Thursday, March 30, 2017

nice and pleasant for now... (pm.30.mar.17)>

Thursday's stats:

Low temp: 62.2F (16.8C)
High temp: 77.0F (25.0C)
Rainfall: none

Today is the fourth day in a row with a high temp at or above 77ºF/25ºC, which is very unusual for this early in the season.  My temp in the upper part of town hasn't been able to reach 80ºF/27ºC during this warm stretch, as I thought it might, but it's been darn close.  Sunshine was the dominant weather feature throughout this Thursday... though we have had occasional cirrus clouds, along with a bit of afternoon cumulus development over the mountains.

March 2017 has been a month of extremes... with temperatures far below normal along with numerous periods of sleet/snow showers back between the 9th and 11th, and then this very vivid preview of summer during the last week or so.  And now we are on the brink of another transition, as we usher in April.  The high pressure ridge which has dominated the weather pattern across central and northwest India recently will flatten and break down over the weekend, paving the way for a late winter-like upper-level storm system to move in from the northwest next week.  Already we had a brief period of thunder/sprinkles yesterday afternoon, and we should see our risk of some scattered shower/thundershower action increasing tomorrow afternoon through Saturday, as cooler air aloft generates some instability.

Sunday could be a decent day, though a bit cooler, but then the real concerns enter the picture by late Monday... and especially during the Tuesday through Thursday range.  A very ominous convergence of variables will occur by then, giving us a strong likelihood of significant rain, thunderstorms, gusty winds, and temperatures plunging well below normal for early April.  The good news is that quick improvement is suggested by the models for the following weekend...