Slight cooling for Sunday, Monday followed by hot temperatures and monsoonal flow
Friday, June 17, 2016
After another couple of hot and dry days for Friday and Saturday, a wave passing to our north on Sunday will moderate temperatures a bit as a couple of weak cool fronts pass through the area on Sunday and Monday. There may also be a slight chance of afternoon storms each day as the cool fronts destabilize the atmosphere for the first time in a week.
The storm to our north will amplify into a deep eastern trough through the week as still cold air from Canada is drawn southward into the eastern third of the country. Additionally, another Pacific storm will approach the West Coast early in the week, and a strong western ridge will rebuild over the Great Basin early in the week before being nudged eastward by the slowly advancing Pacific storm.
Hot temperatures will return by Tuesday afternoon, and as the ridge slowly moves eastward the southerly flow around the west side of the ridge will allow the southwest US monsoon to make its first appearance of this summer season.
Monsoonal flow refers to the seasonal reversal of the winds, and in our case this refers to the influx of moisture as southerly winds pick up moisture originally from the Gulf of Mexico that has moved westward across Mexico and moves it over our area.
Only a slight chance of afternoon storms are expected for Tuesday and Wednesday as temperatures soar to their warmest reading of the season under the building ridge. The monsoon becomes established enough by Thursday to bring a greater chance of clouds and afternoon storms that may last through the weekend.
