Sunday, April 14, 2013

still unstable... (am.14.apr.13)>

We have a combination of sun, haze and some clouds around the area early this morning, with humidity at 44%.  My pre-dawn low temp here in the upper part of town was 58.6F (14.8C), and there has been no rainfall since our few sprinkles last evening.

There are no organized storm systems in the area, but we're still dealing with the prospects of an unstable atmosphere by the afternoon, as sun-warmed air in the low-levels rises and condenses into clouds and possibly a few thundershowers over the mountains.  This is very common during the late spring and early summer season but during April, there is rarely enough moisture in the air to get more than minor amounts of rain.  Just keep an eye on the sky and be prepared for a period of thunder and/or some showers by mid-afternoon.

By late Tuesday and Wednesday we could see a better chance of more substantial thunderstorm action, as a stronger disturbance accompanied by much colder air in the upper-levels of the atmosphere drops southeastward into northern India.  Right now computer models are projecting that the warm air at the surface will tenaciously hold on right through next week, but if we do get some longer periods of clouds and thunderstorms, it will be temporarily cooler during mid-week.

We're way behind normal rainfall for April so far, so a few downpours would do us good.  Stay tuned, and get your CURRENT FORECAST on the tab above.