Tuesday, July 24, 2012

in the thick of it... (pm.24.jul.12)>

The clouds and fog are 100% in control this evening, with a few light showers happening off and on.  Rainfall since this morning's report has been only 0.20" (5mm) -- but our total since about 8:45pm last night is now 3.30" (8.4cm), most of which occurred between 9:00pm last night and about 3:30am this morning.  There were some fleeting glimpses of sunshine this morning, and I recorded a high temp of 75.4F (24.1C).

Since late Sunday morning, we're finding ourselves back in the thick of classic monsoon conditions, with humidity in the range of 92-100%, a predominance of clouds and fog, and increasing frequency and intensity of rainfall.  There is no evidence that we stand much of a chance of experiencing another "retreat phase", like the one we've just come out of, as our atmosphere should stay very close to the saturation point all the way into early next week... at least.  Our flow aloft will turn to the west from time to time, but it will be light enough to prevent an intrusion of any significantly drier air.

With the massive amount of moisture in the air, periods of heavy rainfall are likely during the next several days.  I think we could easily pick up 8-10" (20-25cm) of rain during this final week of July -- but that would still leave us with a deficit of around 10" (25cm) for the month.  Doing that simple math tells us that we need about 20" (50cm) of rain in the next seven days to catch up to normal.  Not impossible, but a tall order!

TUESDAY NIGHT:
mostly cloudy skies with periods of fog and rain.  some thunder possible as well.
low: 20C (68F)

WEDNESDAY:
clouds, fog and a glimpse or two of sun.  a couple of periods of rain and thunder likely.
high: 23C (73F)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
mostly cloudy.  periods of fog, rain and thunder.
low: 19C (67F)

THURSDAY:
clouds, fog, and a peek or two of sun.  a couple of periods of rain and thunder likely.
high: 23C (73F)

FRIDAY:
clouds, fog, and a sunny break or two.  a couple of rounds of rain/thunder likely.
morning low: 19C (67F)
daytime high: 23C (74F)

SATURDAY:
mostly cloudy.  periods of fog, rain and thunder likely.
morning low: 19C (66F)
daytime high: 22C (72F)

SUNDAY:
mostly cloudy... occasional fog, rain and thunder.
morning low: 19C (66F)
daytime high: 22C (72F)