Wednesday, March 16, 2011

comfortably warm... (am.16.mar.11)>

skies are partly cloudy before sunrise this morning, with a very comfortable temp of 62.4F (16.9C).  these early morning low temperatures the last couple of days are similar to what we would normally expect in mid- to late april!

i'm seeing several patches of high clouds on the satellite pics this morning... so we may not get the full-power sunshine that we've had the last two days.  still, there will be plenty of sun, and it remains very warm throughout all levels of the atmosphere, so we are in line for at least another day or two of super nice springtime weather.

there are significant changes on the way, however, which will begin to be felt on friday.  our massive ridge of fair-weather high pressure is going to be collapsing... thanks to a rather strong upper-level disturbance moving in from the west.  this is going to cause temperatures aloft to drop dramatically over the weekend, which will destabilize the atmosphere enough to cause increasing cloudiness and a chance of some showers and thunderstorms.  the next couple of days will be nice for trekking, etc... but keep in mind that it could turn wet and much colder in the mountains over the weekend...

WEDNESDAY: a mix of sunshine and high clouds.  continued unseasonably warm.
high: 24C (76F)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: partly cloudy skies.
low: 17C (63F)

THURSDAY: partly to mostly sunny... still warm.
high: 24C (76F)

FRIDAY: increasing clouds, with a chance of a thunderstorm late in the day.
high: 24C (75F)

SATURDAY: partly to mostly cloudy skies, with scattered showers and thunderstorms possible.
high: 23C (73F)

SUNDAY: more clouds than sun... good chance of a thunderstorm or two.  not as warm.
high: 22C (71F)