The end of July and beginning of August was a particularly stormy time for the north central US. It wasn’t all bad though, because it sure wiped out the heat wave that had buffeted the country. In Danville, temperatures on the 30th were near 90. After storms rolled through overnight, the 31st saw a high temperature of only 75. The dew point was still fairly warm, but that’s significantly more comfortable (were it not for the lingering smoke from the Canadian wildfires.) Never fear, summer isn’t over yet, and it is getting hot once again. The Weather Channel never cooled off, and won their third forecast in a row. Actuals: July 30th, .02″ of rain, High 89, Low 69 July 31st, .29″ of rain, High 75, Low 64
Our forecast today is taking us to central Arkansas. It’s not quite the Ozarks, not quite the Mississippi Valley, it’s Pine Bluff!
At 753PM, CT, Pine Bluff was reporting a temperature of 84 degrees, with dew points in the low 70s. The high dew points were not enough to trigger isolated thunderstorms across the region, with a weak upper ridge nosing into the region, suppressing flow in any direction. Guidance is fairly consistent about lee troughing emerging as the week draws to an end. If anything, this will mean even more humidity, this time from the Gulf, rather than augmented by the woods of the Ozarks, and at all levels. While precipitation isn’t expected, there is an increased level of clouds by Friday. Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, high 91, Low 70 Friday – Partly cloudy, High 96, Low 71
TWC: Tomorrow – Sunshine. High 97, Low 71 Friday – Sunshine. High 98, Low 73
AW: Tomorrow – Mostly sunny High 96, Low 70 Friday – Plenty of sunshine High 96. Los 71
NWS: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 96, Low 71 Friday – Sunny and hot, High 97, Low 71
WB: Tomorrow – Sunny. High 94, Low 75 Friday – Sunny. High 92, Low 73
WN: Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, High 96, Low 71 Friday – Mostly sunny, High 97, Low 71
CLI: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 96, Low 71 Friday – Sunny, High 98, Low 72
It looks fairly quiet on radar over Arkansas. Those storms aren’t going to be working north any time soon.
10:52PM: This is a very late summer pattern right now, with severe weather most prominent in the northern High Plains, day after day. There is a slight risk 3 of the next four days (including today) that covers some part of the Dakotas. They’ve recently had some dry summers, so it isn’t all bad!
12:35AM: With all this dry line talk, about storms erupting along and east of it, the forgotten part is that dry side. Well here it is: The dewpoint right now in Albuquerque is 21. Dry line indeed.
9:05PM: Check out the reports with this storm near the Oklahoma Panhandle. 2.5″ hail, 65kt winds. Because the largest cities in the path of this storm aren’t really that large, this qualifies as a “slight” risk.
10:05PM Not unlike yesterday, there are severe storms, particularly along the front range of the Rockies, and specifically, there are several reports along I-80 in southern Wyoming. This makes sense, as there are observing stations along the highway, and also, there just aren’t that many other people in Wyoming.
7:35PM – It’s definitely a late summer pattern out there. The jet pattern is non-existent which leaves the most constant boundary the dry line. Sure enough, there is at least a marginal risk in the High Plains every day from today through the weekend, and probably to start the week ahead.
9:37PM – There has been a tornado watch in the Colorado/Nebraska/Wyoming tri-state. High Plains tornadoes are typically photogenic, visible for miles, and isolated from human populations. No tornadoes have been observed tonight, but there has been 2.5 inch hail around Cheyenne. Hope you have a hail deductible, chasers!
11:49PM – I’m happy to say I should get through this update without a power outage, however I will note that every night for the last several, there has been rain along the Minnesota and Iowa border. As you might expect, there are river flood watches and warnings across the state of Iowa.
We are on our way to Point Conception, north of LA for this forecast. There were tsunami advisories south of SLO today, which is not something I have seen on an NWS alert map in the past.
At 656PM, PT, San Luis Obispo was reporting clear skies and a temperature of 64 degrees. There was a brisk onshore flow, keeping things comfortable west of the Coastal Range, though it was in the mid-90s on the other side of the mountains. There is a jet streak over central California ensuring onshore flow will be maintained with some vigor, however of greater note is the low clouds lurking offshore. Point Conception is prime territory for morning low clouds and fog, and each of the next to days should feel the impact of the Marine Layer. Tomorrow – morning clouds and fog, High 76, Low 55 Friday – Morning clouds, clearing, High 76, Low 55
TWC: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy skies High 74, Low 54 Friday – Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. High 75, Low 56
AW: Tomorrow – Clouds giving way to sun High 77, Low 56 Friday – Mostly sunny and nice High 78, Lo 56
NWS: Tomorrow – Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, High 75, Low 55 Friday – Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing High 76, Low 55
WB: Tomorrow – Low clouds and fog in the morning then sunny. High 81, Low 58 Friday – Low clouds and fog in the morning then sunny. High 80, Low 59
WN: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy, High 75, Low 55 Friday – Partly Cloudy, High 76, Low 55
CLI: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 74, Low 56 Friday – Sunny, High 74, Low 58
Wow, one degree different from the NWS forecast. We’ll all feel pretty silly if we are a ways off. Satellite shows the lingering clouds offshore.
We are headed towards the middle of the country, on a drive that will spend quite a bit of time on I-80. It will take 4 days to cover this ground, because America is a big country. Expect a pace of about 69.4 mph, which is pretty great, actually. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate as well.
DAY ONE (Thursday)
Modesto, California
There is some signal that there will be an active monsoon, spreading as far west as the Cascades and northern Sierras. Not really the monsoon, I guess, at that point, but it will follow a similar diurnal pattern. I wouldn’t expect it to occur far enough or early enough in California to be a concern, and the drive through Nevada will be generally featureless, both with the weather and the man made structures. The day will end in Welcome, as we approach the Utah border.
DAY TWO (Friday) The monsoon will make more sense on Friday, following the Front Range in Colorado and Wyoming, which we will approach on our second day on the road. We’ll make it to the Akal rest area west of Laramie, and we may see a spot of rain at the end of the day. Nothing overwhelming, surely, and definitely not anything that will substantially slow us down.
DAY THREE (Saturday) The impulse coming away from the front range, the one that we approached at the end of our Saturday drive, will lurk through central Nebraska for much of our Saturday drive. There will be patchy clouds, some spots of rain, heavy at times, and an isolated thunderstorm. We will take our turn off of I-80 in Lincoln and make it to Palmyra for the night. By that point, those showers and storms should be ramping up, and we may be in for quite the stormy evening.
DAY FOUR (Sunday) I didn’t realize when I was looking ahead to this forecast that we were spending none of our time on Sunday on I-80, and in fact, very little of our time will be on an interstate. We will make it across northern Missouri on US 36, but we will leave the weather in Nebraska (and maybe a bit in Iowa). The trough bringing storms to Palmyra will stall and provide some steadier rain for the eastern part of the Cornhusker state. By the time we have reached St. Joseph and turned on to 36, we will have reached the end of the precipitation for our journey. We will cross Missouri in mostly sweltering sunshine before crossing the Mississippi in Hannibal and finally slicing through the heart of Illinois to reach our destination in Danville. It will feel summery to end the weekend.
