Wednesday, April 18, 2012

warming continues... (pm.18.apr.12)>

After yet another day of dramatic swings between sun and clouds, we're enjoying a fantastic evening... with partly cloudy skies and comfortable temperatures.  We started with full sunshine early this morning, which was followed by a period of clouds and even a quick thundershower right around noon, and then a return to sunshine for the majority of the afternoon.  I recorded 0.07" (2mm) of rain during that 15-minute noontime shower, and a high temp of 72.9F (22.7C)... which is the warmest in the last 9 days.

Satellite photos show only a a couple of isolated showers remaining over the mountains this evening, as a ridge of high pressure continues to gradually build over north and west parts of India.  This weather feature is characterized mainly by steady warming from the surface into the upper-atmosphere... and that means we'll see our temperatures rising even further between now and the weekend.  Unfortunately, we can't seem to totally get rid of this moderate instability, which means the "heads-up" for brief showers or thundershowers remains in effect, despite the absence of a real storm system in the area.

We should see close to the warmest weather of the season on Friday and Saturday, just ahead of a weak but large-scale upper-level disturbance which is still scheduled to move in over the weekend.  This system may be able to tap into some deep moisture from the Arabian Sea, so we'll have to watch for some potentially heavy showers and thunderstorms.  Unusual for this time of year!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
clear to partly cloudy and rather mild.
low: 15C (59F)

THURSDAY:
warmer... with a mix of sun and some clouds.  an isolated PM thundershower?
high: 24C (75F)

THURSDAY NIGHT:
clear to partly cloudy.  comfortable temps.
low: 16C (61F)

FRIDAY:
partly cloudy and warm.  a round of thunderstorms possible, mainly after mid-afternoon.
high: 25C (77F)

SATURDAY:
both clouds and sun.  still warm, with a good chance of a period or two of showers and thunderstorms.
morning low: 17C (63F)
daytime high: 25C (77F)

SUNDAY:
a mix of clouds and some sun.  humid for April... with a good chance of another round of thunderstorms.
morning low: 16C (61F)
daytime high: 24C (75F)

MONDAY:
partly sunny with a thundershower possible.
morning low: 16C (60F)
daytime high: 23C (74F)