Fabulous Friday

Clearly, Thursday was a perfect 10.  Due to slightly warmer temperatures and dew points, and I do mean slightly, Friday will be a 9!  The map below shows the Model Output Statistics (MOS) for the ensemble max temps for Friday from the 12Z run of Thursday's North American Model (NAM) and the Global Forecast System (GFS).  First the NAM:

And the GFS:

As for the upcoming week, temps and humidity can only increase from these glorious July levels.  Upon quick glance of the modeling for next week, we are looking at Tuesday-Thursday being the high tide of the heat and humidity.  It will still be hot past Thursday, but the humidity may abate due to the NW flow in the mid-levels of the atmosphere.  The graphic below shows the GFS ensembles for next Thursday.  Note how many of the runs actually place the heat ridge right into PA which would lead to temps well into the 90s for us here in Harrisburg.  I do think that either KMDT, KPHL, or KLNS will reach 100F next week.  It does appear that NY and points further NE will escape once again the extreme heat and humidity that will try to bleed into the northeast with this monster middle America ridge.

With the ridge in this position, we could see some beneficial rainfall from a complex atmospheric phenomena known as a Mesoscale Convective System (MCS).  I will talk further about those next week for those of you who have insomnia!  This radar graphic is an MCS from 2 years ago.  I simply include it to show you the severity and the scale of these most complex atmospheric phenomena.

OK....kind of an inside joke here, but one on which I must capitalize.  Yesterday being a "10" and today progged to be a "9", I guess the sum total of these 2 days are "19"!  So here you are silver tongue, my lone follower, just getting primed for Friday Night Lights!  From their 1980 album Gaucho, here is Donald Fagen, and Walter Becker's classic hit.  Nice!  Sure looks good!  Umm, Umm, Umm...

Enjoy your week's end!

Smitty

AA:  Nice weather through the weekend...getting hotter and more humid reaching its peak next Thursday-Friday time period.  We will have a real heat wave next week....I think....