Yeah Rory & Jazz Fest. Almost Hot, but Mostly Dry Weekend.

We have 2 huge outdoor events this weekend where dry weather determines attendance.  In addition, the PGA Zurich Golf Classic has a Tiger-like attendance draw in Rory McElroy.  I was out there watching from the 17th grandstand with my golfing partner Marvelous Marvin Bernstein & his son Ken.  What a view we had (not of Rory) of one of the many gators that stopped play as he/she strutted across the 17th tee box. We left the stands later to go find Rory.

The rain chances for this weekend are not zero, but any shower would be brief and should not make much of an impact.  Where it is storming, the upper set up will keep the bad weather there all weekend.

The orange circles are areas of upper-level splitting of the jet streams that results in enhanced lift.  SPC outlined those areas yesterday, but look where they move it for tomorrow & Sunday.

Not much difference keeping us with a great looking weekend.  There is a lot of upper energy associated with a deepening surface low.  Tornado Watches will be up for many this weekend. In addition, the 7-day rain totals have a large 4-6"+ bullseye.

The surface low is creating different seasons around it.  Along with warm air streaming northward, there is a surge of 60+ dew points (very humid) all the way north to Omaha.

Locally, we have some wind that really makes the temps feel nice and that should be the case for the whole weekend.  The low level cloud streets show up(green arrows) with the upper flow (blue arrows) blowing the wispy cirrus west to east.

So if you're going to the Fest or to watch golf, bring a hat & sunscreen.  It's a terrific Spring weekend along the northern Gulf Coast. 

Now if we can only get the Pelicans to beat the Thunder tomorrow PM.  Enjoy your weekend & stay tuned!

The Hurricane Season From Hell. Blockbuster. Historic...

If you have been in a cave & missed all the main preseason Hurricane predictions, go back into hibernation.  Most of us have heard the awful numbers (25-30+ named storms) being throw out there based on record warm waters and the oncoming La Nina.  I have not seen anybody come out with a below normal/average prediction.  So how could we reach those high number you ask?  Try naming every little swirl out over the oceans despite the fact it'll impact no one.  Case in point, NHC's watching an area off of Africa. Why?  Can you see it?  Look at the yellow arrow.

While NHC was mentioning this weak feature, there was another story about the huge African dust cloud over Greece.

There are no signs yet of that dust cloud moving out over the eastern Tropical Atlantic, but I did read one paper pointing out that several factors might limit the number of named storms this season and one reason is increased dust.  To me, the phase of the Madden- Julian Oscillation (MJO) and the position of the Bermuda high will factor into the 2024 season as much as warm water temps.  We want the enhanced (rising air) phase to happen outside of August to early October when we typically see our strongest storms.   Whatever, it's silly to get nervous/concerned while we're still in April!

With the upper pattern mainly west to east with no major dips, the weather should remain quiet here through the weekend.  Farther to the north, SPC is indicating the potential for strong storms tomorrow into Friday.  The top is for Thursday with a level 3 risk from Texas into Kansas. that area weakens for Friday.

There is a stream of 60-70 degree dew points surging northward over Texas with our DPs jumping from the 30s to near 60.  That trend will continue into next week.

Cloud cover has increased, but radar shows very little rain falling anywhere.  It does feel different outside as highs top 80.

Since no fronts are coming in the short term, highs will stay above normal into next week..  There is a slight chance for some stray showers next week, but the first week of Jazz Fest & the Zurich Golf tourney will enjoy great weather IF you have a hat & use sunscreen.  Finally...

In the history of WVUE-TV, no General Manager had a greater impact than Joe Cook.  Joe came to Ch.8 from Ch. 10 (WALA-TV) in Mobile in 2000 at a time when we were a poor # 3 or 4 in the local news ratings.  During his time here, he elevated FOX 8 to the top in local news numbers before retiring.  There is a song in the musical Damn Yankees that says, "and now your Joe has to go".  Joe died on Monday at age 72.  Though he was my "boss", he always treated me & my wife as family.  Good bye old friend, my old friend.  Prayers go out to his wife Becky & his children.  Stay tuned!