It would be hard to prescribe a better day than this one. A high near 80 degrees, lots of sunshine and a dry southwest breeze. Perfect, except that I am stuck in here, looking out.
The NWS forecast for the weekend may become a disappointment for those of us working on the best days, and looking forward to making up for it on the weekend. The folks at Sterling say the Bermuda high that is parked offshore and bringing us this delightful weather will begin to pump in warmer, and more humid air as the weekend gets underway.
They say we can expect increasing clouds on Saturday as the moisture builds. Temperatures will climb a bit deeper into the 80s. And by late afternoon or evening there may be some isolated thunderstorms around.
(Clouds and storms Saturday would likely obscure our view of another fine pass by the International Space Station. In case we get lucky, look for the ISS in the southwest at 8:27 p.m. EDT, climbing high into the northwest sky by 8:30 p.m., then sliding off to the northeast and disappearing at 8:33 p.m.)
The real weather moves in on Sunday, with the approach of the next cold front, forecasters say. Heat and humidity will increase the instability of the atmosphere, setting off more showers and thunderstorms. Some could become strong to severe, especially late into the day and Sunday evening as the cold front crosses the region. Plenty of moisture means there could be some localized heavy rainfall and flash flood threats. Or, we could get lucky. Some forecast models delay the frontal passage into Monday.
After the front goes by, high temperatures will drop back into the 70s Tuesday and Wednesday as cooler air moves in from the northwest.
In the meantime, the weather is great. The only hitch with the sunshine, breezes and low humidity is a continuing enhanced fire danger. So crush those smokes and skip the open burning for now.
(SUN PHOTO/Karl Merton Ferron, 2009)