Saturday, April 27, 2013

variability rules... (am.27.apr.13)>

The sun is attempting to shine through an extensive layer of thin, high clouds early this Saturday morning.  I've recorded an overnight low temp of 59.5F (15.3C) here on Tushita Road just below the mountaineering center, and the current humidity reading is 40%.

Satellite photos indicate that we're going to be dealing with quite a lot of high cloudiness today, riding along on a fast-moving jet stream blowing from the west-southwest.  Although there could be isolated shower/thundershower development this afternoon, it appears that we could have an "off" day in terms of rain... and perhaps an "off" weekend.  Things look a little more stable, and the more significant moisture has temporarily retreated.  Of course be prepared for a sudden thundershower anyway, since our atmosphere has been going through an extremely fickle phase during the past week to 10 days.

The chance of a round or two of more significant showers and thunderstorms will be on the increase again by Sunday evening, and especially on Monday and Tuesday.  A strong upper-level disturbance will ease in from the west -- but the good news is that it looks like this system could be the "pattern changer" we've been waiting for, ushering in a more stable scenario as we transition into May.

Temperatures will remain comfortable for the most part, but will likely continue to balance out on the cool side of late April norms.  Get your CURRENT FORECAST on the tab at the top of the page.