Saturday, March 17, 2012

spring has sprung... (am.17.mar.12)>

By several degrees, it is the warmest morning of 2012.  I'm recording an overnight low temperature of 57.7F (14.3C) here in the upper part of town.  Our skies are mostly clear to the west, but partly cloudy to the east over the mountains as sunrise approaches.

It looks like we're getting a little bit of instability this morning... the warming at the surface has been so dramatic, with some cooler air still lingering in the upper-atmosphere.  I don't think it will amount to much; but just a reminder that we have to keep a close eye on the potential for a stray shower to pop up over the mountains.

Our long-awaited warming trend is unfolding according to plan, only perhaps a bit more aggressively.  If we can hang on to the sunshine today, we'll have no problem topping 21C (70F), which means forecast temperatures will need to be bumped upward for Sunday and Monday.  We're finally rising ABOVE normal... which has been rare this late winter and early spring season.  There should be lots more sightings of people roaming around town in t-shirts and shorts, and less woolen hats and scarves and down jackets!

The next weather system looks on schedule for Monday night into Tuesday, bringing an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms, along with a drop in temperatures...

SATURDAY:
sunny to partly cloudy.  warm-up continues.
high: 22C (71F)

SATURDAY NIGHT:
just a slight chance of an evening shower, otherwise clear to partly cloudy.  very mild.
low: 15C (59F)

SUNDAY:
sunshine and a few clouds.  unseasonably WARM
high: 23C (74F)

MONDAY:
partly cloudy.  continued warm, with an isolated thundershower possible by evening.
morning low: 16C (60F)
daytime high: 23C (74F)

TUESDAY:
a mix of clouds and sun, with a better chance of a couple of showers and thunderstorms in the area.
morning low: 15C (59F)
daytime high: 22C (71F)

WEDNESDAY:
partly cloudy.  not as warm.
morning low: 11C (52F)
daytime high: 19C (67F)