Thursday, August 6, 2020

First Sign of Rain Could Come as Early as Saturday Morning

Rain has been hard to come as of late with high pressure anchored over the Midwest and Great Lakes. Dry air associated with the high has really helped to scour out the atmosphere of moisture, making it hard to get much precipitation from the afternoon cloud cover.

That will change, however, heading into the weekend as temperatures are expected to slowly inch up as the high shifts a little further east. Southerly winds will develop Friday, lasting into the weekend, pulling in more moisture from the Gulf. This will cause dew point temperatures to rise as well, climbing into the low 60s Friday, mid 60s Saturday and then in the low 70s Sunday. This could push the heat index Sunday afternoon just shy of the triple digit mark.

The increase in moisture will also mean an increase in rain, but even that looks to remain isolated. Our last measurable rainfall came back at the end of July, on the 29th, when only 0.01 inches fell. So, not much. Before that, 0.86 inches fell on the 26th. Our ground is pretty dry and the rain would be a welcomed sight for many this weekend. It's possible that our first chance for rain will arrive as early as Saturday morning from a weakening area of showers and isolated thunderstorms. If that does in fact occur, it'll likely increase our chance for a few more showers/storms heading into the weekend and would likely cool our temperatures a bit. If, however, the rain Saturday morning doesn't materialize then we've only got an isolated chance during the afternoon. Forecast high for Saturday is currently 86 degrees.

Most of Sunday is looking to remain dry as warm air moving in aloft puts a 'cap' or lid on our atmosphere and prevents storms from developing. A slightly higher risk for thunderstorms will occur Sunday night into Monday morning as a complex of storms move in from the northwest. These will be aided by a cold front that is set to move through during the first half of the day Monday. Highs on Monday are forecast to warm close to 90 degrees.

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