Clustered and cool in Jackson
Posted by Ryan
Forecasts in Jackson weren't too different from outlet to outlet, but that was fine, because the weather wasn't really that volatile. The next system was still well off to the west (and still is) so it was just a matter of timing a warm up as best they could. Three outlets tied at the top, Accuweather, National Weather Service and Weatherbug, with the other two not far behind.
Actuals: Saturday - High 56, Low 33
Sunday - High 61, Low 30
Grade: B
Los Angeles, California to Jackson, Mississippi
Posted by Ryan
My first road trip in some time, and it will take three days and change to cover it. It's 1842 miles between LA and Jackson, and we will set a pace of 67.3mph. If you don't want to do the math, that means our 8 hour days will allow us to over 538 miles. Lots of space covered in empty country. Hope you brought an iPod.
DAY ONE
There is a petulant little low parked off the northern Coast of the Baja Peninsula, but it absolutely refuses to do anything. Sure, an easterly flow may continue to blow into the San Bernadino Mountains, and I GUESS we could get a stray shower around Palm Springs and Cathedral City, but not much more than that. The day will end in St. David, Arizona (east of Tucson) with very little by way of interesting weather.
DAY TWO
The low off the coast will begin its move inland, and rain over Arizona will pick up. It may be raining by the time we leave St. David, and could continue until we reach the New Mexico border. New Mexico shouldn't give us too many problems when we cross the border, but a little bit of moisture may also trickle into west Texas. Before we arrive in West Odessa, Texas, we may see another spit of rain in Pecos or Monahans, Texas.
DAY THREE
That low is chasing us down, and will catch up to us in West Odessa over night. We will be driving through rain and some thunderstorms across the route during the day Monday. The worst part is, the heaviest rain and thunderstorms are expected to be the biggest problem while we are in the Metroplex. The leading edge of storms will probably be right with us between Dallas and Fort Worth, and we may have to fight a few showers the rest of the way through Texas. We will end the day in Shreveport, Louisiana.
DAY FOUR
The front will now be on top of us as we rest in Shreveport, and will continue eastward through Louisiana. It's only about 3 1/2 hours to Jackson, and we will overtake the leading edge of the storm around Monroe, Louisiana, only to have the storms, which will be stronger again by this time, slam into us in Jackson. That was a lot of action for a road trip over this course, wasn't it?
Jackson, Mississippi
Posted by Ryan
Off to the nation's south and the capital of Mississippi.
At 1154AM, CT, Jackson was reporting a temperature of 55 degrees with overcast skies. Rain has recently moved through town, and a band of showers was still visible on radar, with a front that has recently moved slowly through town. The boundary was extremely elongated, which would suggest inactivity, but the pressure trough associated with it was drawing a good deal of moisture convergence, leading to a very cloudy pattern.
The moisture is expected to remain in place as the pattern over the south projects to pass Mississippi by. The associated low is already in eastern Canada, and jet flow is getting cut off in a system over southern California. This will leave remnant sludge and weak surface troughing to plague Jackson for at least the next 24 hours, before a ridge can get it's legs, and provide a nice end to the weekend.
Tomorrow - Cloudy, breaking apart late in the day, High 54, Low 36
Sunday - Mostly sunny, High 62, Low 34
TWC: Tomorrow - Partly cloudy skies. High 57, Low 40
Sunday - Abundant sunshine High 62, Low 34
AW: Tomorrow - Clouds giving way to sun high 58, Low 35
Sunday - Partly sunny High 64, Low 32
NWS: Tomorrow - Sunny High 57, Low 37
Sunday - Sunny High 63, Low 32
WB: Tomorrow - Sunny, High 57, Low 37
Sunday - Sunny, High 63, Low 32
I think the NWS/WB are a little too optimistic on the sunshine front, but their temperatures are about in line, so I guess I am not one in a place to judge. Here is the radar, with rain slinking past Jackson.
Jackson, Mississippi to Anderson, Indiana
Posted by Ryan
Headed north on one of the better days for the south in terms of showers and thunderstorms. It will take a day and a half of driving through the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys to get to lovely Anderson at a pace of about 63mph to cover the 718 miles. That means our first day will end after a 506 mile drive. Let's get this postponed road trip underway!
DAY ONE
The way the models tell it, tomorrow is going to be unusual in terms of precipitation orientation. First off, one model doesn't even anticipate rain or thunderstorms until mid afternoon, but the other has rain all day right up to the western banks of the Mississippi, and not an inch further. I anticipate that this moist plume ahead of a developing cold front in the Plains will manifest itself as a few showers, but mostly as clouds and fog right along the river. We will have to deal with these clouds and maybe a bit of drizzle most evidently from Memphis to St. Louis. Other than that, I think we will be in great shape through Mississippi and then east to Marshall, Illinois, which is across the Indiana border from Terre Haute.
DAY TWO
Showers and thunderstorms will arrive in Marshall early in the AM, and will be our companion for the rest of the day. There will be some heavy rain associated with this activity. Some guidance suggests rain that will drop over an inch of rain between Marshall and Indianapolis, suggesting the chance for some pretty heavy storms at times, despite the early hour of our drive. The back edge of the heaviest storms will likely be through Anderson as we get in to town, however, so there is hope on the horizon!
