Extreme Heat and Thunder Threat Continues

Monday, July 23rd, 2012

Thanks to one of my favorite pages on Facebook Beautiful Planet Earth for sharing this over the weekend. It’s a picture of a lone cumulonimbus cloud see from the air.

Cumulonimbus originates from Latin: Cumulus “heap” and nimbus “cloud”

Active Arizona Storms

Some of the monsoonal thunderstorms in the Southwest have been puffing up quite a bit with strong winds, dust storms and heavy rain. The photo below comes @baloon_angel out of San Tan Valley, where thunderstorm outflow winds blew down this tree.

Dust Storms

Thanks to Maria Fossler for sharing this picture out of Mesa, AZ as a giant dust storm approached her residence. Strong thunderstorm outflow winds helped to spawn this and other dust storms in Arizona over the weekend.

Severe Threat Today

The image below is the the severe thunderstorm potential today across the nation. Severe thunderstorms will be possible more so in the yellow shaded areas across the far north, but a few storms in the green shaded areas could certainly top severe limits (1″ diameter hail and 58mph winds).

HPC 3 Day Rainfall Forecast

NOAA’s HPC 3 day rainfall forecast has heavy rain potential in areas that will be under the gun for severe weather on Monday. Any thunderstorms that develop in these areas will certainly have the chance to become quite vigorous with heavy downpours!

Dry Scenario

Thanks to Ryan Trullinger for sharing this picture with the National Weather Service out of Hastings, NE… Here is what Ryan had to say:

“You asked for pics, that are drought related. I have a few that I just went out and shot. All pics are from a 1 mile radius of Gothenburg.
The first is a strip of dryland corn, I mean DRYland!”

See more HERE:

GRAINS-Corn, soy ease from record highs; U.S. crops face more heat

“Chicago corn and soy slid on Monday after marking record highs last week, tracking declines in broader markets as worries on Europe’s debt woes festered, though relentless heat in the U.S. grain belt continued to destroy crops.”

Read more from REUTERS HERE:

Seasonal Drought Outlook

“Latest Seasonal Assessment – Dryness and drought, exacerbated by above-normal temperatures, have been increasing both in extent and intensity across much of the central and northern U.S. Based upon the July 10 U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly 61 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought (D1-D4), the highest such value for the U.S. Drought Monitor since its inception in 2000. The drought and heat arrived at a critical time for Midwestern agriculture, especially corn. The combination of heat and dryness has severely reduced the quality and quantity of the corn and soybean crop, with 38 percent of the corn and 30 percent of the soybeans rated as poor or very poor as of July 15 by NASS/USDA. Some states, such as Kentucky, Missouri, and Indiana, had over 70 percent of their corn adversely rated. Unfortunately, drought is expected to develop, persist, or intensify across these areas, and temperatures are likely to average above normal.”

See more HERE:

Massive US Fires From 2001 to 2011

“A new map, done up in blazing color, plots more than a decade’s worth of the massive fires that have hit the United States, offering a revealing portrait of an increasingly common menace.

On a stark black background, complete with topographic features, the map shows not only where fires have burned between 2001 and July 2012, but also shows their intensity, veering from a wash of purplish dots for the smallest fires, up through stipples of red and smears of searing yellow for the mightiest blazes.”

“Fiery uptick

“Fire activity has definitely increased in terms of overall activity and acreage burned, and that’s not just in the United States,” said William Sommers, a research professor at George Mason University’s EastFIRE Laboratory, and a former longtime director of fire research for the U.S. Forest Service.

Sommers said that prescribed burns aren’t likely to have increased very much in recent decades because of strict regulation at the state level — pollution laws limit the number of burns allowed. In addition, he said, the preventative burns are not nearly as powerful as wildfires, and NASA instruments simply can’t see them as well.

That means the overall increase is in wildfires, and that this can be attributed to three main factors: climate change, increasingly plentiful fuel for fires, and the increasing urbanization of wild places.”

See more HERE:

Another Hot One!

The National Weather Service continues there heat headlines for the central part of the country as heat index values are expected to rise into the triple digits, perhaps even as high as 110F

Forecast Heat Index Values Today

These are the forecast heat index values for today… STEAMY!

Actual High Temps Today

Actual air temperatures are forecast to warm into the 100s again in the central part of the country. Some may even see record highs tied or broken!

Extended Heat

The seasonal temperature outlook (August-October) has about a 40% to 50% chance of above average temperatures continuing into meteorological Fall.

Thanks for checking in on this Monday, have a great week ahead!

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @TNelsonWNTV

Hot with a chance of thunder

US forecast: Hot, dry weather to linger into fall

WASHINGTON (AP) — The unusually hot dry weather that has gripped the nation will not let up its stranglehold over the next few months, federal weather forecasters said Thursday.
And that means the heartland’s “flash drought” will linger at least until around Halloween and even spread a bit farther north and east.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s outlook for August through October shows that nearly every state likely will have hotter than normal temperatures. Much of the Midwest is likely to be drier than normal, too.”