April has been a fun month, but there are still a few days to go. How will they unfold for us?
Road Trip from Denver, Colorado to Killeen, Texas
Laredo, Texas
Vineland, New Jersey
Coming Soon…
Tucson, Arizona to Albany, Georgia
We’re headed through the southern part of the country today. Well, for the next three days. It’s nearly a straight eastward shot covering 1758 miles. The pace will be 67.6mph, which means a pace of about 541 miles a day for the first two days, with a longer drive coming on the third day. We’re leaving from the desert, so that 10 hour drive will also happen to coincide with the most interesting weather as well.
DAY ONE (Sunday)
It’s time to hit the road on day one of our southern road trip, and as one might expect, the drive through the Desert Southwest is going to be pretty dry. Arizona and New Mexico, all the way to El Paso are going to be pretty dormant, however as the evening approaches, the dry line in west Texas is going to start looking a little more active. Maybe storms won’t fire as far south as I-20, but I wouldn’t rule it out. The real question is, will they fire far enough west for us to reach them on Friday night? Also not likely, but I wouldn’t rule it out. Let’s stop in Barstow, just past Pecos, for the night.
DAY TWO (Monday)
Saturday will be spent entirely within the state of Texas. All eyes will be on an area of low pressure in the northern Plains that will be making for very spicy weather way up there. In Texas, the return flow will be churning through Texas as things continue to bubble up in the Dakotas. For our purposes, that means scattered clouds throughout the day, and an increasingly unpleasant humidity as we make stops for gas. The threat for rain will be fairly low, however. We will make it to Kilgore, Texas, which is just to the southwest of Longview, for the night.
DAY THREE (Tuesday)
It’s going to be a long day of driving just north of the Gulf shore. The system will be continuing in the northern US and will have a more typical cold front draped through the Tennessee Valley. This indicates a decent return flow across the Gulf, meaning heat and humidity will return, but beneath high pressure. This may allow some more low clouds and fog along the parts of the route that are a little closer to the water. Albany will be hot and muggy, just like you expect it to be in South Georgia.
Albany, Georgia
Guess who’s back! After a long Easter hiatus, I’m back to bring some weather updates, and we will start with a look in the deep south.
At 753AM, ET, Albany was reporting clear skies and a temperature of 68 degrees. Lingering shower activity over the last couple of days has led to clouds and fog, particularly north and east of Albany. It wasn’t likely to advect out of the region, instead holding on for the heating of the day to scour moisture out. This will also destabilize the region, and more showers and storms are possible throughout north Georgia again tomorrow.
The moisture in the area is a result both of the beginning of the summer season, but also a remnant trough, orphaned by a weak area of low pressure that transitioned out of the Canadian Maritimes in the last couple of days. A weak ripple in the Upper Midwest will provide enough of a draw over the next day or so to pull instability out of the south. It will get warmer and more humid in Albany, but the threat of rain will lessen tomorrow. Because the wave is shortwaved, it will be inclined to move, and will do so into a more cyclogenic region. A weak cold front will arrive in south Georgia by Saturday evening, brining about the threat for a few isolated thunderstorms.
Tomorrow – Mostly cloudy with isolated drizzle overnight, High 88, Low 67
Saturday Isolated showers early and late, otherwise hot and humid, High 90, low 68
TWC: Tomorrow – Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 88, Low 65
Saturday – Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals High 90, Low 65
AW: Tomorrow – Becoming cloudy High 88, Low 64
Saturday – Mostly sunny and warm High 89, Low 62
NWS: Tomorrow – Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, High 89, Low 64
Saturday – Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, High 90, Low 65
WB: Tomorrow – Mostly sunny. High 85, Low 65
Saturday – Mostly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 87, Low 67
WN: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy, High 88, Low 64
Saturday – Partly cloudy with isolated storms, High 89, Low 65
CLI: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 88, Low 63
Saturday – Sunny, High 88, Low 63
I suspect models are picking up on the moisture which will lead to fog across south Georgia for the next two overnights, however I’ve also seen the radar there, with smatterings of light rain everywhere. I’m too skittish to take it out. Look how cloudy it was this morning!
Updates 4/22
7:59PM If you are in the La Crosse Wisconsin area, be sure to sign up for spotter training for next week. It’s severe weather season, and if it interests you, this is a great way to help out the community. Of course, every office has spotters, so look at your local office for details if La Crosse isn’t it.
8:48PM This is the kind of night one likes to see if you like tracking radar but don’t want destruction. Dry line thunderstorms are ongoing, severe at times from west Texas to western Kansas. Maybe some hail or gusty winds, but otherwise it’s Tuesday.
Updates 4/21
9:22PM While river flooding remains an issue along the Mississippi, it’s really gone down along the Ohio. Now, the cause is recent rains in Missouri, where some smaller creeks and tributaries are running high. With a few quiet days, the threat for any flooding should continue to wane.
Updates 4/20
953PM Another that is fairly summer like with the system sweeping the center of the country tonight: This is the last gasp. It won’t carry much energy tomorrow, because the parent system isn’t particularly well organized. This will leave plenty of atmospheric juice for things to percolate again later in the week in the southern Plains.
Updates 4/19
9:11AM – If anyone was curious, today is the type of day that southern California dreams are made of. It will be in the 70s throughout the LA Basin, and cooler down towards San Diego. It will warm slightly through the weekend, but for now, excessive heat is stayed.
Updates 4/18
11:01AM Looks like a pretty normal one from the SPC today, with a broad swath of slight risk yellow through the middle of the country. Some seriously summer vibes out of the outlook today.
But, um…. what’s the deal with all this pink in the Rockies, NWS?
Updates 4/16
8:15PM: The week ahead is going to provide more threats for severe weather, but not nearly as vivid as it was in the past few weeks. On the north end, there won’t be the snow inducing cold air. Instead, just enough to induce this cute graphics pack from NWS Aberdeen.
May flowers incoming
Spring is known for being as damp as it is rejuvenating. We accept how sloppy the month is because we know it is going to bring about some momentous changes to the landscape. Well get ready, friends, because most of the country is going to be on the wet sides through the latter half of the month.
Everywhere but the west coast is looking for a rainy stretch from late this week and on to next week. There aren’t any extreme bullseyes, but even Alaska and Hawaii are going to see extra rain fall.
This, along with warm air forecast to build out east is a preponderance of “Texas Hookers” in the next couple of weeks. Generally, this would mean a broad and deep trough over the Plains. Surface low pressure starting in the southern Plains will rocket towards the Great Lakes, bringing hot, sticky weather in he warm sector, and apparently, rain everywhere.