Oppressively Humid Weekend...Where Is The Relief?
It's funny as soon as the humidity starts to build around here...we are always looking for the next exit. While this airmass is no fun to deal with, sometimes you have to think about the people of this great country who live in the humidity constantly south of the Mason-Dixon line. The closer you are to the Gulf...the humidity never ends. So as bad as it may be out there this weekend, take comfort in knowing this too will pass someday soon.
Ok..that said, this humidity is awful. Dewpoints are running around 70-75...oppressive. Just a stifling airmass in place with light S winds. Bright sunshine across most of the region is warming temps into the Lwr 90's this afternoon. A front is stalled across New England and will gradually lift north as a warm front today. Just enough lift in place this afternoon that this front may trigger a few isolated scattered showers or storms , especially across the interior away from the coast. Any storm will contain a briefly heavy downpour. Winds re light enough that they should shift onshore this afternoon with a light SE wind flow which should keep most beaches in the 80's...but the that cooler marine air is not going to be able to penetrate very far inland.
A quiet and muggy, mild start to ta sultry August night. The fog bank off the south coast this morning will re-emerge and back into SNE overnight with thickening and lowering clouds and fog in this soupy airmass as temps cool to the dewpoints. Once the sun comes up on Sunday, the fog will lift again giving way to more sunshine and warming temps again with highs near 85-90 degrees. Hard to find any relief in the humidity with upper level ridge in place and persistent SW winds at the surface.
Winds will pick up from the SW Sunday ahead of an approaching cold front. Gust to 20 to 25 mph will be possible by the afternoon. This active wind direction will be welcome relief to the riders of the PMC who are spending their Saturday in this sweltering heat as they head to Bourne. The riders get up early and will spend their morning pedaling through fog and developing hazy sun Sunday on the Cape with temps in the 70's near 80 by midday. Any sort of breeze will be welcome relief, making the air feel a little more comfortable as the motion of air will help promote evaporational cooling of skin as skin perspires.
The humidity will finally take a breather once a cold front pushes through. Sunday night we could see a few showers or a thunderstorm in western New England, but most us will be seeing the showers late Sunday night through the early morning hours on Monday. I think most of the showers will be ending by mid morning Monday with building high pressure and drying NW winds settling in for the afternoon. Humidity levels will be easing and falling through the day. A much more comfortable day on Tuesday with seasonably warm temps near 80-85 degrees. High pressure will be pulling off the coast and once again wrapping in warming SW winds which will keeps temps on the ewarm side in the 80's for much of the rest of this week. Our next chance of rainfall will come maybe late Thursday with a pop up thunderstorm or Friday with an approaching cold front which may tapp inot some tropical moisture which is currently sitting off the coast of Florida.
Speaking of the Tropis...they are finally coming to life with Tropical storms Ernesto & Florence on the table in a blink of an eye. Both storms are fighting a tremendous amount to of dry air to survive. Neither storm is a threat to the US coastline as we speak, but of course both will be watched for any change in direction. Here is the National Hurricane Center to get their latest thinking and tracks.
