Sunday, June 12, 2011

interesting times... (pm.12.jun.11)>

this has turned out to be one of the finer days of our summer season... lots of sunshine with just a few clouds early this morning, and over the mountains during the afternoon/evening hours.  last night's mega-thunderstorms (2.30"/5.8cm of rain in less than 4 hours) chased all the haze away for now... so we've had great visibility as well.  the high temp reached 79.5F (26.4C), with humidity around 45% during the PM.

this is one of the most interesting times of the year in our area... as we watch the combination of summer heat, increasing moisture and resilient cool mountain air all fighting for supremacy.  as we approach the summer solstice on 21 june (the longest day of the year), we'll see that battle intensify... as all three factors consolidate to produce monsoon conditions which will dominate for the following 3 months.  the moral of the story is this... during the month of june, it is common for us to fluctuate back and forth between heat, humidity, blasts of cool air, and massive downpours during the run-up to the monsoon's takeover at the very end of the month.

it is looking like this week will contain all of the above.  computer models are in dispute over which of the competing factors will overtake the others during the next several days... so be prepared for everything.  we'll likely see some nice stretches of sunny and warm weather, but some generous rains are also a good bet, with occasional clouds and even a muggy night or two thrown into the mix...

SUNDAY NIGHT: mostly clear skies.
low: 20C (68F)

MONDAY: partly to mostly sunny skies.  warm, with a chance of a thunderstorm, mainly during the afternoon.
high: 27C (80F)

TUESDAY: a mix of sun and clouds, with increasing haze and humidity.  a period of showers and thunderstorms possible.
high: 27C (80F)

WEDNESDAY: partly cloudy, warm and humid, with a slight chance of a thunderstorm.
high: 27C (81F)

THURSDAY: hazy sunshine and clouds.  warm and muggy... a shower or thunderstorm possible.
high: 27C (81F)

FRIDAY: partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of thundershowers.  humid.
high: 27C (80F)