Meteorologist Mark

My calendar is right beside the thermometer that tells me the outside temperature, and I’m wondering if it’s really August 1st? Did I really contemplate turning on the heater in my truck this morning? Even more interesting, is that I can’t see any really hot weather in sight. Even the extended outlooks through the middle of August indicate below normal temps and above normal precipitation.

Out West, however, they are experiencing record heat. Some places in Oregon may record their hottest temperatures ever today (100+ deg). And they don’t typically have ACs out there either.

As for us, clouds will keep us cooler today. We should climb to 80 by the afternoon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t make it there. Lows tonight will fall to around 60. Both Wednesday and Thursday will be partly to mostly sunny, with highs in the low 80s and a slight chance of a shower or storm, though some of the models this morning keep us completely dry until Friday. On Friday, we’ll see a strong cold front approach, and that will bring showers and storms, some of which could be strong. Friday is definitely the wettest day this week. Saturday looks absolutely perfect! Highs in the mid 70s (that’s right, MIDDLE 70s!) and no humidity. A yard salers paradise, folks! (ha) Sunday still looks good but models are trying to bring in a disturbance that could bring some showers, so if you have outdoor plans this weekend, do it Saturday. Next week looks cool and wet.

As for the tropics, Tropical Storm Emily didn’t survive the trek across Florida very well and she is pretty much history. The other disturbance in the Atlantic has also pretty much disintegrated, so all is quiet in the tropics again.

I was noticing in the records today two events that took place on this date. On Aug 1, 1985 a severe t-storm stalled out on Cheyenne, WY, and dropped 6″ of rain in 6 hours. The storm also, get this, dropped 2-5 FEET of hail! Twelve people lost their lives and 65 million dollars in damage was left behind. It was the most damaging storm in WY history. On this date in 1986, a powerful t-storm with 100 mph winds and hail raced across Kansas and into Missouri. Crops were mowed to the ground, roofs blown off houses, and 71 million dollars in damage was done by the storm. It was the worst t-storm in KS history, with a damage path 150 miles long and 30 miles wide.  Notice that both storms were not tornadoes and were the most destructive ever in each state. You don’t have to have a tornado to have a life-threatening, damaging storm (like our windstorm Memorial Day weekend).

So, on that note, you all enjoy this nice, calm, and unseasonable weather we have in TN today!

We couldn’t ask for better weather for the last day of July! And how about this past weekend? We are definitely in a pattern that I think most people agree is very welcome for this time of year (or any time of the year!). Today, the pleasant weather continues, with low humidity and highs around 80. Tonight, we’ll dip back down to near 60.  The nights here lately have been perfect for giving your AC a break and opening the windows and letting some fresh air in. On Tuesday, we’ll be a degree or two warmer than today and the humidity will be slightly higher, but still a very nice day for us. Humidity levels start to really increase by Wednesday and that humidity will stay high through Friday, though high temps will still stay in the lower 80s, so it won’t be anything like the oppressive humidity that we’ve seen before this last front moved in. We do have some strong storms to be concerned about on Friday, which is something the yard salers will have to watch out for. I might also need to mention that we have isolated storm chances Wednesday and Thursday, too, but those will be very isolated. Friday is definitely the wettest day of the week. But, just hold on, because that stormy weather is due to another unseasonably strong cold front that will bring us another absolutely beautiful weekend next weekend! In fact, it should be exactly like this past weekend!

In other news, we now have Tropical Storm Emily in the eastern Gulf of Mexico! The storm has winds of 45 mph and will make landfall near Tampa later this afternoon. The storm is already producing very heavy rainfall for the southern half of the state. I’ve attached a graphic of the current position and expected path of the storm.  We also have another disturbance farther out in the Atlantic that we’ll be watching over the next week at tracks westward.

You all have a wonderful Monday and let me know if you have any questions!

 

We’re still on track for a beautiful weekend! But first, we have to get through the next few days. Today will just be hot and humid. Highs will get to near or right at 90 degrees. We could see an isolated storm but that’s just from the heat and humidity. Thursday will be much of the same, but we will see an increase in showers and storms, especially as we head into the overnight hours. We do have the potential for strong to severe storms both Thursday night and Friday as a strong cold front makes it way through. Friday looks storms, with highs in the 70s.

By Saturday, the front will have cleared the area and we are right on track for highs in the upper 70s! AND the humidity will be really low! That’s about as perfect as it gets for this time of year, folks!

So, be safe in the heat the next couple of days and pay attention to the storms Thursday night and Friday. I’ll be in Charlotte for a trade show but I’ll do my best to keep you updated, especially on my personal blog at https://meteorologistmark.com

 

The models are really starting to come into agreement that the cold front that slips through here on Friday will be strong enough to bring us some nice relief by the weekend! We may not even hit 80 degrees for both Saturday and Sunday! And, the humidity levels will be very low. Overnight lows will dip to near 60. Now that’s some nice relief, folks. Just keep your fingers crossed that the forecast doesn’t change!

But first, we have to get to the weekend, right? Today and tomorrow are going to be very hot and humid. Highs will reach into the upper 80s but it will feel much hotter with that humidity. By Thursday we’ll see more clouds and that should keep us a degree or two cooler, but with stifling humidity who’ll notice? We will see showers and storms becoming likely Thursday and that will persist right into Friday. Since this cold front is so strong for this time of year, we have to be mindful of the possibility of strong to severe storms both Thursday night and Friday. Skies clear by Saturday morning, leading to a great weekend.

We have some interesting weather going on in the Pacific right now. We have hurricane Irwin and Hurricane Hilary. Hilary is expected to become a major hurricane  by tonight. What’s interesting is that Hilary is going to overtake Irwin and absorb him. That’s called the Fugiwara effect. That should take place on Thursday. We’ve seen that happen only twice in the Atlantic but it happens more often in the Pacific, where there tends to be more storms. The circulation of Hilary will wrap Irwin around and they’ll do a bit of a dance around each other before Hilary absorbs poor little Irwin. I’ll leave the political jokes to you all on this situation. I’m just a meteorologist  🙂