Meteorologist Mark

We’ll have to dodge more rain and storms today, folks. We’re already seeing a cluster of storms just south of Nashville at 10:00 a.m. and those will be working their way east, northeast. I’d plan on a stormy afternoon across the plateau. We may see another round later on into the evening. On Friday, our rain chances drop significantly, though there will likely be an isolated storm around somewhere. On Saturday, a front moves in and that will increase rain and storm chances again. That front clears out of here Saturday night and Sunday is a day you want to get out and enjoy! Low humidity and temps around 80 will make for a perfect July day. Enjoy it, because humidity knows how to get back to Tn on the fast route!

I’m on the road to Memphis today where I’ll be at a Aviation and Weather Conference tomorrow and Saturday, so there may be a delay in getting my blog updates. I’ll let you all know how the conference goes!

For those of you headed out for lunch, be aware that we have showers and storms popping up all over the place right now. Torrential rain, frequent lightning, and gusty winds will occur with any storm that develops. There’s nothing severe at this time, but that could change, as we’re in the marginal risk for severe storms. Damaging straight-line winds are the main threat. Just keep an eye to the sky and the radar if you’re headed out this afternoon. Let me know if you have any questions!

Radar at 11:00 a.m. Storms are moving east.

We will continue to dodge showers and storms through tomorrow. Some of the storms both today and tomorrow could be quite strong, with damaging winds and large hail being the primary threats. The tornado threat is low. It will be very warm and humid, as well, with afternoon highs in the lower 80s and overnight lows near 70.  On Friday, our rain chances drop off a bit, with continued hot and humid conditions. On Saturday, a front drops in and we have a very good chance of showers and storms, some of which could be strong. I have some good news, though. After that front clears through here on Saturday night, we will have an absolutely beautiful day on Sunday, with low humidity and highs near 80. Get out and enjoy that! Days of low humidity are rare in July and I can assure you the humidity will be dying to move back in on us (humidity just loves us here in TN).

If you want to feel grateful for the weather we have right now just think about this. On this date in 1970 the low temperature at Death Valley, CA was 103 and the high temp climbed to 120 that afternoon. And yes, that’s dry heat and not humid heat but ….120 degrees! That is HOT.  Can you imagine overnight lows of 100+ degrees?!

Speaking of heating up, the tropics are about to get going again. It looks like we could have our next tropical storm at any moment out in the Atlantic.  The next named storm will be Don. Some models curve it out to sea, and others bring it closer to the US. It’s definitely something to watch over the next week.

First of all, I hope you’re having a wonderful 4th of July week! If you have outdoor plans, please keep an eye on the radar and the sky. We will be dodging scattered showers and thunderstorms. Some of these storms could be strong, maybe even briefly severe, both this afternoon/evening and Tuesday afternoon/evening. I’m already seeing a complex of showers and t-storms moving into west TN. Those storms are showing more organization and I don’t see why they wouldn’t be able to thrive in this hot and humid environment. Those would be getting to the plateau later this afternoon, probably around 3:00 or so. So, again, this isn’t going to be a total washout either today or tomorrow, but you definitely need to be mindful of these scattered storms. Hopefully, the 4th of July fireworks won’t be affected too much. Below is the radar at about 9:00a.m.  Notice those storms near Memphis, moving east.

Looking ahead to Wednesday through Friday, we’ll still be dealing with scattered afternoon/evening storms, with the greatest chance being Thursday, the least chance being Friday. We’re also watching the tropics. There’s a system waaayyyy out there, so we’ve got a week to watch it. It will likely become our next named storm. It bears watching.