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Today’s Top Weather Stories
On Weather & Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan

RECORD COLD IN ANTARCTICA

One site in East Antarctica did set a record lowest temperature this month.

Concordia station registered -84.7 C, which is -120.5 F. This is getting near that all-time world low of -89.2C, or -129.6 F, tallied at the Vostok Antarctic station.


At Vostok, lowest this year has been -81.8 C, or -115 F.


Both Concordia and Vostok lie on the interior ice sheet above 3,200 meters.

FROM JIM ANDREWS, INTERNATIONAL WEATHER EXPERT, ACCUWEATHER.COM

MAINSTREAM NEWS TODAY

Tropical Depression 5 Remnants Still Impacting Gulf Coast
AccuWeather News

Rainfall expected to cool Russia
BBC Weather

Pakistan Flood Catastrophe: Assessing the Losses
AccuWeather News

Scientists: Up to 80% of Gulf Oil Remains
CBS News

your america today forecast
by mark vogan

southern plains & southeast
Thanks to the westward movement of the remnants of Tropical Depression 5, showers and thunderstorms will blossom anywhere from Pensacola, FL all the way to Houston, where you folks should see a cooler day with a high perhaps only warming to around 95, rather than 101. Anywhere across the Southeast could see a thunderstorm as a surge of tropical moisture continues to flow up from the Gulf and thus as the land heats through those 80s, so that moisture may be activated by rising into the cooler mid and upper levels to form cumulonimbus clouds and storms. So, anywhere east of Dallas all the way to the Atlantic coast may see a storm form today, some of these storms may produce dangerous lightening, gusty winds and drenching downpours, I don’t expect anything severe, though the I-10 corridor may see some 2-4 inches localised downpours and street flooding as the low spins westward towards the Upper Texas Coast. Highs today should warm to around 85 for New Orleans (78 tonight), Atlanta 90 (75 tonight) Charlotte 91 (76 tonight), Orlando 91 (75 tonight), Miami 89 (80 tonight), remember all of these places could see storms develop this afternoon.
northern plains
Today should see a mostly dry day from Rapid City to Kansas City and on to St Louis and all points NORTH, to the south across Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and across to portions of Iowa and even Missouri may see some thunderstorms blossom as the frontal system sits across the Central Plains, seperating the hot, humid air to the south and milder, drier air to the north across the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and across to Illinois and Michigan. Highs today will likely stay pleasant and comfortable for the Dakotas with highs generally in the low to mid-80s, Minneapolis, sunny and a perfect 80 and likewise for Chicago this afternoon. Whilst Kansas City may see a stray storm, the high will be cool with only 78, that’s more like a low for them these days and for St Louis, the high should only push up to 85. For once this summer, the I-70 corridor is north of the front and therefore under the Canadian air. Lows tonight should fall into the 60s for most areas.
southwest
After a fairly light marine layer along the coast of Southern California and LA basin as well as down in San Diego, it’s somwhat thicker as often is the case along the Central coast and up towards San Francisco Bay and beyond. Temperatures should warm into the low 70s for SoCal beaches, 50s and 60s along the central coast northwards. As for the cities, San Diego should warm nicely under sunshine by this afternoon with a high around 77-80, The Civic Center in Dwtn Los Angeles should warm to between 82-85 whilst San Francisco will stay cooler with a high in the low 70s! Coastal Valley and canyons should warm to between 97-102 today, including the Sab Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys as well as the Inland Empire and valleys that are inland from the Central Coast. Far eastern SF Bay also should warm into the mid-90s whilst areas downwind of the marine layer influence including Berkeley and Oakland may only warm to 70. San Jose should top 90. As for the high deserts, sun and 100s will be the rule with a high topping 105 in Barstow and even 102-104 in Lancaster, Palmdale and Victorville in the Victor/Apple Valley. Baker will be hot with a high around 108-111, same for Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage on east towards Phoenix. Las Vegas will be cooler with a high around 107. I do see where Death Valley may touch 120. Lows tonight range from coastal 50s, low to mid-60s for the downtowns of San Diego and LA whilst 50s for SF. 70s for the deserts and 80s for Vegas and Phoenix.
northwest
Another beautiful and very warm to hot day for the PNW, though changes are in progress as a new trough begins toi show itself today and what will be noticable on the ground will be a possible increase in low cloud and fog nearer coastal areas and cooler temps than we’ve seen the past 3 days from the coast, through the urban I-5 corridor. Rather than 3-days of 90s for the Seattle to Portland corridor, highs will warm to a “still perfect” mid-80s, rather than those mid-90s… Coastal areas rather than 70s and 80s, may struggle to see sunshine until midday or even early afternoon as a a more typical westerly flow becomes stronger once again. Little fog and cloud for Seattle but highs will warm to perhaps a “better” 87, Portland 90. The change will alos bee noticed east of the Cascades as the warmest readings will be over eastern Washington and Oregon rather than western areas, as the high is shifted further east.. Expect upper 90s to low 100s from central to eastern sections of the region today. Lows tonight will again fall to pleasant levels with 50s along the coast, perhaps low 60s for the urban corridor, 40s for the mtns and 60s to near 70 in spots of the east.
northeast & mid-atlantic
Today will be a day of sunshine and clouds and the further south you head the more cloud your likely to see as a frontal boundary lines up from the Mid-Mississippi Valley all the way across through the Virginias and into the DC-Baltimore region. Showers and storms may form along this boundary, meaning the best chance for showers, some of which could be heavy, will be over West Virginia, Virginia into Maryland, Delaware and perhaps southern PA and New Jersey. This air will be warm and muggy with highs today likely to top around 90 for DC and Baltimore as well as further north through Jersey, Philadelphia and into the Greater New York area, though skies may be fairly cloudy or clouding over as the day wears on as the front may nudge north through this evening spelling showers moving up from the south and into New York by this evening and through the overnight hours. Highs across New England will be borderline hot with low 80s across the interior of New England and a toasty 87 for Boston with sunnier skies for you! Tonight showers increase across the entire region, with perhaps the exceptions of New England, lows drop into the 60s whilst the big cities remain in the low 70s.

