Weekend Rain Chances Trending Down
Good afternoon folks! Terribly sorry for the delay in getting this discussion out. I was in the field most of the day, installing a new weather station in a new location! We'll announce the location, the partner, and access to the data in the coming days, but know this station has been a long time coming and we are very excited! The forecast has not changed too much since we last spoke on Monday and the little changes that have occurred are for the better, with shower chances trending downward for the weekend. We still expect scattered showers later this afternoon, another round late morning Thursday, followed by a regionwide round of rain and thunderstorms Thursday late afternoon/evening. Shower coverage scales back to isolated Friday morning and almost drops to zero this weekend, with more sunshine than cloud cover on Saturday and isolated showers returning on Sunday. Temps will be cooler on Thursday as they reach the upper 70's in the valleys, warming to the low 80's Friday (afternoon sunshine) and peaking to the mid - upper 80's this weekend as we deal with a growing upper level ridge. Forecasted rainfall amounts Thursday into Friday have dropped to a regionwide 0.50 - 0.75" as opposed to the 0.75 - 1.5" we were previously calling for on Monday.
Thursday will be muggier than Wednesday as southerly flow ramps up ahead of the incoming cold front, prompting scattered showers to develop as soon as the late morning hours, with a round of regionwide showers moving through closer to sunset. This will not be a washout but enough to cancel outdoor plans and just enough to keep any drought classification at bay. Temps will climb to the low 60's above 5000', while the valleys push into the mid - upper 70's, settling into the low - upper 50's overnight into Friday. Shower coverage will begin to decline by the pre dawn hours on Friday, keeping mostly cloudy skies overhead most of the night.
Friday starts out with more clouds than sun and the occasional light shower before noon, more so for the Southern Highlands Plateau and escarpment as we continue to benefit from southerly flow. Temps push to the low 80's in the valleys and its possible sunshine takes over before sunset, with temps dropping to the upper 40's - upper 50's depending upon elevation overnight into Saturday.
The weekend is trending in the right direction if you want to hit the water, perhaps for the delayed harvest opening or just enjoy the afternoon at your local swimming hole. Sunny skies will take over on Saturday and we'll still deal with a handful of pop up showers but nothing that should keep you from being outside. Temps push to the mid - upper 80's both days and we may have more cloud cover on Sunday as isolated showers and thunderstorms develop across the region.
Summertime conditions linger into early next week with pop up showers the new norm as we move into Monday. We'll circle back on Friday. ENJOY!