Sunday, August 3, 2014

the combo continues... (am.03.aug.14)>

We remain in a mode when/where the sky condition changes very rapidly and frequently, but it is mostly cloudy with some patchy fog at this particular moment.  I've measured an additional 0.20" (5mm) of rain since about 7:40pm last evening, and almost all of that occurred before midnight.  The low temp at my location here in the upper part of town was 65.7F (18.7C), and the humidity has been in the 90-100% range.

In the last seven days, I've recorded 13.71" (34.8cm) of rain.  You can do the math yourself and see what that means on an average/daily basis.  It's a lot, yes, but it's actually fairly typical for daily/weekly averages here in the very core weeks of the monsoon season.  I've been thinking that we'd see at least a few days of slightly lower daily rainfall averages by now -- but that hasn't happened yet.  The slightly drier air that has been chipping away at our air mass in the middle and upper levels has only served to deliver enough sunshine to heat up the lower levels and get the whole convection process cranked up -- leading to some moderate to heavy rain shower and thunder development.

I get asked often, "Is it safe to come to McLeod at this time?"  "Are there landslides?"

I can say that there are always some minor landslides and road wash-outs occurring around the area this time of year, but it's impossible to say exactly where and when they will happen, and often it's hard to get accurate information on specifics.  As far as the safety issue is concerned -- this place is packed with Indian tourists (and some foreigners as well) who don't seem too worried about it.  I have learned to refrain from offering travel advice -- it's way too subjective, and people have vastly different levels of tolerance and capacities for risk and adventure!  If you're traveling these mountain roads this time of year, you just have to be smart and cautious.

CURRENT FORECAST details are on the tab above.