A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.
At a Glance
48-Hour Weather
Threats
Severe weather is not expected through at least Wednesday. After that point, the effects of Laura may bring us some stronger storms and heavy rainfall. I’ll monitor the track of that storm very closely.
Baldwin’s Severe Weather Concern
The threat for severe weather will be heavily dependent upon the track of Laura by the end of this week. I’ll keep an eye on that. Adjustments to the track have already increased my concern just a bit.
Baldwin’s 7-Day forecast
Daily Forecast
Today & Tomorrow: Partly cloudy, hot and humid. A chance for an afternoon/evening shower or storm.
Thursday: Continued hot and humid, with a slightly better chance for a mainly afternoon/evening shower or storm.
Friday – Saturday: Rain and storms. Some of the rainfall could be heavy, and some of the storms could be strong.
Sunday – Monday: Partly cloudy, with mainly afternoon/evening shower and storm chances returning.
Baldwin’s Hay Day Forecast
The next few days look pretty good, though we will dodge that chance for an afternoon/evening shower or storm. Laura’s effects begin arriving Thursday. By Friday and Saturday, rainfall could become heavy. The trend for early next week is for a bit drier conditions, followed by a return to a wetter period by the end of next week.
Almanac
Yesterday’s National High and Low Temperature
High: 120 at Death Valley, California
Low: 32 at both Peter Sinks, Utah & Yellowstone, Wyoming
Tropics
Laura is now a hurricane and is expected to rapidly intensify over the next 48 hours. The storm is expected to make landfall as a major hurricane. Right now, landfall is expected near the Texas/Louisiana border, but models have been trending a bit westward with that. Hopefully, the storm steers clear of Houston, our nation’s fourth largest city. Current forecast have Laura strengthening to a cat 3 storm, with winds of 115 mph, though some models forecast an even stronger storm. The storm is then expected to curve toward our neck of the woods, bringing us rain and wind.
The latest model projections show our picking up around 2-4 inches of rain from Laura from Thursday through Saturday. The exact track of Laura could change, which would change these rainfall projections. Stay tuned.
Today’s Wx Hazards Across the Nation
Significant severe weather is possible across the Northeast today, with flooding possible in the mountains of West Virginia. More heavy rainfall is possible across north Alabama and north Georgia. All eyes are on Laura in the Gulf, as she gathers strength.
Tomorrow’s Wx Hazards Across the Nation
More severe weather will threaten areas from northern Wisconsin down to Pennsylvania. Straight-line winds are the main threat. Meanwhile, Laura keeps the Texas and Louisiana coast residents on edge, as she strengthens and move closer to land.
Thursday’s Wx Hazards Across the Nation
A powerful hurricane Laura makes landfall. That will bring very heavy rain and damaging winds to those coastal areas. Meanwhile, severe storms threaten a large area stretching from South Dakota/Nebraska eastward to the East Coast, including the major cities of Chicago, New York and Boston. Two of our nation’s largest cities, Houston and New York, will be under the threat for severe weather.
Records
On this day in 2005 Katrina becomes a hurricane just before landfall in south Florida between Hallandale Beach and North Miami Beach. Maximum sustained winds at the time of landfall were near 80 mph. There were eleven fatalities in South Florida, including four by falling trees. More than 1.3 million customers lost electrical services, and preliminary insured loss estimates ranged from $600 million to $2 billion in the state of Florida
Long Range Outlook
The start of September is trending cooler and much wetter. If this trend verifies, September could be off to a very soggy start!
Temperature
Precipitation
Weather Shot
Just as Laura was poised to enter the Gulf, Tropical Storm Marco weakened into a tropical depression. Since depressions aren’t named, the storm then lost its official name status. Since Laura didn’t move into the Gulf before this happened, the chance to have two named tropical storms in the Gulf at the same time ended just before midnight last night.
NASA Nerdology
I must admit that, my heart skipped a beat when I saw who this email was from. Remember when I applied to be an astronaut? I seriously, seriously doubt I will even make the first cut but it’s still exciting! It turns out the email was just about the pandemic causing a delay in the selection process. I can wait, NASA. I can wait. lol
“Dear Astronaut Candidate Applicant,
I wanted to notify you directly that due to the current global pandemic, we have delayed our selection timeline. We anticipate announcing a new class of Astronauts late in 2021, instead of June. We did not feel we could safely conduct in person activities given social distancing requirements and travel concerns. We will post an updated schedule on our website.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Warm regards,
Anne Roemer
Manager
Astronaut Selection Office”
You all have a great day!
