The Weather Blog » Memphis

Knotted in Memphis

Ryan — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:52:17 +0000

It was a blustery day in Memphis on Friday as a cold front swept through. There was a little bit of rain as the system exited in the morning, but that was because the cold air hadn't entirely departed. I asked if the day would be a non-standard day, wondering about time the day's low temperature would show up, but I should have wondered about the high as well. It was 61 to start the day, dropping off precipitously after that point. It was, of course, a non standard day, thanks to the front's slow pace through Memphis, but everyone came around with their forecast on Saturday. It ended up being a three way cluster on top between The Weather Channel, Accuweather and the Weather Service on top of the forecast heap.
Actuals: Friday - Trace of rain, High 61, Low 41
Saturday - High 55, Low 35

Grade: C

Memphis, Tennessee

Ryan — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:11:20 +0000

Long distance information, get my Memphis Tennessee, help me find find the forecast that tried to get in touch with me

At 1154AM, CT, Memphis was reporting a temperature of 73 degrees with clear skies and a gusty south wind. An area of low pressure was moving through the mid-Mississippi Valley, however the associated cold front was between Memphis and Little Rock, and it appeared highly unlikely that thunderstorms would pose a threat to the Memphis area this afternoon.
As the system over Missouri continues northeast towards southern New England, it will dramatically intensify, causing a cool down in Memphis, but also a great deal of bluster. Expect sunny skies, but a stout northwest wind tomorrow, with the wind abating on Saturday.
Tomorrow - Sunny and windy, High 54, Low 43
Saturday - Sunny skies continue, High 55, Low 32

TWC: Tomorrow - Abundant sunshine. High 54, Low 42
Saturday - Mainly sunny High 53, Low 32

AW: Tomorrow - Breezy and cooler with times of clouds and sun High 54, Low 42
Saturday - Plenty of sunshine High 54, Low 35

NWS: Tomorrow - Mostly sunny High 55, Low 40
Saturday - Sunny High 55, Low 33

WB: Tomorrow - Much cooler. Mostly sunny High 55, Low 40
Saturday - Sunny High 54, Low 33

It will be interesting to see whether or not tomorrow will be a non-standard day. Constant northwest wind would lead me to believe that it will not be, because there isn't going to be a dramatic change during the day tomorrow. Here is the satellite, with the most interesting thing to me is the swath of clouds along the Gulf Coast. Surprising dew points in Memphis could hit the mid 50s.

Well don’t I feel sheepish

Ryan — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:12:17 +0000

The weather Memphis, if you have been following along with Twitter Tuesday, has simply been hot and humid for the past couple of days. Really, the most interesting thing about the forecast was that I simply forgot to transcribe the Weather Service forecast. Strange. The Weather Channel had the top forecast of outlets I actually checked, thanks in some part to the forecast of warm overnight lows. In fact, those lows never dropped below 73. Awful for sleeping. Nice work, TWC.
Actuals: Sunday - High 91, Low 73
Monday - High 93, Low 73

Grade: B

Memphis, Tennessee

Ryan — Sun, 29 May 2011 00:17:45 +0000

Memphis has been right in line for nasty thunderstorms for the past several weeks. They caught some of the flooding, unfortunately, but have managed to avoid severe thunderstorms.

At 552PM, CT, Memphis was reporting mostly sunny skies with a temperature of 89 degrees and a brisk southerly wind. A seasonably strong jet was parked north of Memphis, and as it was mostly laminar, broad, disorganized low pressure was being seen along the Canadian border, and strong westerly flow is inducing some troughing over the southern Plains.
The good thing about the lack of any real upper level vorticity is that there is going to be little air mass advection which means there will be little by way of showers or thunderstorms. The cyclonic feature will agglomerate in the Dakotas through the next couple of days, drawing inclement conditions further from Memphis, instead promoting southerly flow and hot, sticky weather.
Tomorrow - Hot and humid, High 91, Low 68
Memorial Day - Still hot, still humid, High 92, Low 69

TWC: Tomorrow - Generally sunny. Hot. High 92, Low 70
Memorial Day - Sunshine High 92, Low 71

AW: Tomorrow - Mostly sunny High 94, Low 70
Memorial Day - Mostly sunny and warm High 92, Low 72

WB: Tomorrow - Sunny High 92, Low 68
Memorial Day - Sunny. High 92, Low 69

If you are in the Memphis area, here's hoping you don't have vinyl seats. Satellite with a look at activity stashed way to the north.

