Monday, April 18, 2011

monsoon-like rainfall... (am.18.apr.11)>

it's partly cloudy at dawn this morning.  the temp is 54F (12.2C), but the low since midnight has been 52.3F (11.3C).  those robust thunderstorms last night delivered another 1.48" (3.8cm) of rain... bringing the total since late saturday night up to a whopping 3.87" (9.8cm)!  most of that occurred in about 24 hours' time... and i am wondering if that might be some kind of record for the month of april..??  at any rate, what we've experienced the last day and a half is something very very unusual for this time of year.

our naddi observer has also reported 1.48" (3.8cm) of rain overnight... identical to mine.  near the main temple, overnight rain measured 1.2" (3cm).

the culprit, an intense area of low pressure aloft, is now sitting pretty much right on top of us.  so... although it is quite calm and peaceful at the moment, our airmass remains unstable, and could erupt in another round of thunderstorms later today.  by tonight and tomorrow, this system will have weakened and moved east of us, allowing a gradual return to drier and warmer weather to get underway.  unfortunately, the ratio between temperatures at the surface and temperatures in the upper atmosphere is going to keep our airmass marginally unstable for much of the week... so keep in mind that there will remain about a 20% chance of afternoon thunder, despite the greater amount of sunshine.

temperatures are obviously way below normal right now... but there are indications that steady warming will occur this week, lasting through the coming weekend, as a more seasonal upper-air pattern becomes established.  that's good news.

MONDAY: partly cloudy early, but becoming mostly cloudy with a good chance of another round of showers and thunderstorms.  cool... breezy at times.
high: 19C (67F)

MONDAY NIGHT: some showers and thunderstorms possible in the evening, then becoming mostly clear overnight.
low: 13C (55F)

TUESDAY: mostly sunny AM, becoming partly cloudy PM, with a slight chance of a thundershower.
high: 21C (69F)

WEDNESDAY: sunny to partly cloudy and pleasant.  some PM thunder?
high: 22C (71F)

THURSDAY: partly sunny skies.
high: 22C (72F)

FRIDAY: partly to mostly sunny and nice.
high: 23C (73F)