Tuesday, September 27, 2011

what a day... (pm.27.sep.11)>

today's high temp: 70.7F (21.5C)... around 11:30am
today's low temp: 54.0F (12.2C)... around 3:00pm, during the rain/hail
rainfall this afternoon: 2.68" (6.8cm)... between 1:30 and 4:15pm

there have been a handful of times over the years that i have been completely shocked and stunned... astonished.   and today was one of those times.  the intensity of this afternoon's thunderstorm took me completely by surprise.  there have been random, relatively tame showers and thundershowers scattered throughout the mountains from kashmir through himachal and further southeast into uttarakhand during the afternoons for the last few days, but the storm that nailed us this afternoon was off the charts compared to anything i thought we might experience.

as i pour over the available data this evening, all i can see is that there must have been a disturbance in the upper atmosphere that was underestimated by all of the computer models, that was able to take advantage of all this surface moisture sitting around here.  with the help of a few hours of strong sunshine this morning, the moisture was lifted and condensed, as the upper-level disturbance passed overhead.  bingo.  a 2+ hour period of heavy rain and occasional hail.  the hail itself is an indication that there was enough turbulence in the atmosphere to force water droplets up above the freezing level multiple times before allowing them to fall to the ground.  there is also a light coating of snow on the highest peaks of the dhauladars visible this evening.

tonight at sunset, we have a clearer sky than we've seen in a while.  cooler, drier and more stable air has been brought down to the surface in the wake of the storm... which is a welcome change.  let's see if the clouds and fog can manage to return tomorrow, or if today's events have advanced us along...

TUESDAY NIGHT: becoming mostly clear.  coolish temps.
low: 14C (57F)

WEDNESDAY: sunny in the morning.  becoming partly cloudy by noon, with a risk of an afternoon shower.
high: 22C (71F)

THURSDAY: sunny to partly cloudy and pleasant.  slight chance of a PM shower.
high: 22C (72F)

FRIDAY: sunshine and a few clouds.
high: 22C (72F)

SATURDAY: sunny in the morning, partly cloudy PM.
high: 23C (73F)

SUNDAY: mostly sunny and nice.
high: 23C (73F)