90 degrees, already! (4-16-12)
We broke another record high Monday afternoon in Syracuse, the first since our record setting March when 6 record highs were set. Today’s high was 90 F which broke the record of 88 F set back in 2002. Not only was it a record for the day but it was also the earliest date we’ve reached 90. Before this year the earliest we hit 90 was April 20th 1941.
You would have thought with that kind of warmth we would have been a shoo-in for some heavier thunderstorms but that warmth was just part of the equation. One thing that was lacking for good thunderstorm growth was moisture. This afternoon I was tracking the dew points (an absolute way to measure moisture) and they were consistently showing up in the low 50s at the airport. The computer models we use to help us with the forecast were producing heavier storms in the evening but that was based on dew points reaching the upper 50s. It’s that drier air that made the difference between severe weather and run-of-the-mill showers and storms.
I don’t have much time to get into details but it looks like a wet weekend as low pressure tries to form over the Appalachians. This will be a slow moving system and could impact much of the East Coast into early next week. I’ve raised the chances for precipitation for the weekend and I’ll try to go a bit more in depth with the set up tomorrow.
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