Thursday, July 10, 2014

humidity abnormally low... (am.10.jul.14)>

It's a bit surreal to keep waking up to generally clear skies during July!  The humidity reading this morning is a (relatively speaking) super-low 45%, which is way below normal.  My overnight low temp here in the upper part of town has been 66.6F (19.2C), and there has been no rainfall since the whopping 2.11" (5.4cm) we got hit with yesterday afternoon.

That massive downpour yesterday was a reminder that during the monsoon season we can get dumped on virtually anytime, on any given day -- even if the overall parameters aren't looking very impressive.  Our air mass is still lacking the deep moisture that is normally well-entrenched by this time of year, and the upper-level pattern has yet to really, truly, and firmly transition into one conducive to generating pervasive monsoon conditions here along the slopes of the mountains in Himachal.  Having said all that, rapid warming of the lower layers thanks to morning sunshine is all it takes to make use of what moisture IS available, and generate isolated to widely scattered afternoon thundershowers.  We'll probably see that process repeat itself again today and tomorrow.

By Saturday, computer models continue to show signs of a gradual change in the overall atmosphere.  Deeper moisture is expected to creep in from the southeast, which could lead to the appearance of more classic monsoon conditions (fog, consistent rains) by the early and middle parts of next week.  Until/unless that happens, our temperatures will max out above normal, thanks to the unusual presence of nice periods of sunshine.

Check the CURRENT FORECAST details on the tab above.