Tuesday, July 10, 2012

pendulum swings... (am.10.jul.12)>

For the third morning in a row, we have mostly clear skies as the sun rises above the mountains.  The monkeys up-ended my rain gauge sometime early this morning, but I don't think there has been any additional rainfall since the 0.36" (9mm) I recorded last evening.  Our total for the past seven days stands at 8.31" (21.1cm).  The overnight low temp here on Tushita Road was 68.7F (20.4C).

After its initial strong push into the area during the middle and latter parts of last week, the monsoon has been in a weaker phase the last couple of days.  Although we're still getting shower and thundershower development over the mountains, there's been no widespread, persistent cloudiness, fog or rainfall over much of Himachal Pradesh since Saturday.  This morning's satellite pics, however, are showing a renewed surge coming in from the southeast, which may put us back into more of a saturation mode as we head into the latter half of the week.  Be prepared for very sudden cloud, fog and shower development, in spite of the interludes of sunshine.

We had our first genuine monsoon rains exactly one week ago, and have averaged 1.19" (3cm) per day up to and including yesterday (Monday).  It's looking like we may be able to maintain that average during the next seven days, as very heavy downpours continue to alternate with some stretches of generally dry and quiet weather.

TUESDAY:
early sunshine... then becoming partly to mostly cloudy.  development of fog, showers and thundershowers likely.
high: 24C (76F)

TUESDAY NIGHT:
partly to mostly cloudy and foggy at times.  a period or two of rain and thunder likely.
low: 20C (68F)

WEDNESDAY:
a mix of clouds, peeks of sun, and fog.  a round or two of rain and thunder likely.
high: 23C (74F)

THURSDAY:
mostly cloudy and foggy at times.  occasional rain and thunder.
morning low: 20C (68F)
daytime high: 23C (73F)

FRIDAY:
clouds and a glimpse or two of sun.  foggy at times, with occasional rain and thunder.
morning low: 19C (67F)
daytime high: 22C (72F)

SATURDAY:
a bit of sun in the midst of clouds and fog.  a period or two of rain and thunder likely.
morning low: 19C (67F)
daytime high: 23C (73F)