fog town... (pm.25.jul.12)>

It is cloudy on this Wednesday evening, and I don't think it could possibly be any foggier.  Visibility has been very close to zero around the area (right around 6pm).  We're getting some light to moderate showers at the moment... but, I had only 0.04" (1mm) in my rain gauge as of 5:00pm, in addition to the 0.30" (8mm) which fell during the wee hours of the morning (check back here for rainfall updates later this evening). Today's high temperature has been 73.0F (22.8C), which is the coolest max temp I've recorded in the past ten days.

Update @ 10:11pm... Moderate rain in progress here in the upper part of town.  Total rainfall today (since midnight) is now 0.48" (1.2cm).

Update @ 9:48pm... Lots of thunder/lightning and thick fog during the past hour.  But rain has been sparse... that may change shortly.

Update @ 7:34pm... Only brief showers thus far this evening.  I have a total of 0.11" (3mm) since 7:00am.  Total rainfall since midnight has been 0.41" (1.0cm).  Will update if more significant rain develops...

The atmosphere is obviously loaded with moisture, so it's just a matter of time until we reach the point when things boil over, and we get our next round of heavy rainfall.  Lately, our heaviest rains have been occurring during the overnight hours -- we'll see if we repeat that trend again tonight.  Apart from the rain, we're firmly in the zone of saturation, with humidity remaining mainly in the 95-100% range, both day and night.

According to water vapor satellite imagery and other atmospheric data, the drier air in the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere that provided us with extended periods of sunshine and even a few hours of moderate humidity here and there has retreated well to the west.  It shows no sign of returning during the next several days at least, so there's a good bet we'll continue to see much more clouds and fog than sun, along with increasing daily rainfall rates as we approach the end of the month.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT:

cloudy and foggy.  periods of rain and thunder likely.

low: 19C (67F)

THURSDAY:

mostly cloudy with occasional fog.  a period or two of rain and some thunder likely.

high: 23C (73F)

THURSDAY NIGHT:

mostly cloudy and foggy.  a period or two of rain and thunder likely.

low: 19C (67F)

FRIDAY:

perhaps a period or two of sun?  otherwise mostly cloudy and foggy at times.  a couple of rounds of showers/thundershowers likely.

high: 23C (74F)

SATURDAY:

a bit of sun in the midst of clouds and fog.  some showers and thundershowers still likely.

morning low: 19C (67F)

daytime high: 23C (74F)

SUNDAY:

mostly cloudy with periods of fog.  better chance of heavy rain and thunder.

morning low: 19C (66F)

daytime high: 23C (73F)

MONDAY:

mostly cloudy and foggy with periods of rain.  some thunder possible as well.

morning low: 18C (65F)

daytime high: 22C (72F)

all the ingredients... (am.25.jul.12)>

Skies are cloudy early this morning with some patchy fog drifting around the area.  Thundershowers overnight delivered another 0.30" (8mm) of rain here in the upper part of town -- from satellite photos, it appears that the heaviest rain occurred and is occurring to our south, toward Shimla and Chandigarh.  I recorded a low temp of 67.8F (19.9C).

Rainfall during the past week -- since last Wednesday afternoon -- has amounted to 7.52" (19.1cm).  The majority of that has occurred since Sunday afternoon when we experienced the return of this deep, thick tropical moisture after a hiatus of several days.  There's no evidence that this juicy air (which is normal for late July) is going to retreat again anytime soon, so we'll continue to see the clouds and fog dominate the scene, along with occasional periods of rain and thunder.  During the past 24 hours, rainfall has been relatively light, but very heavy downpours could occur at any time, so don't be caught unprepared.

According to computer model data, the most vigorous monsoon conditions of the season could develop over the weekend.  Of course that's still a few days away, but check back here for further developments.  By the way, remember that you can check the JULY RAINFALL tab (above) for the latest statistics on our monsoon rains so far...

WEDNESDAY:

mostly cloudy and foggy at times, with a peek or two of sun possible.  a couple of periods of rain and some thunder likely.

high: 23C (73F)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT:

mostly cloudy and foggy.  areas of rain and thunder in the vicinity.

low: 19C (67F)

THURSDAY:

clouds, fog, and a few glimpses of sun.  more rain/thundershowers likely.

high: 23C (73F)

FRIDAY:

a mix of clouds, fog, and perhaps some sun at times.  a few showers/thundershowers likely.

morning low: 19C (67F)

daytime high: 23C (74F)

SATURDAY:

mostly cloudy and foggy.  occasional rain and thunder likely.

morning low: 19C (66F)

daytime high: 22C (72F)

SUNDAY:

clouds and fog... periods of rain and thunder likely.

morning low: 19C (66F)

daytime high: 22C (72F)

in the thick of it... (pm.24.jul.12)>

The clouds and fog are 100% in control this evening, with a few light showers happening off and on.  Rainfall since this morning's report has been only 0.20" (5mm) -- but our total since about 8:45pm last night is now 3.30" (8.4cm), most of which occurred between 9:00pm last night and about 3:30am this morning.  There were some fleeting glimpses of sunshine this morning, and I recorded a high temp of 75.4F (24.1C).

