We are debuting our new weather computer beginning at 4:30 PM on 41 Action News
It’s FRIDAY bloggers….Good morning!
We have been in, what is often called, the rim of fire around the major summer anticyclone at 18,000 feet up. Disturbances have been rotating around this clockwise turning heat wave creating machine and in any other year it would have been quite wet this week. But, as we have experienced for a long time now in this weather pattern, it has been rather dry despite spinning cloud features like the ones on the next two satellite pictures. This first one was taken on Wednesday and it produced only a few sprinkles or light rain showers over an isolated area near the center of the system and you can see what looks like an eye over eastern Kansas:
And, then yesterday another disturbance moved across the plains into Missouri as you can see below. At least this one did produce morning thunderstorms yesterday even though the rainfall amounts were quite low:
And, it happened again. I just checked radar on my weathertap.com account and I can’t believe what I just saw. Well, here it is:
Yes, it has happened again for the third straight day. This is heading due east but of course it will likely fall apart before producing any rain in our area. It is another Mesoscale Convective System (MCV), the same feature that produced the cloud swirls on the first two pictures posted today. And, another one is likely on Saturday morning. I still can’t believe what I just saw, and now have posted in the picture above.
Friday Weather Forecast Thoughts
- Today could be the 20th 100° day of the summer at KCI Airport, but the thick clouds associated with the dying disturbance spinning our way may prevent this from happening.
- Thunderstorms are possible by Saturday morning, and then again Saturday afternoon ahead of a weak cold front
- A weak cold front will move through Saturday afternoon and evening with a wind shift to the north and a cool down on Sunday
- The cooler weather will be short lived as we are still forecasting what could be our hottest weather of the summer within the next ten days to two weeks
The above map shows the surface forecast for 1 PM Saturday. Ahead of the cold front it will likely heat up dramatically to well over 100 degrees, but the timing of the front and any morning clouds, showers, and thunderstorms make this a very difficult forecast for Saturday. Sunday will be cooler with a good chance of highs in the 80s.
We are debuting our new weather graphics computer tonight and we will be describing this changing weather pattern. Our weather team has been training on this system the past couple of weeks and we are ready for tonight’s debut. We will begin showing it on 41 Action News at 4:30 PM. Let us know what your first impression is and any ideas you may have. Have a great weekend and thank you for spending a few minutes reading the Action Weather Blog.
Gary
Gary,Will you,also,be featuring a “new” Weather Dog??There,s been some scuttlebutt that you might?? If you happen too,would you name her “Tush’,in memory of my dog?? Thanks<Kevin;)
I doubt I will be naming my new dog “tush”. I would need to have a new dog, which I do not have one. Stormy will be at work with me, as she always is on Fridays! Have a great day Kevin!
Gary,Your reply was very sudden…Why don,t you,and the rest of the 41 News Team sit down,and discuss this,before making any quick decisions…
Very funny. We can make quick decisions!
Gary, you still believe 100+ is likely today at KCI with the center of the MCV and its cloud cover looking like it will pass just N of KC in 2-3 hours, esp. if it can still squeeze out a few light showers at that time?
Gary – I’m thinking this perma-high is gonna stay south of here and we may be on the northern tip where we may get MCS activity through the end of August. May not be daily, but I think the heat may be kept at bay. The pattern is showing subtle signs of changing.
Well Gary you were WRONG with that forecast! Your new graphics debuted NOW AT NOON on 38 The Spot instead of 4:30pm today like you said they would!
Haha I was honestly and literally very surprised.
I’m certainly not an expert but I agree with foodl3, I’ve been thinking the same thing, as said, though its very subtle, there does seem to be something different happening vs whats been going on since the beginning of the drought. Just the fact that there are some clouds! LOL!
Have’nt even hit 90 in north Olathe yet, I don’t think we’re hitting 100 today or tomorrow. Cloud cover is our friend.
Gary,
I’m wondering what weather is like around the world. We are having a very unusually dry and hot summer. Is the rest of the world experiencing any unusual weather or is it just us???
And the rain goes POOF! :/
Wow, the tropics are really lighting up all of a sudden. Ernesto and now 2 areas of interest…one is far out to sea but the other is near the Bahamas and Florida. Interesting to see if this tropical activity can shake up the mid-latitude pattern some for us.
The radar image was very interesting this morning that gary posted, it actually looked like what is now tropical storm Ernesto was becoming a weak category 1 hurricane as it was heading into salina kansas and moving east at kansas city but weakens back down to a tropical storm/depression and fizzled out.
By the way tropical stoem Ernesto is expected to become a minimal hurricane as it reachs the northern carrabian sea and maybe a major hurricane once it reaches the southern gulf of mexico, bur will it targer the northern gulf or head to mexico and texas.
Brad
Sorry i ment target.
Brad
It’s ok Brad we’re use to reading your post with misspelled words. We figure out what you are trying to say. A junior at KU?
The models are crazy – NAM has a high of 92 for Sunday, GFS 75! It’s been like that for weeks – NAM way too high, GFS way too low. What gives? Is the abnormally low soil moisture throwing them off?
It’s models they always have problems. Some people swear by them and I don’t know why.
Thanks for that.
100 in La =ygne. Bleh.
Something was different with the news tonight. Did you get a haircut Gary?
The eye of the storm? maybe we are being shown a precersour? New Orleans had several close calls befor the big one hit. I know I cant compete with all the “Weathermen” on here. I just hope this aint a warning. Yeah, its a faith based comment but,there are a lot more people out there then you think that might understand sattellites can only deliver a picture of now, not tomorrow.
Gary I think the way you said “new weather computer” is a bit misleading. The entire graphics for the newscast has changed. I don’t think the “weather computer” runs the entire newscast.
The graphics are ok but the noise associated with them is annoying as hell. The music or jingle that plays with them makes it hard to hear the anchors and is distracting. The colors are ok. I would suggest getting rid of the noise associated with the graphics.
Ed, why so critical?