Saturday....

I am slipping back into the groove of things slowly. Beautiful morning out there after a wet and stormy evening yesterday. I expect scattered showers and storms this afternoon into early evening.

It is interesting, the end result is really kind of like a summertime day. The heating of the day provides enough instability to kick off the scattered showers and storms. Highs will only be in the 60s today, so obviously, the airmass will not really seemingly be that unstable. However, due to a nearby upper level low (see 500mb chart below), the result is about the same as a summer day. The reason is upper level lows are characterized by very cold air aloft in the atmosphere. So, the upper levels today will be colder than the lower levels even though the lower levels will not be all that warm.....thus, instability for scattered showers/ storms. There you go....quick little bit of weekend meteorology for you....

I think I have turned the corner with my knee recovering from surgery. I was able to do all of my walking yesterday without crutches. There is still a lot of swelling and soreness I am working through, but as far as recovering from the surgery, I am probably back to about 75% or 80%. I will have my post-op appointment Wednesday and see what the test results showed. If the surgeon's initial hunch is correct, it will likely be on to a rheumatologist to find the source of the recurrent swelling since structurally, the knee was in good shape. Keep in mind, we are not talking about a little swelling occasionally....we are talking about fairly grotesque, very significant amounts of swelling every week to ten days. So, I would love to find the solution....

Many of you know I am a huge sports fan, especially college sports. I am a Mississippi State alumnus, and my Bulldogs beat Florida in the SEC tournament yesterday. Today, we play Vanderbilt in Nashville. Tough game. If we win though, I think odds are good that we will make the NCAA tournament. If we lose, it is a long shot. Game is on ABC this afternoon.

Enjoy the weekend....my plan is to be back in the weather office Monday morning.