Tuesday, May 17, 2011

temporary relief... (pm.17.may.11)>

it was nice to receive a gift of a hefty thundershower this afternoon which, although it only delivered 0.11" (3mm) of rain, did manage to temporarily chase away some of the haze and cool things off just a bit.  it is still mostly cloudy about an hour before sunset.. with a few lingering areas of showers and rumbles of thunder around.  today's high temp reached 85.1F (29.5C).

today is a perfect example of the practical reality of the "any given day" principle.  during the late spring and early summertime in the himalayas, the perfect combination of surface heat and a bit of cold air and weak circulation in the upper atmosphere can touch off a thundershower... on any given day.  we'll have to wait for the weekend to receive more substantial rainfall, but this afternoon's action was a welcome preview.

as the week goes on, there is going to be a more significant shift in the overall weather pattern.  temperatures will be cooling down aloft, as our recent massive ridge of high pressure breaks down.  it will take a couple of more days before our temps here at the surface cool off much... so the resulting instability (battle of cool vs warm air) will give us at least a mentionable chance of a thunderstorm every day.

the punjab kings XI host the royal challengers bangalore tonight at 8PM in dharamsala at the HPCA stadium.  millions of viewers will be tuning in, so let's hope the weather continues to improve this evening!

TUESDAY NIGHT: evening thundershowers winding down... then partly cloudy overnight.
low: 21C (70F)

WEDNESDAY: sunny to partly cloudy skies.  very warm, with a chance of an afternoon thunderstorm.
high: 30C (86F)

THURSDAY: a mix of sunshine, haze and clouds, with a risk of a PM thunderstorm.
high: 29C (85F)

FRIDAY: partly cloudy with a couple of showers and thunderstorms possible.
high: 28C (82F)

SATURDAY: partly to mostly cloudy skies.  not so warm... with a good chance of a period or two of showers/thunderstorms.
high: 26C (79F)

SUNDAY: partly to mostly sunny and pleasantly warm.  still a risk of a random thundershower.
high: 27C (80F)