Since late Sunday morning, we're finding ourselves back in the thick of classic monsoon conditions, with humidity in the range of 92-100%, a predominance of clouds and fog, and increasing frequency and intensity of rainfall.  There is no evidence that we stand much of a chance of experiencing another "retreat phase", like the one we've just come out of, as our atmosphere should stay very close to the saturation point all the way into early next week... at least.  Our flow aloft will turn to the west from time to time, but it will be light enough to prevent an intrusion of any significantly drier air.

With the massive amount of moisture in the air, periods of heavy rainfall are likely during the next several days.  I think we could easily pick up 8-10" (20-25cm) of rain during this final week of July -- but that would still leave us with a deficit of around 10" (25cm) for the month.  Doing that simple math tells us that we need about 20" (50cm) of rain in the next seven days to catch up to normal.  Not impossible, but a tall order!

TUESDAY NIGHT:

mostly cloudy skies with periods of fog and rain.  some thunder possible as well.

low: 20C (68F)

WEDNESDAY:

clouds, fog and a glimpse or two of sun.  a couple of periods of rain and thunder likely.

high: 23C (73F)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT:

mostly cloudy.  periods of fog, rain and thunder.

low: 19C (67F)

THURSDAY:

clouds, fog, and a peek or two of sun.  a couple of periods of rain and thunder likely.

high: 23C (73F)

FRIDAY:

clouds, fog, and a sunny break or two.  a couple of rounds of rain/thunder likely.

morning low: 19C (67F)

daytime high: 23C (74F)

SATURDAY:

mostly cloudy.  periods of fog, rain and thunder likely.

morning low: 19C (66F)

daytime high: 22C (72F)

SUNDAY:

mostly cloudy... occasional fog, rain and thunder.

morning low: 19C (66F)

daytime high: 22C (72F)

the morning after... (am.24.jul.12)>

What a night... I have 3.10" (7.9cm) in my rain gauge this morning, from the downpours which began just before 9:00pm, and lasted until between 3:00 and 4:00am.  Rain was very heavy at times, obviously, which has given us the largest total for a single period of rain this monsoon season.  That very large total will be split between the 23rd and the 24th however, since it occurred on either side of midnight.  Early this morning, we have partly to mostly cloudy skies along with very little fog at the moment.  I recorded an overnight low temp of 68.0F (20.0C).

Our night of very heavy rain has released most of the pent-up thermodynamic energy in the atmosphere, so it is possible (but not a certainty) that the rest of today will be rather quiet.  There is still plenty of moisture throughout all levels of the atmosphere though, so with the sun working on heating things up from above, we'll see if the instability can build to the breaking point again.  There don't appear to be any major changes to our overall weather scenario as the week goes on, and even into the weekend -- so expect these much more typical/classic monsoon conditions to continue, hopefully with a few sunny breaks here and there.

A nearly saturated air mass during the coming days will easily yield rainfall amounts of 1-2" (2.5-5cm) or more during a relatively short period of time.  So -- even if things look calm and quiet, always be prepared for the sky to open up and unleash a torrent at any time of the day or night!

TUESDAY:

clouds and a few peeks of sun.  occasional fog, with a good chance of more shower/thundershower development.

high: 23C (73F)

TUESDAY NIGHT:

mostly cloudy and foggy at times.  a round of rain and thunder likely.

low: 19C (67F)

WEDNESDAY:

mostly cloudy and foggy at times.  a period or two of rain and thunder likely.

high: 22C (72F)

THURSDAY:

a mix of clouds, fog and some sun.  more showers and thundershowers likely.

morning low: 19C (67F)

daytime high: 23C (73F)

FRIDAY:

both clouds and some sun at times.  a period or two of fog and thundershowers.

morning low: 19C (66F)

daytime high: 23C (74F)

SATURDAY:

mostly cloudy skies.  occasional fog, rain and some thunder.

morning low: 19C (66F)

daytime high: 22C (72F)