Sunday, May 22, 2016

a changing scenario... (pm.22.may.16)>

Sunday's stats:

Low temp: 62.1F (16.7C) -- occurred at 5:35pm during rain/hail
High temp: 88.1F (31.2C)
Rainfall: 0.28" (7mm) --updated @ 8:05pm

The sky is still looking very turbulent at 6:30pm, with some thunder rumbling at the moment -- but we only ended up with about 15-20 minutes of actual rain here in the middle of town between about 5:30 and 5:50pm.  There was some hail for a few minutes as well, which brought us a brief period of natural air conditioning.  Otherwise it was a day of hazy sunshine and occasional clouds, with temperatures again surpassing 30ºC, and humidity creeping above 40%.

The mountain thunder machine kicked into gear late this afternoon, and current satellite pics show a chain of thundershowers lined up along the Himalayan ranges from northern Pakistan all the way into central Uttarakhand.  That, in spite of the fact that the overall air mass across most of north India is rather stable.  Just goes to show how the mountain slopes can capitalize on even the smallest disparities in temperatures and pockets of latent moisture in different layers of the atmosphere.  These random thundershowers should settle down overnight, but then we've got a more large-scale period of instability on the way starting tomorrow afternoon, and continuing through Tuesday and perhaps into Wednesday.  A couple of upper-level circulations will ease in from the west, accompanied by some significant cooling aloft.  With this very warm and moderately moist air mass in place, the stage will be set for the potential for some much more intense thunderstorm action, along with a period or two of moderate to heavy rainfall.  There will also be a noticeable cool-down for a couple of days.

Between Wednesday and Thursday the atmosphere will stabilize again, with some drier air sweeping in.  Temperatures will also rebound fairly rapidly, taking us back into the above normal range for the latter part of May.

Check tabs above for more info, including the MAY DAILY STATS and THE 7-DAY OUTLOOK.