Weather Headlines
–The drought monitor has updated and now much of the plateau is in severe drought conditions
–A tropical system in the Gulf may bring a shower to two to the plateau tomorrow evening/night
–A substantial rain maker arrives Monday, with rain and storms (some could be strong)
Main threats
Drought conditions continue to worsen. Manage water use appropriately.
Strong storms are possible Monday.
Summary
The drought monitor has updated and now much of the plateau is in severe drought. Hopefully, we’ll get some substantial rainfall on Monday to help us out! As you can see, folks closer to Chattanooga are in even worse shape than we are, having been upgraded to extreme drought conditions. Even with rain on Monday, we will likely remain in drought conditions.
We’ll have a chance for a shower or two tomorrow evening/night. I’m not too impressed with this setup at all. This is from the tropical system that will be sliding well to our south. Those of you north of I-40 will likely not see a thing. I’m not sure any of us will, actually, but those of you south of Cumberland County have the best chance for a dust-settling shower. Hopefully, that system will nudge a bit northward and increase our rain chances. I’ll keep an eye on it.
The better chance of rain arrives Monday with a strong cold front. The cold air behind this front doesn’t look as impressive as it did earlier, but the rain chances are still looking good. We need that rain! Unfortunately, some strong storms may be thrown in with that rain. It doesn’t look like a big severe weather episode, though, so that’s good.
After that front moves through, we’ll be left with more fall-like, pleasant weather.
Almanac
Baldwin’s 7-Day forecast
Records
On this day in 1930, a freak lake-effect snow event produced 47 inches of snow at Governeur, New York! Buffalo picked up 48 inches!
Switching gears…
When Hurricane Wilma formed on this day in 2005, it meant that that season was tied for the record number of named storms in a season (we had 21 named storms in 1933) and tied the record for number of hurricanes (12 in 1969).
Wilma would end up reaching cat 5 intensity on the 19th of October, with an astonishing barometric pressure of 882 mb. That is the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded with a hurricane in the Atlantic basin. Wilma also intensified more rapidly than other storm recorded in the Atlantic basin, increasing its wind speed by 105 mph in 24 hours.
The 2005 season was just astonishing, producing so many named storms that we had to resort to using the Greek alphabet to name storms, since we had run out of letters in our own alphabet. This is also the year Katrina hit New Orleans.
Tropics
The National Hurricane Center will likely name the system in the Gulf at some point today. That storm will be Nestor. The system is expected to track into the Southeast this weekend, bringing beneficial rainfall to areas experiencing severe to extreme drought.
Today’s WeatherTAP WeatherWORD
Potential Tropical Cyclone
A term used to describe a cyclone that no longer possesses sufficient tropical characteristics to be considered a tropical cyclone. Post-tropical cyclones can continue carrying heavy rains and high winds.
WeatherTAP WeatherFACT
The system in the Gulf is a post-tropical cyclone. True tropical systems don’t have fronts. Our system in the Gulf is drawing energy from a remnant cold front in the Gulf. When this front becomes absorbed by the system, and there are no fronts present, the National Hurricane Center will define it as a true tropical storm and name it (Nestor).
A graphic was created by NOAA to help explain this even more.
NASA Knowledge
NASA is making history this morning! The world’s first female spacewalking team is making history high above our heads this morning! The astronauts are working to fix a broken part of the power network. This is the first time in space history that a woman floated out without a male crewmate.
“We’ve got qualified women running the control, running space centers, commanding the station, commanding spaceships and doing spacewalks,” Sullivan told The Associated Press earlier this week. “And golly, gee whiz, every now and then there’s more than one woman in the same place.”
Pictured below are Astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch, making history today as the first all female spacewalking crew. Well done, ladies!
News
Yesterday I had the opportunity to drive up to UT Martin and speak to some of their meteorology club members. It was a wonderful visit! And yes, they all got Meteorologist Mark magnets! haha
Keep in mind that you can pick up your own magnet at Plateau Office Supply! Just step in and ask for one at the desk!
You all have a great day!