Updated 845am CDT Monday / 22 April 2013
Clouds and Humidity to Start the New Week ….
Another Late Season Cold Front Due with A Few Thunderstorms Late Tuesday ….
Lingering Clouds and Rain Chances in the Week of the Front ….
On this Monday morning…. surface high pressure.. centered over the far northeastern USA.. is combining with a trough.. or line.. of surface low pressure from a low over eastern Colorado south southwestward into eastern New Mexico and far southwest Texas. Given this surface pressure pattern, surface winds are southerly across our area of Texas.
In the upper levels of the atmosphere…. a broad trough.. or line.. of upper level low pressure is situated over the USA. Given this upper air pattern, winds over south central Texas and the Austin metro area about 18,000 feet above the ground are west northwesterly 35 to 45 mph.
We start the new week with a southerly wind.. warmer temperatures and increased cloud cover and humidity. Late night and early morning low cloudiness and patchy fog has been the result on this Monday morning. Temperatures continue to be near seasonal levels. This pattern will continue through much of the day tomorrow.
Another cold front.. again, rather strong in nature.. will sweep across our area in the 4 pm to 7pm time period tomorrow evening with widely scattered to scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. While widespread severe weather is not expected, the NWS/Storm Prediction Center has mentioned in their latest outlook that one or two stronger thunderstorms could develop as the strong front moves across the area and encounters the rich gulf moisture in place across the area.
The cold front will move off the Texas coast and well into the Gulf of Mexico but clouds and slim rain chances will linger in the post frontal atmospheric environment as a result of a series of upper level low pressure disturbances remaining to our west and making their way across the area through Friday.
More sunshine with a return southerly wind and warmer temperatures will prevail by late in the day Friday and through the weekend.
Have a good Monday night and Tuesday…
Meteorologist Troy Kimmel
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