Cooling Clouds
Posted by Anthony
Overall, the forecast for Jackson panned out pretty much as expected, with temperatures dropping down a few degrees on Friday due to some enhanced cloud cover and a light midday shower. Temperatures were actually a couple degrees colder than everybody predicted, pushing TWC into the top spot, with VW a close second.
Thursday: High 92, Low 73.
Friday: 0.02" of rain from a shower. High 87, Low 75.
Forecast Grade: B
Fort Smith, Arkansas to Jackson, Tennessee
Posted by Anthony
We continue our eastward trek through the Southern US today, with another one-day trip. Only 375 miles separate these 2 cities in neighboring states, so a quick trip is in order!
An area of high pressure is found over the Southeast US, but starting to relent a little. While mostly clear skies will greet us when we start, some clouds will start building up over eastern Arkansas a bit as we mosey on through Little Rock and on towards Memphis. The clouds might thicken a bit in the afternoon, but precip should stay a bit off to the south, so the remainder of the drive in the afternoon should just be cloudy at times, but dry. Temperatures will be in the mid-90s for much of the trip, so it'll be yet another hot day in the Southern US.
Jackson, Tennessee
Posted by Anthony
Heading to the TN Valley for today's forecast. Who wants to drive down there? Any Volunteers? Any?
At 11:53AM CDT, the temperature was 91 degrees with a few clouds overhead. A dome of high pressure is controlling much of the Southeastern US and will keep western TN in the clear for much of the day tomorrow. Friday will see a chance however, as the high pressure relents a bit. A disturbance hanging around the Gulf Coast will slowly make it's way towards the northwest over the next couple of days as it rides the western side of the high pressure up into the Lower MS Valley. This will enhance the thunderstorm activity over the Jackson area on Friday, so it could be a wet start to the weekend for western TN. It shouldn't be a total washout though, so hopefully the fine residents of Jackson can dodge the storms and enjoy a slightly cooler Friday thanks to the cloud cover.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. High 95, Low 72.
Friday: A few scattered thunderstorms. High 91, Low 73.
TWC: Thursday: Sunny. High 94, Low 72.
Friday: Scattered thunderstorms. High 90, Low 73.
AW: Thursday: Partly sunny. High 94, Low 74.
Friday: Afternoon thunderstorms possible. High 93, Low 73.
NWS: Thursday: Mostly sunny. High 96, Low 74.
Friday: Thunderstorms, heavy rains possible. High 93, Low 74.
WB: Thursday: Mostly sunny. High 95, Low 74.
Friday: Chance of scattered thunderstorms. High 93, Low 74.
Some time to dry out
Posted by Ryan
As I mentioned earlier in the week, it's been a tough stretch for the southeast, and they likely needed some time to pick up the pieces after tornadoes raked the region. The forecast for Jackson thankfully panned out. A couple of dry days with warm weather and no more rain for the region. Jackson wasn't affected nearly as badly as other places, but the quiet period was undoubtedly appreciated by storm weary residents and skittish pets. Weatherbug also appreciated the pleasant weather, as they had the top forecast in Jackson.
Actuals: Friday - High 79, Low 50
Saturday - High 82, Low 54
Grade: A
Jackson, Mississippi
Posted by Ryan
The southeast has had a turn of fortune lately, with high pressure developing and dominating that part of the country. Will it continue in Jackson?
At 1053PM, CT, Jackson was reporting a clear skies with a temperature of 53 degrees. A weak area of low pressure moving through the Great Lakes is generating a weak boundary through the Ohio Valley,
Weak jet flow dominates the country, and it sits north of Mississippi. This pattern has a couple of different ramifications for Jackson. First, it will keep the city warm and dry, but with some troughing, it will instigate an easterly flow, rather than moist onshore flow which could lead to some diurnal thunderstorms. Hot but dry days are in the forecast for the Mississippi capitol.
Tomorrow - Sunny, High 80, Low 48
Saturday - Sunny and warmer, High 85, Low 53
TWC: Tomorrow - Sunny skies High 80, Low 49
Saturday - Sunshine High 86, Low 52
AW: Tomorrow - Abundant sunshine High 81, Low 50
Saturday - Mostly sunny High 86, Low 54
NWS: Tomorrow - Sunny High 78, Low 48
Saturday - Sunny 85, Low 53
WB: Tomorrow - Sunny High 79, Low 51
Saturday - Sunny, High 85, Low 54
Satellite shows a weak l'il front pushing north of Mississippi.
A difficult forecast well handled
Posted by Ryan
Spring time systems are generally very strong. On the northern end, you can count on some snow, and on the south, you very well know there will be changes in temperature usually ushered in by potentially strong thunderstorms. Even with a clash of air masses like this, the general forecast isn't really that big a mystery. Well, not until you get really close to the actual center of low pressure. Will the low pass to the southeast, keeping the city cold and rainy? Will it be to the northwest, meaning some rain early, then a warm up, followed by some thunderstorms? Will the warm and cold front be occluded by the time the low arrives? Well, in the case of Jackson, Michigan, it was option two. It rained on Monday, with a pleasant warm up on Tuesday before a brief rumble of thunder (though Jackson was in a tornado watch for most of the afternoon). With all the potential variables in Jackson, Victoria-Weather's top forecast, a good one at that, can only be seen as a coup.
Actuals: Monday - .18 inches of rain, High 53, Low 47
Tuesday - .03 inches of rain/thunderstorms, High 72, Low 47
Grade: B