Today’s Weather across America
From AccuWeather

Southern California Will See Winter Flip-Flop
By Kirstie Hettinga, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

Soaking Rain Headed for Mid-Atlantic
By Heather Buchman, Meteorologist

Oklahoma City, Tulsa Brace for Strong Thunderstorms
By Katie Storbeck, Meteorologist

Weather Talk
By Mark Vogan

A TAIL OF CONTRAST
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DEVIDED BETWEEN BELOW AND ABOVE NORMAL THIS SUMMER
If you live on the coast of California, you don’t need me to say that’s it’s been a cool, dreary and perhaps dissapointing summer, or, perhaps it’s been perfect if you don’t like too much sun or heat! If you like cloud and fog then summer 2010 has been the one for you as La Nina cooled Pacific waters has not only brought lower than normal SST’s to the Golden State’s coastline but helped thicken up the marine layer… not only that, persistent troughiness has linger over the West Coast, therefore also enhancing the marine layer and held the Four Corner’s High further east. The position of the High this summer has been more over Texas than the Desert Southwest, but heights in the upper-levels have been strong enough, that anywhere, generally east of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains have seen either a normal or typical summer or even slightly above normal in terms of temps believe it or not. Palm Springs, not that far from LA has seen a slightly below normal August but above normal June and July with temps as high as 117 degrees, Death Valley though not outstandingly hot with a peak summer high of 125 degrees, has been also above normal for summer yet if your west of the “series coastal mountains” summer has been gloomy with days struggling to shake of a deeper marine layer, holding highs in the 60s, even 50s with lows as cool as the 40s for such places as Oxnard.

Reasoning for me goes down to cooler Pacific waters which have helped the marine layer deepen, troughiness over the West Coast has both aided in forcing the marine layer onshore and penetrating further inland thanks to both the push from offshore to onshore but also the depth has aided in drawing the cloud and overtop mountains that typically are too high for the layer to get over… Also, the power of high pressure over Texas has meant that pressures heights were naturally going to be drawn east rather than west and the atmosphere’s path of elast resistence meant, troughiness ultimately was easier to form and hold ground along the US West Coast…. All these factors brought what could be one of the coolest summers on record to coastal California.

Vagaries of the Weather
India & Sub-Continental Asia Weather
By Rajesh Kapadia

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The forecasted low in the bay, which did not form, just got converted into a “mini” off shore vortex along the T.N.coast. The result was good rains from feeder Southerly winds into the vortex, and precipitating good rains for T.N.including Chennai getting thunder showers.

The southeast coast may see rains tapering off by Friday.

The monsoon axis is now due to shift North again. Hopefully, for the regions directly under the rainfall areas, it would stay there for a week.

Consequently, IRI has forecast extremely heavy rains for parts of West Nepal and adjoining Himalayan foothills along Uttar Pradesh.

The systems, ones active over India today are the monsoon trough and the upper air circulation over North-West Rajasthan, and the re-activated off shore trough along the West coast.

Now, rest of the week till Sunday:

North: Heavy rains in Utterakhand, U.P. and parts of Bihar. heavy falls in West Nepal.Heavy rainfall in North M.P. and Delhi regions on Friday.

South: Rains along South East coast decreasing from Thursday. Rest southern Peninsula with very meagre rains.

West: Off shore trough, though weakened, will precipitate some rainfall along the karnataka/Konkan coast. Though not heavy or prolonged.Maybe around 2

0 mms /day.

Gujarat will see scattered rains in pockets.

East: Increasing rains in the North-Eastern states due to the eastern end of the trough spreading in the region.

Mumbai:

Meanwhile, with the strenghening of the off shore trough with the help of a vortex embedded, places around Mumbai got heavy rains. The vortex, s

een isolated over Mumbai, as the cloud tops reach -40c, resulted in thunder/lightening over Mumbai. I had put up a possibility of thunder as a vortex this deep can produce lightening,

“Vageries ‘ estimate (in the last write up) of a voretx was misplaced from east of Mumbai to just around Mumbai.

Recordings of heavy rain (in cms) around

Mumbai, all of it on Tuesday (17th. )morning: Santcruz 16, Dharavi 15, Uran 14. Lakes:Vihar – 5,Tulsi – 4

And rainfall on Tuesday, (morning to evening): Bandra 98 mms, Worli 90 mms,Colaba 77 mms.Got heavy rains on Tuesday with thunder/lightening.

Wednesday, will get heavy showers, with lesser duration in comparison to Tuesday’s rains. The vortex is vanishing. Day time rains of around 75 mms around Mumbai on Tuesday, will drop to around 35 mms on wednesday.

Thursday, a sudden diminishing in the rains. Cloudy weather, with sunny intervals. Till Sunday, Mumbai will get little rain,or passing short duration shaowers, with the rain guage reading about 10 mms/day.

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What’s Reaching Today’s Blogs?

Heat Wave Extremes–an Update
Jim Andrews, International Expert, AccuWeather

Camille Vs. TD #5 Remnants
Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather

Today’s US Extremes
Courtesy of AccuWeather

High: 121 degrees at Death Valley, CA
Low: 33 degrees at Bodie State Park, CA
Today’s Extremes here at my house

High: 66 degrees
Low: 56 degrees

TODAY’S COND
A day of sun and cloud with a mild feeling day with a breeze and at times blustery. Overnight low was mild compared to previous because of overnight cloud and rain.

Thanks for reading.
-Mark