Wednesday, October 04, 2006
After Today, Weather Has Nowhere to Go But Downhill
Dan Stillman @ 12:00 AM
One thing's for sure -- today will be fantastic. Tomorrow through the weekend could be a different story. Just what that story will be is still quite uncertain, as forecast confidence is low.
Another gem. We should be mostly sunny through late afternoon as high temperatures reach 81-85. Then, toward evening, clouds may begin to stream in ahead of an approaching cold front. Tonight, look for partly cloudy skies during the evening hours, and then mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers after midnight. Overnight lows in the low 60s.
Much cooler ... shower possible. A tricky forecast as the front stalls just to our south. I think we'll be at least partly cloudy with a few showers possible (25 percent chance), especially during the first half of the day. Thanks to the clouds and a cool northerly breeze, high temps probably won't make it past the upper 60s. Overnight, partly cloudy early, then turning mostly cloudy after midnight. The chance of a shower continues at 25% as lows dip into the low 50s.
Not too promising. That pesky front just won't go away, and the models are in good agreement that by Friday low pressure will have developed to our southeast along the front. The exact location of the developing low will have a big impact on our weather. While forecast confidence is low, my best guess is that steadier rainfall will stay to our south and east, leaving us with a lot of clouds, a 30-40% chance of scattered showers, breezy conditions and high temps only near 60. That same forecast holds for the overnight hours with lows in the low 50s.
More clouds and showers? Early indications are that the low-pressure system to the southeast will spin in place and die a slow death over the weekend. That would mean a partly to mostly cloudy weekend with a 30% chance of showers and highs in the low-to-mid 60s on Saturday, upper 60s to near 70 on Sunday.
According to the Associated Press, Washington Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas says he has artificially thinned the air in his house in order to simulate a "Colorado altitude," and that he plans to bring an altitude tent to training camp and on road trips.
It's commonplace for athletes who live near or at sea level to have breathing problems when competing in a high-altitude location, because there are fewer oxygen molecules in the air at higher elevations. Arenas is flipping the script, hoping that by breathing thinner air on a regular basis, he'll have more energy during games because he'll be getting more oxygen than usual (except, of course, when playing in places such as Denver).
Will it work? Sounds plausible. But I also wonder if there will be any fall out from this story, as some quick research shows that there is controversy associated with this sort of training tactic. The World Anti-Doping Agency recently considered banning (but is holding off for now) the use of devices that simulate mountainous air by lowering oxygen. In response to the lack of oxygen, the body produces erythropoietin, the same hormone that some athletes use as a performance-enhancing drug.
Today
Another gem. We should be mostly sunny through late afternoon as high temperatures reach 81-85. Then, toward evening, clouds may begin to stream in ahead of an approaching cold front. Tonight, look for partly cloudy skies during the evening hours, and then mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers after midnight. Overnight lows in the low 60s.Tomorrow
Much cooler ... shower possible. A tricky forecast as the front stalls just to our south. I think we'll be at least partly cloudy with a few showers possible (25 percent chance), especially during the first half of the day. Thanks to the clouds and a cool northerly breeze, high temps probably won't make it past the upper 60s. Overnight, partly cloudy early, then turning mostly cloudy after midnight. The chance of a shower continues at 25% as lows dip into the low 50s.Not too promising. That pesky front just won't go away, and the models are in good agreement that by Friday low pressure will have developed to our southeast along the front. The exact location of the developing low will have a big impact on our weather. While forecast confidence is low, my best guess is that steadier rainfall will stay to our south and east, leaving us with a lot of clouds, a 30-40% chance of scattered showers, breezy conditions and high temps only near 60. That same forecast holds for the overnight hours with lows in the low 50s.The Weekend
More clouds and showers? Early indications are that the low-pressure system to the southeast will spin in place and die a slow death over the weekend. That would mean a partly to mostly cloudy weekend with a 30% chance of showers and highs in the low-to-mid 60s on Saturday, upper 60s to near 70 on Sunday.Gilbertology is in the Air
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| Arenas |
It's commonplace for athletes who live near or at sea level to have breathing problems when competing in a high-altitude location, because there are fewer oxygen molecules in the air at higher elevations. Arenas is flipping the script, hoping that by breathing thinner air on a regular basis, he'll have more energy during games because he'll be getting more oxygen than usual (except, of course, when playing in places such as Denver).
Will it work? Sounds plausible. But I also wonder if there will be any fall out from this story, as some quick research shows that there is controversy associated with this sort of training tactic. The World Anti-Doping Agency recently considered banning (but is holding off for now) the use of devices that simulate mountainous air by lowering oxygen. In response to the lack of oxygen, the body produces erythropoietin, the same hormone that some athletes use as a performance-enhancing drug.
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