Tuesday, May 8, 2012

what we've waited for... (pm.08.may.12)>

A beautiful evening underway... with mostly sunny skies and warm temps.  I recorded a high of 83.3F (28.5C), which is now the new high of 2012 as well.  Sunshine was in control for most of the day, but we did have a build-up of clouds and a brief light shower between 1:30 and 2:00pm which deposited 0.04" (1mm) in my rain gauge in the upper part of town.

According to the latest weather charts and computer model projections, this first real bout of summery weather hasn't peaked just yet -- with indications that there is further warming to come during the next 48 hours or so.  Barring a particularly major round of thunderstorms, we should continue to achieve the highest temperatures of the year between now and Thursday.  This is the time of year when it is really really nice NOT to be just a few kilometers downhill, or down on the plains of north India, where temperatures are near or slightly above 40C (104F) across a wide area.

By the end of the week, an upper-level disturbance will be approaching from the west.  This is going to cause temperatures in the upper atmosphere to drop significantly, which will create a lot of instability, considering this very warm air we now have at the surface.  What that means is that we'll have to watch for widespread development of thunderstorms, along with a dip in temps.

TUESDAY NIGHT:
clear to partly cloudy.  balmy temps.
low: 20C (68F)

WEDNESDAY:
very warm, with sunshine and occasional clouds.  an isolated PM thundershower?
high: 29C (84F)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
risk of an evening thundershower, otherwise partly cloudy.  a warm night...
low: 21C (69F)

THURSDAY:
hazy sunshine and a few clouds.  unseasonably warm, with an isolated PM thundershower possible.
high: 29C (84F)

FRIDAY:
partly cloudy and warm... better chance of some thunderstorms developing.
morning low: 21C (69F)
daytime high: 28C (82F)

SATURDAY:
clouds and some periods of sun.  good chance of a few showers and thunderstorms around.  not as warm.
morning low: 19C (66F)
daytime high: 27C (80F)

SUNDAY:
a mix of clouds and sun, with a couple of showers and thundershowers still possible.
morning low: 18C (64F)
daytime high: 26C (78F)