Some Heat Relief Especially For North Shore...

Every Summer it always rains somewhere, except this year has been different.  Instead of getting our daily 40-50% coverage of showers & storms, we have gone weeks between these heat cooling downpours.  Today finally saw a few of us get wet, and it does make a difference.  Take a look at 4 PM temperatures.  Yeah, no 100s north of the Lake.  Must feel nice?

Well, don't get use to it we are in on the southern end of an upper trough that will pass by with that persistent heat dome lingering for the rest of this week.

You can see how that heat dome has gotten smaller with most of the northern states in the 70s & 80s

We on the other hand have to wait for either a frontal boundary coming down from the north or a tropical wave of moisture moving in from the SE.  Neither appears likely for another 5-7 days.

In fact, the Tropics are still shut down, which is typical for early August.  Activity normally ramps up after the 15th, but computer models are keeping things quiet for the next 7-10 days.  Where is it active?

Major Cat. 3 hurricane Dora is churning well south of Hawaii.  Models are indicating the eastern Pacific will become active later this week.  Not our concern.. Hannah Gard presented some interesting heat graphics on FOX 8 at 4 PM.

The heat related illnesses/deaths have been centered over the South with Louisiana reported 16 fatalities compared to 2 last year.    So what else can we talk about besides the heat?

It finally is raining up north and that water is heading down the drought stricken lower Mississippi River.  Note, in the next 2 weeks the River will rise nearly 2 feet at the Carrollton gage.  That should help keep the salt water wedge from moving up the River closer to us.  

Since all we hear about nightly on the network newscasts is the "extreme heat", look at the above chart for Dallas/Ft. Worth.  Last summer they had 47 days of 100+.  So far this year, under 30 with only 3-4 weeks left before the cold fronts starts coming.  Sure Phoenix has been super hot, but the nation as a whole has not.  Stay tuned as I try to keep things interesting during the 'dog days of August".