From Drought To Rain Overload

For the most part of 2013, a majority of the the Brazos Valley, and in fact a big chunk of Texas has dug into a deeper drought. Several storms were able to dump an immaculate amount of rain, but as we know best, we are a "feast or famine," part of the country. Either its prolonged dry spells, or quick splashes of rain. However, last weeks event which occurred from Thursday to Friday was a true treat and invigorated our soils.

Take a look at where we started before last weeks events. The following image is from the latest Drought Monitor Report that is uploaded weekly by the USDA and NOAA.

Yikes! Most of the Brazos Valley during last Thursday's report is currently under a Severe Drought, with several areas outlined as an Extreme Drought. You don't even have to look at this image to know whats going on. Lawns have gone from a vibrant flush green, to dried out, brown weeds. Plus, for the year of 2013, Easterwood Airport's climate report noted we were a solid 3.50"+ below average.  Nevertheless, three soaking rounds of rain were able to pick up our spirits.

According to Easterwood Airport, in a 48 hour period, and incredible 4.43" of rain fell. This brings the yearly total to 13.97", and turns the 3.50" deficit into a minor surplus compared to average. Furthermore, there were several locations across the Brazos Valley, especially in Madison County which picked up close to 6.00" or rain during the same period. As good as it was to see a heap of wet weather, minor flooding caused problems all around the region. Nonetheless, I am sure there will be a huge swing from the current Drought Monitor to the new report that comes out Thursday morning.

If you thought we were done with the rain for now.....hold your horses, another dose is on the way. This time around, the rain will not be as widespread and as heavy as last week. What we are watching is an upper level feature over the northwest side of Mexico.

Slowly, but surly, this feature will rotate into Texas and spawn several showers as well as a few thunderstorms. Timing at the moment looks generally around Tuesday night and into Wednesday, with the best chance of rain coming in Wednesday. A few of these storms could have a period of brief heavy rainfall, and severe weather will no be part of the picture. Just make sure to have the umbrellas ready. In addition, by the end of the week and into the weekend, expect the temperatures to rise to levels we have not experienced yet this year......90s may be coming soon!!!!


For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.



Is Winter Gone?

Officially, Winter has about two additional months before Spring arrives. So no, winter is not gone technically....well at least in parts of the US. However, with the recent pattern of sunshine, and well above average temperatures, if feels like Winter is a distant memory. Its either that, or we are experiencing quite a generous January thaw.

While the Texas sun warms us up, a true arctic blast has moved into areas along the northern Plains, Great Lakes as well as the Northeast. This is some of the coldest air many areas have felt since 2009. Not only are temperatures struggling to reach 0° from Minnesota to northern Maine, but a ferocious wind takes wind chill (or feels like) values down between -30° and -50°. This is a dangerous outbreak that will persist for several days, with additional waves of cold air coming according to several long term computer models such as the highly regarded European model.

What we can see from the incoming data is that the jet stream is aligned in a way where a deep trough covers the east, while on the other side of the country a strong ridge is building out west. Meteorologically, we call this type of pattern meridional. In other words, the wind flow in the upper levels tend to have a north-south orientation which corresponds to lines of longitude, in turn following the Prime Meridian. Furthermore, the atmosphere is always looking to stay in a state of equilibrium, or balance. If one area is hot, another area will be cold, to balance out extremes. There are many other factors, but those are the basics.

Anyway, the jet stream took a large dip over the eastern United States, which opened up the gates for colder air from Canada to move right in.

Over the next 7 days, the current trogh over the eastern U.S. will tend to lift and allow a strong ridge from the west build in over the central Plains.

For us, that leaves the Brazos Valley in the bulls-eye for tranquil weather and above average warmth. Therefore, we can expect a few areas of fog early in the morning, with sun and temperatures in the 70s during the day. Temperatures should peak into the middle 70s by Thursday before our next cold front cools down the air temporarily. Enjoy the outdoors, and despite a low sun angle this time of year, make sure to slap on some sunscreen for added protection.

Its always nice to have beautiful weather like this during the winter, but we need more rain to help the drought across the Lone Star State. Ill keep you updated.

For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.