Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Spring Continues, Summer on Hold
Matt Ross @ 12:00 AM
Forecast
Today will be pretty similar to yesterday. We will start off the day with some overcast skies and maybe an isolated shower or sprinkle. Skies will partially clear in the afternoon with a chance for a shower or thunderstorm, mostly to the north and west. High temps will reach a comfortable 70 degrees or about 7-8 degrees below average. Tomorrow right now looks to be slightly warmer, but with a bit better chance of some showers.
Currently through mid-month May is averaging almost exactly normal.Jason's post from yesterday has the outlook for Thursday through the weekend.
Mt Pleasant on a crisp May evening, courtesy of CapitalWeather.com Photographer, Ian Livingston
Miscellaneous
As we currently sit a couple of weeks away from the beginning of our tropical season, Typhoon Chanchu is cranking in the South China Sea and is making a beeline for the southern coast of China. Chanchu, packing winds of near 130 mph, is expected to make landfall on Wednesday just to the east of Hong Kong.
The system that has led to some of our unsettled weather over the past few days, has been hammering New England with heavy rain. Significant flooding has hit the northeastern section of Massachusetts, as well as parts of New Hampshire and Maine. Heaviest hit areas have had up to 15" of rain, with some areas evacuated, particularly near the Merrimack River. Fortunately, the system is expected to depart by tomorrow. Boston has seen over 11" of rain so far in May.
Accuweather's Joe Bastardi has predicted 5 Hurricanes to make landfall in the US this season, 3 of them Major Hurricanes with winds over 110 mph. He has targeted the Gulf Coast as a likely strike area for early in the season and the Carolinas for the middle portion, with the east coast of Florida and the Northeast under the gun for the latter portion of the season. While there is a legitimate growing consensus and concern for another active tropical season, I would take this prediction with a grain of salt. Given Accuweather's penchant for hype and the questionable established science behind detailed long range hurricane forecasts, cautious skepticism is recommended.
Speaking of questionable science, look for our Summer Outlook to come out next week. Sorry for the delay, but I think this summer is a tougher call than most.
Pictured Above: A hail storm near Raleigh, NC on Sunday, Courtesy of Kyle Jansen.
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