Not Done With Cold Fronts, Keep Sweaters Ready.

Living here for the past 46 years, my fading memory tells me the real ugly heat of Summer doesn't arrive until the 2nd weekend of Jazz Fest.  Typically, our 1st 90+ day day doesn't happen until we're into May.  Tomorrow could get close ahead of our next cold front coming Sunday morning.  There still is plenty of chilly up north & Denver will see some snow tomorrow.  The reason?  Look at the upper flow.

It's essentially flat (west to east) over the lower 48 with an upper trough north of the Great Lakes.  That is bringing the Canadian chill across the northern tier of states.  But that doesn't extend very far to the south as the higher sun angle and longer days moderate the cold before it reaches us.

Right now, the cold front is stalled waiting for the weak upper disturbance over the Southwest.  Here's the timing from Nicondra Norwood.

I suspect we will not see much rain with this front (SPC is not indicating any severe threat) & the highest rain chances happen after midnight and before 10 AM on Sunday. Before the front it'll be warm & humid with brisk northerly winds ushering in the cooler , drier air for Sunday PM into Monday.  

The humidity will be back by Wednesday so enjoy the feel for at least 2-3 days.

Finally, here's a sign of the season.  Satellite views clearly show the "sea breeze front" that happens most days during the summer.  The cooler air over the coastal waters is drawn over land as the sun heats up the ground.  This pushes the clouds inland away from the beaches and along the North shore of Lake P.  Often, the sea breeze coming up from the Gulf south of NOLA meets the "Lake Breeze front" from Lake Pontchartrain triggering clouds and storms.  We saw the clouds today and they had dark bases, but no rain was seen on radar.  Get ready for one of our last cold fronts on Sunday as we begin our march towards the start of Hurricane season 2024.   Ugh!  Stay tuned!

The Beaches Are Ready And Waiting

Years ago, I took my young boys over to Pensacola Beach and rented a house for 4 days.  It rained for 3 of the 4 days so my first experience with the "white sands" was not a pleasant one.  One of my late friends (Don Noel) owned a house at Seagrove Beach and we had many wonderful experiences there over the years.  The only negative was the 5 1/2 hour drive.  After Don passed, we found Henderson Park Inn just east of Destin and had many terrific times there, BUT it was 4 1/2 hours away.  In the last 10 years, we've discovered that the white sands of Gulf Shores, Orange & Perdido Beaches are just as nice, but the drive is less than 3 hours. It's now our Happy Place.

We stay at the Perdido Beach Resort right next to the Phoenix complexes.

Of course, what must be included in your trip to the beach?  Lunch at Lulu's.  No I didn't get the cheeseburger, but love their pulled pork sandwich.  We go in mid April (after Spring Break) before the weather gets too hot and before the crowds arrive with their kids.  No traffic, no congestion, no lines equal a relaxing time.  We'll return in mid October for the same reasons.

Weather-Wise, we still have the WSW upper flow over us bringing disturbances that trigger bouts of stormy weather.  One such is passing to our north today.  A weak cold front on Sunday will bring us our best rain chances. behind it will be drier air for early next week.

Finally, NWS came out with their updated tornado count from last week.  They now say there were 8 in total with the Slidell storm being the strongest.

The Weather Channel issued their 2024 Hurricane forecast today.

No surprises there as they join those piling on the "blockbuster" season coming.  Glad to be back Gang.  Stay tuned!