Friday, April 27, 2012

Staying Warm & Dry This Weekend

By Jay Grymes & Steve Caparotta


In our opinion, the best part of today’s weather forecast for the coming days is that we’ll stay dry right into the middle of next week, which means Mother Nature will be cooperating if you’re looking to enjoy the outdoors over the weekend.  But it will be warm, and with plenty of sunshine for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, it’s once again time to be thinking “sunscreen!”

The pressure gradient that has made for a string of windy days this week will relax a little over the weekend, but it will still be breezy enough to get the kites a’flying both Saturday and Sunday.
Remaining on the dry-side for the next several days may be good for outdoor fun, but it may also have some of you grumbling a little about our recent lack of rain.  After some very wet days at the beginning of April, many of us have gone quite dry during the past three weeks.  True, it hasn’t been “bone dry” -- Metro Airport has recorded about a third of an inch of rain since April 4th and we’ve seen nearly an inch of rain since then here at the WAFB studios.  But with persistently warmer-than-normal weather over the past few weeks, soils are a bit drier-than-normal for this time of year. 
No need for serious concern yet, but if the current weather pattern of “warm and dry” continues well into May, we could see an about-face and relatively quick return to the drought-like conditions that plagued much of the viewing area during the winter.  We’ll keep watching closely for you.
In the meantime, get ready for somewhat muggy morning starts with patchy wake-up fog and afternoons that will reach the mid and even the upper 80°s for several days to come. 
With the warm and moist air mass in place over the viewing area, we cannot say “no chance for a shower” over the coming days.  Still, based on the upper-level ridge overhead and the current weather outlook, there is very little chance of rain in your neighborhood through the middle of next week, and only a slight chance of rain on Thursday and Friday afternoons!
Gardener’s alert: you may want to consider breaking out the hose over the coming days!

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