Friday, April 11, 2014

reaching new heights... (pm.11.apr.14)>

Friday's stats:

Low temp: 57.0F (13.9C)
High temp: 70.5F (21.4C)
Rainfall: none

There has been a significant amount of thundershower development over the mountains this afternoon -- not only around the Dhauladhars, but southeastward into Uttarakhand and western Nepal as well.  We've got some thunder rumbling just to our north and northwest at sunset this evening, which we'll have to keep an eye on in case it happens to hold together a bit longer before dying out after dark.  Otherwise it's been another day of fantastic sunshine here in McLeod, with temperatures rising to their warmest levels of the season and 2014.

The disparity between a warming air mass at the surface, and the first approaching traces of colder air aloft has triggered the big cumulus clouds and thundershowers over the mountains this afternoon/evening, and that is a sign of things to come.  A wave of upper-level energy dropping in from the west-northwest this weekend will bring in even colder air in the higher levels of the atmosphere, as much warmer air stays entrenched in the lower levels.  Add to that a batch of moisture being drawn into the equation, and we've got the stage set for enough instability to bring about an increasing chance of scattered shower and thundershower action which will last into Sunday night and perhaps Monday as well.  The very best target range for a couple of rounds of significant rainfall will be between late Saturday night and Sunday evening, but it does look like the shower/thundershower activity will be very on-and-off, with even some sunshine occurring in between.

I'm a little hesitant to say it, but there are indications that we may have finally made it over the hump in terms of breaking into the kind of milder temperatures that are at least somewhat closer to normal for this time of year.  Of course we'll have some temporarily cooler temps during rain/thundershowers, but the overall nature of this April air mass is now getting more consistently comfortable.

CURRENT FORECAST info can be found on the tab above.