Low River Levels & Salt Water Wedge Main Story Next Few Weeks...

Most of us have seen the local weathercasters telling us how we're over 2 feet below our annual average/normal rainfall totals, but that's not why the salt water wedge is moving upriver towards us.  It's been the lack of rainfall all the way up the Mississippi & Ohio River basins that has reduced the volume of water flowing into the Gulf.   Reduced river flow results in the heavier salt water wedge moving upstream. Look at the low levels all the way up through Memphis & St. Louis.

It's stunning to see river beds exposed for hundreds of feet with tire tracks from cars on areas that are usually underwater.   The problem is the lack of rainfall, but we do have some showers falling up north today.

There is a slow moving upper low parked near Chicago triggering lots of clouds, but only some isolated heavy showers.  The Army Corps indicates it will take upwards of 10"+ during the next few weeks to increase flow down by us to blow the wedge back down into the Gulf.  The short term outlook is not encouraging.

Over the next two weeks, the River Forecast Office keeps the Mississippi here generally flat with only the daily tidal fluctuations.  So the Corps has started increasing the height of the sill below NOLA.  What we really need is a late season slow moving weak Tropical Storm that passes over Louisiana and heads up the Mississippi and turns over the Ohio River basin.  It happened in 1985 with Juan in late October.  I know none of us want a bad storm, but a weak system bringing plenty of rain would be nice.

There is an old frontal boundary hanging along the East Coast across Florida into the eastern Gulf.

No model develops anything during the next 7 days.  On the middle satellite view, I've drawn 2 upper lows in the Caribbean with strong upper steering winds across the Gulf.  We will not have a tropical threat in the Gulf well into October.

The other big question is...when will it turn cooler?  Despite the upper trough over the Eastern states, there is no cold air except way far to the north and out west.. We could see some drier air/low dew points filter over us for this weekend making the evenings & nights feel better.

Finally, Ch. 8 had a doctor on their noon news who talked about bottled water.  The Doc claimed bottled water can last for years and still be good.  However, he pointed out the big IF.  IF you store the bottled water in a cool (under 70) dark place, it'll stay fine. In a hot garage (like mine), the bottled water will begin to absorb some of the bad/harmful chemicals in the plastic.  So who has a wine cellar big enough to store your water?    Mine wine "cellar" stores 16 bottles in my breakfast nook!  I did bring my 2 cases of water into my air conditioned house.  Hope you do the same.