transitions underway... (pm.07.oct.16)>

Friday's stats:

Low temp: 61.3F (16.3C)
High temp: 71.9F (22.2C)
Rainfall: none

It's quite hazy this evening as the light fades in the western sky, but almost all of the cloudiness has dissipated.  We started out with full sunshine again this morning, but as expected, there was cloud development as the noon hour approached, with variable cloudiness throughout the afternoon hours.  Humidity was actually slightly higher today than yesterday -- in the range of 58 to 72% -- but it seems like when all was said and done, we ended up with a greater percentage of sunshine today than yesterday, thanks to the late afternoon and early evening clearing.

Our transition from monsoon season into autumn is finally progressing nicely, mainly due to an increasingly brisk west-northwesterly flow in the mid- and upper-levels of the atmosphere that has finally shoved the vast majority of lingering tropical moisture well south and east of us.  An upper-level disturbance dropping in from the northwest this weekend will reinforce that trend, bringing the driest batch of central Asian air we've yet to see this season.  But before we can partake of that, there could be a flare-up of showers and thundershowers around the area as that disturbance passes across north India between late Saturday night and Monday.  The models are showing very feeble shower/thunder development, but we need to be aware of the risk nonetheless.

By late Monday into Tuesday it's looking like we are fairly assured of seeing another substantial drop in humidity... taking us down to the low moisture levels that we should be enjoying by this time of year.  With sunshine, temps will remain very pleasant, though our overnight lows will be dropping a few degrees.

Explore the rest of the blog for lots more weather info for the McLeod Ganj area.

positive momentum... (pm.06.oct.16)>

Thursday's stats:

Low temp: 61.7F (16.5C)
High temp: 72.6F (22.6C)
Rainfall: none

There are lingering clumps of clouds and some patchy fog in the area at dusk, with a considerable amount of haze as well.  But we have to say that it's been a really nice day -- the best of October so far -- with less cloudiness and fog than we've seen this month, lower humidity, and not a drop of rain.  Sunshine was fully in control until around the noon hour, when clouds over the mountains tried to gain a little ground, but it never really became overcast until very late afternoon.  Humidity at my location up on Tushita Road ranged from 50 to 68%.

So we're making progress.  All indications point to a continuing retreat of the deeper tropical moisture from northwest and central India over the course of the coming several days, as a drier west-northwesterly flow sets up in the middle and upper-levels of the atmosphere.  A disturbance dropping in from the northwest on Saturday night through Sunday, and perhaps into Monday, may draw lingering moisture back northwestward into our area, so we need to be prepared for a potential temporary setback.  The risk of a couple of rounds of showers and/or thundershowers will increase again on Sunday into Monday in association with that little system.

THEN -- it's now looking like we will settle into some very pleasant early autumn conditions starting on Tuesday, which should last for at least several days.  Rain chances will be very minimal, sunshine fairly abundant, and humidity levels dropping below 40%.  Maybe soon we can finally think about enjoying some of the finest weather on offer in our part of the world...

Check tabs above for THE 7-DAY OUTLOOK, climatological data and other info.

now it's official... (am.06.oct.16)>

It's official -- the withdrawal of MONSOON 2016 has been declared for remaining parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, and all but the extreme eastern border of Himachal Pradesh.  October 5th is approximately 18 days LATER than normal for us to be saying goodbye to the monsoon season.

Now we get to see if the push of drier air which arrived late yesterday afternoon is going to hang around, or whether we will still have to battle significant cloud/fog development issues during the mid-day into the afternoon hours.  This morning, my humidity reading is just 51%, so that's a very positive sign.  Also, let's not forget the risk of some isolated shower/thunder activity along the mountains during the PM hours.

An even more definitively drier and autumn-looking air mass is scheduled to move in by Monday into Tuesday, which should take our humidity levels lower and lower still.

Get a look at other info, including THE 7-DAY OUTLOOK, on tabs above.

monsoon withdrawal?... (pm.05.oct.16)>

**Update @ 8:10pm... Humidity has plummeted since around 4:30pm... now just 53% here on Tushita Road.  Wow.  Still waiting for an official monsoon withdrawal statement from the IMD to match what the map is showing this evening.
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Wednesday's stats:

Low temp: 62.1F (16.7C)
High temp: 70.7F (21.5C)
Rainfall: 0.01" (less than 1mm)

Hot off the press... the updated monsoon map from the India Met Department shows the monsoon withdrawal line pushed east of us today -- to the Himachal Pradesh/Uttarakhand border.  There is no official statement yet on the IMD website, so I'll keep tabs on that this evening to make sure it's legit.

Late this evening things are looking a lot better.  A weak upper-level disturbance in an increasingly brisk west-northwesterly flow moved across Himalayan north India today, stirring up some widely scattered thundershowers during the mid-afternoon, and then delivering a batch of drier air in its wake.  Several brief, very light showers with some thunder between about 2:20 and 4:00pm suddenly gave way to partially clearing skies by 5:00pm, with all of the low clouds and fog chased away.  Humidity today averaged around 76%, and was as low as 68% late this afternoon after those brief showers.

According to this evening's models/data, a progressively drier air mass is expected to gradually move across the northwest part of India over the coming several days, which should chip away at the lingering moisture stuck here along the mountains.  Although the signs are very positive, of course it's still going to be a day-by-day strategy to see how much our average daily humidity drops, and how that affects our mid-day into afternoon cloud and fog development issues.  But at any rate, things are happening...

THE 7-DAY OUTLOOK, MONSOON 2016, and lots of other local info can be found on tabs above.