Feature Forecast: Memphis, Tennessee, Feature Forecaster: David Still

Ryan — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:29:41 +0000

Once again, we are fortunate enough to have another luminary from the meteorology world join us today. This time, it's David Still from ABC24 in Memphis that has graced us with his presence. Without further interruption, here is what Mr. Still had to say about himself, and his forecast for Memphis!

Ever since Hurricane Hugo ripped through my hometown of Charlotte, NC when I was a kid I was pretty much hooked on the weather. It took a while for me to finally figure out exactly what I wanted to do so it took an extra round of school. I have a meteorology Post-Baccalaureate degree from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and a degree from Appalachian State University. Although I love the mountains if I could live anywhere it would definitely be on the coast of North or South Carolina. When I’m not at work I hit the gym pretty religiously. Depending on the season I like to fish and hunt. Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out if I have a green thumb.

And now on to the forecast:

Friday Night: We’ll look for mostly cloudy skies as a weak system from the Northern Plains scoots through Missouri. Luckily we stay dry and not as cold, low 25.

Saturday: Expect decreasing clouds during the day Saturday. A weak southerly flow becomes established across the Midsouth for the weekend helping the cold situation to an extent. Area snowmen will melt a bit during in the afternoon, but staying pretty chilly, partly sunny, high 42.

Saturday night: Partly cloudy skies combined with a light south wind keep the mercury closer to what we expect for late January, low 30.

Sunday: Clouds roll back into the Midsouth in advance of our next potential winter weather maker. Mostly cloudy, high 43.

Old Man Winter remains grumpy…the rest of next week will stay pretty cold and active. The good news for us!...he will focus his efforts more into Middle Tennessee, areas south towards Georgia, and east into the Carolinas by Wednesday.

Thank you Mr. David Still once again for adding your input here at Victoria-Weather. Again, you can see him weekday mornings and and during the midday news on ABC24 in Memphis.

Ithaca, New York to Memphis, Tennessee

Ryan — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:00:08 +0000

Back on the road for another road trip, this one taking us from western New York to western Tennessee over the course of two days. It's a surprising 1055 miles from Ithaca to Memphis, and we will cover the ground at a pace of 62.4mph, allowing us to cover 499 miles on that first day, the last day covering the remainder of the trip. Flurries to start for sure, but what will the rest of the trip bring?

DAY ONE

While there may be a brief flurry as we depart tomorrow morning from Ithaca, the majority of the snow will be done in Ithaca, and the snow would be brief as we are leaving town. The reason the snow will be ending in Ithaca, however, is because of a weak little eddy spinning up over Michigan, cutting off flow to Western New York from the Great Lakes, but also bringing the chance for snow in a more focused area. The chance for snow that left us as we left Ithaca will reemerge from about Erie, Pennsylvania to Mansfield, Ohio, before we get south of the snow once again. The end of the day will put us in Jeffersonville, Ohio, which is almost at the midway point between Columbus and Cincinnati.

DAY TWO
If we time things right, we shouldn't have any problems on Sunday either. If we time things right. The drive from Jeffersonville to Nashville shouldn't be any trouble, but a weak bundle of energy is sliding along a line from Nebraska to western Tennessee over the weekend. It won't cause much precipitation, but at the very end of our drive, if the GFS model is correct, there might, might, MIGHT just be a flurry to drive through between Nashville and Memphis.

