Sunday Evening Thoughts

First off, congrats to App. State. What a huge win...in my opinion, the biggest upset in college football history. Incredible. I had the audio pulled up here in the weather office, and I was really pulling for you guys to pull it out. That has ESPN Instant Classic written all over it.

In the tropics, recon is indicating here at 7pm that we now have a hurricane. I feel the NHC will probably upgrade Felix to a hurricane with the 8pm intermediate advisory. Felix will cross the Caribbean and likely make landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula as a major hurricane. That is terrible news for those folks after just dealing with Dean a couple of weeks ago.

Felix will then likely get in the Bay of Campeche about the time a weakness in the eastern US ridge is approaching the Plains and Southeast. That could make for some interesting possibilities for the Gulf coast, but it is way too soon for that. Stay tuned...

And, many folks saw some heavy showers this afternoon and this evening. Others simply enjoyed a cooler day with highs in the 80s. Our 32 consecutive day streak of 90 degrees or higher at the CLT airport finally came to an end today with a high of 84.

Man, I am glad college football is back. It is my favorite sport, and you can't beat it. My Bulldogs took it on the chin Thursday night. Defense looked good until they wore down, offensive line looked good, but our QB obviously had a terrible night with 6 INTs. However, believe it or not, I was encouraged by what I saw out of the defense and the O-line. Lots of season left, and I am still optimistic.

Read more...

Tropical Depression 6

TD 6 has formed just east of the islands of the eastern Caribbean this afternoon. A recon plane went into the system, and in spite of a fairly healthy looking satellite presentation, winds were not very strong and the central pressure was quite high. So, no Felix yet....but TD 6 is here.

Whatever can become of that system will likely not be a factor for the U.S. I expect this system to cruise through the Caribbean Sea and hit central America, probably a little farther south than Dean did. A big ridge will be to the north of the system as it crosses the Caribbean, and that should prevent the system from curving north and toward the U.S. Of course, things could change, but that is how I see it right now.

A nice cool-down is the big story around here. For the Triad, highs will back down into the lower 80s through the weekend, with lower 80s likely for the southern Piedmont by Sunday. That is a welcome relief from the record-breaking heat wave we have endured.

Speaking of the heat, looks like this was the hottest August on record for Charlotte and the Triad. Not only that, it is also the hottest month ever recorded for both locations.

Read more...

It is game night....

Today is a day I wait for each year with giddy anticipation....the opening of college football season. And this year is again even more special because my Mississippi State Bulldogs get the opportunity to open up the season at home against LSU at 8pm this evening on ESPN. Certainly a daunting task, but as Coach Croom said yesterday, it is also a great opportunity. Go Dawgs! I am wearing my maroon shirt on-air today to support my dawgs!

On the weather front, the cool-down is still on the way for the holiday weekend. And, the tropics are heating up. Anything that develops off of the east coast will get swept out to sea. However, I am still watching with interest a couple of tropical waves out in the Atlantic. Development is certainly possible with them over the next few days.

Read more...

Incredible Heat Wave

A lot of times the media can over-hype things that simply are not that big of a deal. However, I want to take a few moments here and make sure we all realize how incredible the Southeast heat wave actually is.

In Charlotte, today is the 30th consecutive day with a high of at least 90 degrees. The streak will probably end at 32, meaning we will miss the all-time record by 1 day. As bad as the heat has been here, it has been worse off to our west.

Nashville, Tennessee is running over 9 degrees above average for the month of August. That is amazing. Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama are over 7 degrees above normal.

While our drought situation is certainly bad, with extreme drought conditions for much of the area, it is worse in the Tennessee Valley. The U.S. Drought monitor continues to designate much of Alabama and parts of Tennessee, Georgia, and western North Carolina in the "Exceptional Drought" category. That is a bad as it gets.

This heat wave and drought over the Tennessee Valley is one of, if not the, worst in recorded history. Let that statement sink in. I actually don't think people are talking about how significant it is nearly enough.

Now, some folks will inevitably say this is due to global warming. Not true. It is simply the Southeast's "turn" to endure drought, and all of the meteorological variables lined up correctly this time to make it historic.

Read more...

Sunday Evening

Looks like scattered storms will be with us through this evening. Some of the storms could produce some hail and briefly damaging winds. The atmospheric profile this evening is not supportive for lots of organized or long-lasting severe storms, but storms that are briefly severe will be possible.

More scattered storms are on the way Monday with lesser chances by Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday look hot and dry.

Modeling continues to indicate some cooler temperatures arriving for next weekend. In fact, for several runs now, the GFS has indicated a nice wedge set-up around here next Saturday. That would provide us with lots of clouds, much cooler temperatures, and chances for showers. I, for one, would be quite happy with that.

My normal off-days are coming up Monday and Tuesday. T-ball season is over for Jayden, and now our attention turns to soccer. Jayden's first practice is Tuesday evening, and games will be on Saturday mornings. This is her first time playing organized soccer, and she is very excited. I think this will be a good time.

See you on the air this evening!

Read more...