are suggesting that we may be rain-free from noon to about 4:00, before a bit of a disturbance kicks off some showers and storms after that point. That would bode well with the golfers who want to brave the heat this afternoon at Bear Trace. This is certainly no guarantee of a forecast, as we all know a shower or storm can kick off at anytime in this heat.

Showers and storms look to be pretty widespread on Sunday, as ingredients come together to kick off that precip in this unstable environment.

It still looks like rain chances will drop off for Monday and Tuesday, but the latest guidance now suggests we may have a weak front drop in here for the middle of the week, kicking off some showers and storms, before bringing in some drier air to end the week. I’ll keep an eye on that! Drier air with low humidity in July is always a welcome sight!

WeatherTAP WeatherFACT

Lightning can do some bizarre things when it strikes a sandy beach. The strike goes into the sand and instantly fuses the sand around it. The lightning literally forms a hollow shell around itself and you can dig them up if you know where to look. We call these fulgarites. They can range in size from a few centimeters (hard to find!) to several inches in length. Below are images of various fulgarites that have been found.

Records

On this day in 1893 a very violent tornado roared through northwestern Iowa. The tornado took the lives of 71 people along its 41-mile track. The storm killed 49 people in Pomeroy, where 80% of the town was destroyed. Most buildings were leveled to the ground. Photos reveal that most of the town had not one tree left standing, nor a single building with all four walls standing.

On this day in 1985 a lightning strike hit a huge transformer in Salt Lake County, Utah. According to witnesses, a fireball at least 200 feet was sent into the air. This lightning strike led to the entire state of Utah being plunged into darkness for up to five hours!

Almanac

Yesterday’s record high: 94 (2012, 1954)

Yesterday’s record low: 50 (1968)

Today’s record high: 95 (2012)

Today’s record low: 49 (1972) Forties in July?! Wow!

Today’s sunset: 7:59

Tomorrow sunrise: 5:30

Today’s day length: 14 hrs 29 mins 59 secs

Tomorrow’s day length: 14 hrs 29 mins 11 secs

One year ago today

It was a very wet day! A little over two inches of rain fell. Highs were in the mid 80s, lows in the mid 60s.

News

On July 4th the city of Anchorage, Alaska hit 90 degrees for a high temperature for the first time since records have been kept. Alaska has been experiencing a historic heat wave that has broken records some thought would always stand.

Yesterday, I had the most precious experience. While in Florida, the grandma of a 5-year old here in Cumberland County asked me to bring back something for her granddaughter who wants to be an astronaut. I met Kaylee yesterday and that girl’s passion for NASA is incredible. I gave her the bag of goodies I brought her and you’d think I was Santa Claus. She had on her little NASA shirt and NASA hat. She just kept thanking me and gave me a big hug.

Her grandma messaged me yesterday evening and said Kaylee was taking a bath and pretending the Orion capsule I gave her was performing a splashdown. LOL That was the test I went to Tuesday morning, where the capsule was fired 31,000 feet into the air and then performed an emergency abort. The splashdown was wild!

Let’s just all hope and pray that Kaylee is able to live out her big dreams! We need to do everything in our power to help these kids. There’s so much to pull them in the wrong direction. I have a feeling Kaylee will be alright, though. I also have a feeling I’m going to see her being a NASA engineer, or working in the Operations Center, or even being an astronaut for NASA someday. What a kid!

You all have the best day!

Main Threats:

FRIDAY – SUNDAY: Any afternoon or evening storm could be strong, with frequent lightning, gusty winds, small hail, and very heavy rainfall. Widespread severe weather is not expected, though some storms could be locally severe for a brief time.

Summary

The heat and humidity are with us in full force this Fourth of July weekend. Be safe if you’re out and about in this heat. We will also see scattered, mainly afternoon/evening, showers and storms over the next several days. Anyone with outdoor plans should keep an eye to the sky and on the radar. Any storm that develops could be on the strong side, especially with all this heat and humidity around to fuel them.

I should note that at least one short-term model this morning is showing some intense storms lining up along the western edge of the plateau this evening sometime between 5-7:00 pm. Those would then push east, giving us some pretty good storm coverage, if that model verifies.

Indications are that rain chances will begin dropping off come Monday, setting the stage for a very warm/hot first full week of July with low rain chances each day.

WeatherTAP WeatherFACT

While Florida is considered the lightning capital of the United States, they receive a vast majority of that lightning in only three months: June, July and August. The area from Tampa to Titusville is known as “Lightning Alley”, receiving more lightning strikes than any other region of the state of Florida.

Records 

On this day in 1968 Crossville had a record low of 50 degrees! That’s almost sweater weather this time of year, folks! Clarksville, located northwest of Nashville, was only 47 degrees that morning.

In stark contrast to that…..

On this day in 1970 Death Valley, California recording a morning low of 103! They climbed to 120 for a high for that day.

Almanac

Today’s sunset: 8:00

Tomorrow sunrise: 5:30

Today’s day length: 14 hrs 30 mins 44 secs

Tomorrow’s day length: 14 hrs 29 mins 59 secs

News

You all have a safe and wonderful Fourth of July weekend. Please be careful around these storms. That lightning can be quite lethal. More people die from lightning strikes during this weekend than at any other time of the year. Just be safe and if you hear thunder remember you’re close enough to be struck.

I’m working on my write-up from my trip last week, so stay tuned for that! I’ll try to have that finished by next week sometime. I have a LOT to tell! ha

Have a great weekend!

This morning’s weatherTAP RadarLab at 10:00 a.m. shows the closest storms to us are back over in the Memphis area. This radar image will change as we go through the day!

 

 

I wanted to let you all know that I’m finally back from my trip to the Kennedy Space Center! I also wanted to wish you all a very happy Fourth of July!

I’ll be doing a big write-up at some point to let you all know what all I learned on this 10-day trip and hopefully you will learn something too! It sure has been one heck of an adventure.  Now, to get rested up! (ha)

I had meant to post more here as things were going on but I had all kinds of trouble with my wordpress app. Hopefully, the great many of you were able to follow along on Facebook and see all my posts there.

Again, I hope you have a very happy Independence Day and that you’ll look forward to the blog resuming normally tomorrow!