Sunday, May 7, 2017

an 11-month high... (pm.07.may.17)>

Sunday's stats:

Low temp: 68.2F (20.1C)
High temp: 88.1F (31.2C)
Rainfall: none

I've been digging through my records and stats sheets just now, to find that the last time I recorded a high temp warmer than today was last year on the 4th of June, when it was 90.3ºF (32.4ºC).  So yes, today was the warmest day of the season and 2017, but also the warmest in nearly 11 months.  Sunshine here in our immediate area was almost unhindered throughout the day, though there was a very impressive build-up of mountain cumulus which eventually transformed into cumulonimbus (thunderstorms) in the higher elevations off to our north and northeast.  I heard just a couple of faint rumbles of thunder between about 4:45 and 5:15pm... but that was it.  As sunset approaches, that activity along the mountain peaks is disintegrating.

These are 'peak summer' temperatures we've experienced today, as it doesn't really get much warmer than this around here.  Our air mass should remain basically unchanged throughout this week, and maybe even into early next week, and that means we'd better get used to this very warm or HOT weather, depending on where you're from and your own personal perspective.  This pattern will be almost tropical by the the middle of the week, as some deeper moisture attempts to creep into our general vicinity from the southeast.  Honestly, it's too early to see that happening.

Shower and thunderstorm development will be hit-and-miss, isolated, random, widely scattered -- but with this kind of very warm air mass firmly entrenched, we'll need a round of thunderstorms to cool things down a bit.  Nights will quickly become uncomfortably warm if we don't get some kind of rain to help us out.