Joplin Update from CBS

Nice to see this story still being covered. Less than three months and the progress really shows.

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Playing With Models

A hurricane is set to hit Myrtle Beach. If you believe the long-range forecast that is. I wouldn't sweat it. Last night the models suggested that two tropical systems would hit the U.S. on the exact same day, one in the Gulf and the other close to New York City. However, keep your guard up.

I forgot how fun it is to play with models. Normally I only use them in the winter. But with the tropics nearing peak activity, I believe I will be take a glance quite often. Much like winter storms, it is way too early to tell what will happen. One thing is certain though, somebody will be getting impacted over the next two weeks. Mark it down.

As for the GFS, it takes the storm virtually directly into Myrtle Beach Wednesday, then up the coast with heavy amounts of rain inland. And when I say Wednesday, I'm talking the one almost two weeks from now. Think something will change by then?

The one intriguing thing about this time of year when it comes to the Atlantic is that these storms tend to ramp up and begin to train. You see one wave come off Africa and begin to organize, than another one, than another one. You could have three storms all moving across the Atlantic together. Taking environmental factors into consideration, it begs to question whether you could actually get two hurricanes to hit the United States within 36-48 hours. Maybe that could be the next Weather Channel's, It Could Happen Tomorrow.

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Wicked Weather

Like I always say, if you don't like the weather here, go somewhere else for a couple weeks and get back to me. Try Dallas, Texas. The lowest temperature they experienced in July was 98, once. Only two other days were below 100. Thought we were dry? They got one hundredth of an inch of rain during the month. In other words, they got nothing. A new month has brought more of the same. In fact, Dallas hit at least 106 during 6 of the first 8 days. Something that happened only once in July. That area of the country is absolutely baking.

Then I saw an article about the Mount Baker highway in Washington which was finally opened up to the visiting center this week. It had been closed since winter because of snowfall. In fact, it was decided that the entire road will not be plowed due to upwards of 30 feet of snow still on the road.

And just today I saw the first predicted snow map for the upcoming season. Normally I would be excited, but since Joe Bastardi and his unusual ability to predict long-range weather left Accuweather, I am hesitant on believing anything. Quite frankly with the way things are going, you should probably expect just about anything. And by anything I mean something more than nothing. Easy to follow, right?

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Not Quite

My last post predicted some pretty unpredictable things. And while I didn't get either right, I can take some comfort in knowing I wasn't far off.

Back on July 16th I said it would hit 90 in Reading every day through the rest of the month. That would have been 15 straight days of 90. Two days failed to hit the mark, leaving me just short. And if it wasn't for that drenching Monday last week, Reading would have been well short of the one inch mark I was looking for.

I take some satisfaction in at least being accurate for Reading, the area I discussed two weeks ago. You see, Allentown went five days in a row without hitting 90 during that span and also ended July with an impressive 3.94 inches of rain. Even Philadelphia missed 90 more than Reading did and finished with half an inch more of rain.

Now that August has begun, the tropics are becoming more active and storms will start to develop quickly. It's safe to say that August will not be as warm as July, nor as dry for Reading at least. And before you know it, the leaves will start to fall and the air will be dry and cool.

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