Thursday, May 19, 2011

Mid-South transitions from late-March to mid-June in a week

The weather pattern last weekend and early this week that resulted in morning lows in the 40s and highs only in the 60s (and one record low at Memphis International Airport) was more typical of late March than mid-May. Now, as we head into the weekend, a quick transition is taking place as southerly wind increases and the Gulf of Mexico "opens up," allowing more moisture to stream into the region. The result will be weather more typical of a month from now with highs well into the 80s, lows near 70, increased humidity, a south wind, and scattered showers and thunderstorms.

Though rain chances are not particularly high, we will see some scattered echoes on StormView Radar over the Mid-South, particularly Friday night into Saturday as a trough of low pressure over the central portion of the country inches closer.  It won't make it all the way to the Mid-South however, so we'll be stuck in the "warm sector" of the storm with southerly wind pumping moist Gulf air into the region. The pattern looks to remain that way for several days before the trough finally moves through on the heels of a cold front sometime around the middle of next week.  In the meantime, plan for muggy conditions this weekend and early next week, and keep the umbrella handy!  The MWN Forecast has the specifics for the next 7 days.

Surface map forecast valid 7pm Saturday evening
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