issues of instability... (pm.04.may.14)>

Sunday's stats:

Low temp: 62.2F (16.8C)
High temp: 76.5F (24.7C)
Rainfall: trace

We have mostly cloudy skies just before sunset this evening, but it's turned out to be a fairly nice day overall.  Sunshine this morning gave way to lots of mountain cloud development by the noon hour, with some thunder rumbling off and on until mid-afternoon.  I only witnessed a couple of sprinkles myself, but there could have been a more substantial shower somewhere around the area.  Temperatures were just a degree or two below normal for this stage of May.

Satellite pics this evening show numerous thundershowers along the Himalayan ranges, extending from central Kashmir through Himachal and Uttarakhand, all the way into Nepal.  We've managed to miss out on any significant rainfall so far today, but that's how it goes with this kind of general instability -- it's hit and miss.  It looks like this fairly typical early summer pattern will remain in place throughout most of the coming week, so that means we will have to be prepared for continued fluctuations between sun, clouds, thunder, and spotty showers.

Our temperatures will remain pleasantly warm for the most part, but be aware and prepared for sudden cooling in the event of a thundershower episode.  I'm thinking there could be a decrease in shower potential by late in the week, but honestly, our atmosphere is going to remain marginally unstable as far as the eye can see...

CURRENT FORECAST info can be found on the tab above.

sun & showers... (am.04.may.14)>

Our skies are mostly clear at sunrise, apart from some light haze and a few high clouds.  I'm recording an overnight low of 62.2F (16.8C), and there has been no additional rainfall since last report.  The humidity reading this morning is relatively high -- at 50%.

We got out of the starting gate yesterday with regard to measurable rainfall for the month of May -- I had 0.34" (9mm) on Tushita Road just below the mountaineering center.  And it looks like we have a very good chance of adding to that during the coming few days.  A very light flow in a rather featureless upper-air pattern will hang around for much of this new week, as a disparity remains between warmer surface temperatures and pockets of colder air aloft.  This is a classic early summer instability situation, with daily build-ups of clouds and showers/thundershowers aided by the mountains.  Of course we've still seen a good share of sunshine in the midst of the spotty showers the past few days, so it's turning into quite the variety show.

Temperatures have dipped a few degrees from the above normal 80s (F) of a few days ago, but will remain pleasantly warm, and fairly close to normal for early May.  Shower episodes will bring temporary cooling though, as we experienced late yesterday afternoon.  No dramatic changes are foreseen all the way through the week, though we could see a slight lessening of shower chances and a bit of a warm-up toward Thursday or Friday.

Check the CURRENT FORECAST details on the tab above.

a repetitive pattern... (pm.03.may.14)>

Saturday's stats: 

Low temp: 59.4F (15.2C) -- updated @ 8:00pm
High temp: 75.8F (24.3C)
Rainfall: 0.34" (9mm) -- updated @ 8:00pm

The sun is visible in the western sky just before sunset this evening, otherwise it's mostly cloudy.  We had a fairly substantial round of showers with some thunder between about 4:45 and 5:30pm, with another brief but significant shower right around 12:30pm.  Otherwise, the day has been full of alternations between sun, clouds, and a few sprinkles, very light showers at times.  The sunshine was less dominant today than it has been recently, and that kept our temperatures down a few degrees.

The weather charts and data are looking rather repetitive during the coming several days, with this unstable situation expected to linger.  It's not an actual storm system we're dealing with -- just mainly PM instability being generated due to a combination of warm air in the lower levels, proportionately cooler air aloft, and a good amount of latent moisture in this early summer atmosphere.  The upper-level flow is very light these days, so nothing much is changing, nor is it expected to change during most of this coming week.

So -- we'll have to get used to periods of sun alternating with cloudiness, along with a fairly good chance of some scattered shower and thundershower development during the afternoon/evening hours.  So far, rainfall amounts have been generally light, but it's not out of the question that we could get some briefly heavier downpours on occasion.  Temperatures will be pretty close to seasonal norms, but will of course temporarily cool off during showers.

The CURRENT FORECAST is always available on the tab above.

mixed conditions... (am.03.may.14)>

There are a few clouds scattered around the area, otherwise it is mostly clear at sunrise this Saturday morning.  I'm recording an overnight/early morning low temp of 62.1F (16.7C), which is a few degrees (F) cooler than it's been recently.  There has been a trace of rainfall since last evening's report, thanks to a few more sprinkles and light showers up until midnight or so -- and the 24 hour rainfall has also been only a trace.  Humidity this morning is 40%.

We're going to have to continue dealing with an unstable atmosphere not only over the weekend, but perhaps all the way through most of next week.  Although there is a general ridge of high pressure in the upper atmosphere which is dominating the western Himalayan region, northern India, and a large part of south Asia, we have some pockets of colder air aloft which are overriding the very warm air mass in place here in the lower levels.  There is also a fairly impressive amount of latent moisture in the air, sprawled all across northern India.  With a few hours of strong sunshine during the mornings, this set-up has been leading to scattered afternoon shower and thundershower development across a wide area, with the most significant activity confined to the mountains.

Temperatures should be settling back pretty close to average for the first part of May, after the last week or more of warmer than normal conditions.  Enjoy the generally pleasant early summer weather -- but be prepared for that shower/thunder potential mainly during the PM hours.

CURRENT FORECAST specifics can be found on the tab above.