Rally!

The Weather Channel didn’t have a great August, but they had a very good showing in Wheeling. Temperatures were in the mid 80s, with a sprinkle of thunderstorm activity late last week in the West Virginia northern Panhandle. The Weather Channel captured the forecast almost perfectly, bucking their recent trends.
Actuals: August 20th, High 84, Low 53
August 21st, .04 inches of rain, High 85, Low 61

Grade: A-C

Wheeling, West Virginia

It took quite a bit of cartographic gymnastics to come up with the borders of West Virginia. Wheeling is in the northern Panhandle of the state, along the mighty Ohio River.

At 353PM, ET, Wheeling was reporting a temperature of 78 degrees with clear skies and a light north wind. There was some scattered stratocumulus bracketing northern West Virginia, while lazy low pressure existed on the coastal side of the Appalachians. Some taller clouds were popping up in the mountains, but high pressure will remain in place over the eastern Great Lakes through tomorrow.
An upper level trough will start to foment surface troughing, originating around the Mississippi Delta and building northeast to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Circulation and organization will be weak, but given the ripe environment, there will be showers and storms on the southern horizon. Wheeling should be far enough north to evade wet weather, but expect an increase of clouds in the afternoon.
Tomorrow – Sunny, High 86, Low 55
Friday – Increasing clouds, High 87, Low 59

TWC: Tomorrow – Sunshine and some clouds. High 84, Low 52
Friday – More clouds than sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86, Low 61

AW: Tomorrow – Beautiful with sun and areas of high clouds High 84, Low 55
Friday – Variable cloudiness with a thunderstorm High 81, Low 64

NWS: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 87, Low 55
Friday – A slight chance of showers after 2pm. Partly sunny, High 89, Low 63

WB: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 85, Low 55
Friday – Partly sunny. A slight chance of showers in the afternoon. High 86, Low 63

WN: Mostly sunny High 87, Low 55
Friday – Partly cloudy with isolated showers, High 89, Low 63

FIO: Tomorrow – Clear throughout the day. High 86, Low 54
Friday – Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High 88, Low 62

Accuweather is taking a different path, aren’t they? I’m not sold on thunderstorms, and on a nice clear day like today, how could you even THINK about bad weather?