July 30, 2015

Still very humid today and not quite as hot, simply due to the cloud cover. Any big breaks of sunshine this morning will result in temps jumping several degrees quickly since we are so warm to start. Most areas are in the mid to upper 70s at 5 am! A very warm overnight indeed.

The showers and storms will move through around midday today. Faster than I was thinking the other day. This makes severe weather a non-factor for our area. There still will be some very heavy downpours possible with any storms. Cooler air arrives this evening and overnight.

Regarding the big talk of a big change for August … I see cooler air coming, but now it may not arrive until next Thu!  This is still about a week away!  7 day forecasts do change in case one forgets. It was also refreshing in early July, I know because I was camping with my family. But July will end up a little bit above average. So is this coming cool, like the cool in July?  I am still not convinced that August will be cool. I do see a 4-5 day cooler stretch but heat returns again.

I must say that I do not see any prolonged heat waves. And that brings up a question:  What is going on with all this “extreme heat” and “dangerous heat” promotion?  I mean temps got to the lower 90s. We average mid 80s for this time of year. So what 6-7 degrees above that is “extreme”?   Have we become so weak that we cannot handle 90 degrees and full sunshine anymore?  Yes it was hot. But “extreme”?  It is getting ridiculous. What will happen if like in 2011 we it 100?  I shudder to imagine!   It is not just around here. In the southern plains talk was about the extreme heat wave. Some areas hit 102. (See map from Weather Channel above). Whoopee! The average for many is in the mid to upper 90s. So what?  They hit temps 6-7 above average.  If you want extreme look at the records: Over 110 or even near 120. Now that is extreme!  Please don’t fall for the hype.

There will be no extreme heat for our area this year (unless 90 is the new extreme in order to push the “climate change agenda).  Sorry for the rant. But it is getting ridiculous. Back to the forecast …

Questions for Forecast:

1.      How cool are we over the weekend?  850 mb temps stay warm so we should stay warm too.
2.      Do we get an isolated shower/storm over the weekend due to weak and dying frontal boundaries?
3.      How hot to we get Mon-Tue of next week?
4.      Does much cooler air arrive for Wed or Thu of next week?  It keeps getting pushed back ...  
5.      How much staying power does this cool air have?  Is it like the cool starts to June and July where we warm up for the rest of the month?

Specifics:

Thursday: 86. Mostly cloudy. Showers/storms midday. Very humid until late. Clearing in afternoon.        

Friday: 87. Sunny. Warm. Less humid.   

Saturday: 87. Mostly sunny. Slight chance of a shower/storm.       

Sunday: 88. Mostly sunny.  Chance of a shower/storm.

Monday: 91. Partly to mostly sunny.            

Tuesday: 91. Mostly sunny. Very humid    

Wednesday: 86. Mostly cloudy. Showers/storms likely.       

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