A little gloom, a lot of sun ☀️
The title says it all.
After putting a decent dent in the near-record summer dryness with a deluge last week, there will be a few more rain drops early this week. After that, regularly scheduled programming will return — aka sunny September days! 👏
☕ A few crisp mornings will also be in the mix by Thursday and Friday.
Occasionally showery and drizzly weather today (Sunday) and tomorrow will come with high humidity levels. It won’t be raining all the time with minimal amounts expected.
Tuesday will have a sticky start as a front looms off to the west — it could cause a passing shower or thunderstorm ⛈️
A refreshing air mass will begin blowing into the region on Tuesday night, giving way to a meteorologically masterful stretch of weather from Wednesday-Friday 👌
There’s a pretty good chance it will continue into the weekend, too.
An air mass currently over the Yukon will dive down into New England on Thursday, ushering some crisp Canadian air, a reminder that astronomical autumn arrives on September 22nd.
➡️ Morning low temperatures will likely dip into the low-to-mid 40s in the Hudson Valley on Friday and Saturday morning and I wouldn’t be shocked if the Catskills reached the upper 30s.
Right now, it looks like temperatures will be on the rise next weekend due to a warm, southwesterly wind. The week of Monday September 19th is looking quite warm for the time of year at this point! 🌡️
Smoky skies 💨
Numerous wildfires are raging across the western U.S., causing smoky and hazy skies. Last year, the smoke even hung thick at times in the Hudson Valley, but so far we’ve managed to avoid the worst of it this year.
Our good fortune will continue in the short-term, but a stronger westerly air flow in the upper-atmosphere from Friday through the weekend and next week could cause some haze. The particulate matter will be lofted well above our heads, so air quality issues appear unlikely.
How to win a photo contest
Every year, the organization I work for in New Zealand holds a photo contest. I typically submit a few shots from my jaunts around the country, especially of the South Island where the scenery makes it feel like you are in a movie set 🎦
As a meteorologist, I’m always on the look-out for cool clouds. The mountainous and undulating terrain across the South Island makes it the perfect environment for some fabulous formations in the sky.
Exhibit A: the “pancake stack” lenticular cloud 🥞 ☁️ (you’d be very lucky to spot anything quite like it in the Hudson Valley!)
🚁 How it looked by drone…
Sometimes mistaken for UFOs or taken as a sign of alien activity, this pancake-like stack of clouds forms as strong, moist winds blow over a mountain barrier, creating a series of oscillating waves.
The first of these three photos was judged a winner. Thanks, Mother Nature 💯
🤖 Snow day robot
A few nights of Python coding this week and it’s up and running! My new Hudson Valley “Will it snow?” Twitter bot is live at https://twitter.com/Will_It_Snow_HV
Three times a day, it scans the weather forecast over the next week to see if the magical four letter word is mentioned… ❄️
A must-follow to track the potential for snowy days this winter!
🌞 For now, we enjoy the sun and wait patiently until it says “yes” ☃️
Congratulations for your winners pictures 📸 . I always learn something new about weather in your report, thank you for that Ben, have a nice week.
Thank you Ben. Stay well.