Saturday, October 5, 2013

sunshine vs. fog... (pm.05.oct.13)>

*Update @ 8:20pm... Well now there are more showers developing in the area.  Clearing delayed...

*Update @ 7:45pm... For those of you who obsess on the details (like me), there is only 0.01" (less than 1mm) in the rain gauge from these sprinkles and drizzle late this afternoon and evening.  It is still foggy at the moment, with 89% humidity.  Clearing is still expected as the evening wears on...

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Saturday's stats:

Low temp: 59.2F (15.1C)
High temp: 67.3F (19.6C)
Rainfall: 0.08" (2mm) -- updated at 9pm

Thick fog and clouds blanket the area at sunset this evening, and I don't think there has been even one glimpse of sun since just after 1:00pm.  Full sunshine this morning started yielding to developing clouds and fog just after 10:00am, and it only got gloomier from there.  But in spite of the grey skies this afternoon, there have only been a few sprinkles and brief light rain showers, as far as I am aware, with very paltry measurements (if any) in the rain gauge.

At my location in the upper part of town, there has been only one-third of an inch (around 8mm) of rain in the past three days, which has kept our October total from rising much, after a very aggressive start to the month.  It was certainly nice to see the few hours of bright sunshine this morning, but it's plain to see that our air mass still contains lots of moisture.

Computer model data and upper-air charts continue to show a massive bubble of high pressure developing across most of the western and central Himalayan region as we move into the new week.  As I said this morning, it is going to be interesting to see if we derive much tangible benefit from this pattern change -- since the very moist lower levels of the atmosphere will be generally unaffected by what is happening aloft.  Still, I think our recent trend of less (and lighter) shower activity will continue as the atmosphere stabilizes a bit.  The main issue is going to be the cloud and fog potential, which I am fairly certain will remain high, especially from the late morning into the evening hours.  Enjoy the sunshine when it appears, because we are still far away from being able to keep it shining throughout the day.

Check the CURRENT FORECAST tab at the top of the page for all the details...