A little more organized

Ryan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:59:47 +0000

The worry with the forecast in Memphis was that things wouldn't be quite as organized as one might hope when it came to the forecast. As it turned out, a solid line of thunderstorms set up over Arkansas (where tornadoes were seen around Little Rock) during the day Wednesday before it marched east and crashed into the greater Memphis area. And by "just after midnight" I mean they arrived at 12:03AM. There was no assorted shower activity ahead of the boundary as we all expected, and when it came through, it was much stronger than we had all though. 57mph winds and hail were all seen before 1AM, and then it all petered out before the sun rose. That's the last time we underestimate an upper level low. Accuweather broke out of their doldrums and had the top forecast.
Actuals: Wednesday - High 75, Low 59
Thursday - 1.10 inches of rain with hail in thunderstorms, High 72, Low 53

Grade: B

Memphis, Tennessee to Elkhart, Indiana

Ryan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:08:54 +0000

Our first trip on the new version of the site takes us from Memphis to northern Indiana on a trip that will take us nearly 10 hours. Not a terrible day, but longer than we are used to. It's a 611 mile trip that will see us travel at a rate of almost 62mph, slowed down by the intricate interstate systems of Memphis and Chicago. It's going to be a soggy trip, so lets change those windshield wipers and be on our way.

It will have been miserable in Memphis for about 48 hours by the time we leave, so why should we expect anything different? A whirling mass of rain and clouds over the center of the country isn't going anywhere. The most recent round will feature a stronger cold front that is primed to enter Memphis just after midnight tonight, bringing some thunderstorms into the mix. As we leave Memphis, we'll be driving in the heaviest of the rain, but will see an abrupt clearing as we pass through Arkansas, Missouri and into Illinois. This front is the best chance we have at some legitimate clearing. It will actually be fairly dry, but probably cloudy most of the way through Illinois, a fairly fitting climate for anyone who is driving through rural Illinois. As we pull into the Kankakee area, we will run into the rain once again. The occluded system will have wrapped itself back east at Chicago, which means we'll likely be in the rain the rest of the way to Elkhart. Not just a little bit of rain either, but a soaking, thorough rain. Better than snow.

Memphis, Tennessee

Ryan — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:01:32 +0000

This time a week ago, I was supposed to be verifying Anthony's forecast in Flagstaff. Alas, it is gone forever. Instead, we will get back on track with a forecast in Memphis.

At 1153AM, ET, Memphis was reporting a temperature of 57 with cloudy skies. A large upper low was winding itself into occlusion over the central Plains, and had pushed it's initial round of rain to the east of town. A healthy dry slot head established itself over Arkansas and promised to bring Memphis a chance at some clearing skies this afternoon.
The upper low has become dissociated with the primary jet over the Gulf of Mexico, which will mean the system will languish and spin itself out rather than advance. Cloudy skies will remain over the center of the country until a stronger system can move through. There is a broader trough entering from the west and will gradually strengthen over the next 48 hours. The secondary low will take almost the same path as the original upper system, but will have upper support and will form a classic frontal structure. Expect a warm front to set up just south of Memphis tomorrow before gradually lifting north. This system will lead to rain for almost all of the eastern half of the country, but Memphis may be on the fringe of a slowly progressing secondary cold front and the dry slot for much of the day on Thursday.
Tomorrow - Rain possible, with the heaviest southeast of town, High 66, Low 57
Thursday - Chance of rain through the day, diminishing towards evening, High 70, Low 57

TWC: Tomorrow - Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing (evening t-storms). High 70, Low 58
Thursday - Slight chance of a thunderstorm High 74, Low 57

AW: Tomorrow - Clouds and breaks of sun; warmer with a shower or thunderstorm around High 76, Low 59
Thursday - Clouds yielding to sun (AM Showers) High 72, Low 59

NWS: Tomorrow - A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy High 75, Low 59
Thursday - A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy High 74, Low 60

WB: Tomorrow - A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning...then a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy. High 75, Low 59
Thursday -
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy in the morning...then becoming partly sunny. High 74, Low 60

This forecast is a mess. With some much whirling energy, clouds and rain, the temperatures will certainly bust at some point. High? Low? I don't now. Always what you want to hear from a meteorologist, right? Radar shows the initial round of rain pushing out of town.