A lot of variables have to come together to get the weather scenario we saw today and are forecasting for the weekend. In most cases, warm winds out of the south that swoop off the Gulf of Mexico tend to build up low-level moisture over Southern Louisiana. With daytime heating and the proper force or lift provided by the upper levels of the atmosphere, we get isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms. However, over that last couple of days everything has fallen into place. First, we have a surface area of high pressure (the bottom layer of the cake) situated right over the Atlantic Coast that is bringing in warm, tropical air from the Caribbean and is transplanting that warm air over Louisiana. This is the reason for the unseasonably warm temperatures, but it does not provide us an answer to the dry conditions. To make the rain free weather, the jetstream (the top layer of our cake) had to cooperate and lucky for us it did. Right now, the jetstream is ridging well to north of Louisiana instead of directly over us. This ridging has produced an upper-level region of high pressure. Upper-level high pressure creates sinking air. Sinking air, in most cases, is stable. What does this mean? A stable atmosphere usually prevents rain and keeps us dry. So, when you join the two layers together, you get a weather pattern that is quite pleasant for this time of the year. We are seeing extremely warm temperatures without having to worry about our activities being rained out. Enjoy! We all know this gorgeous weather won't last long.
A lot of variables have to come together to get the weather scenario we saw today and are forecasting for the weekend. In most cases, warm winds out of the south that swoop off the Gulf of Mexico tend to build up low-level moisture over Southern Louisiana. With daytime heating and the proper force or lift provided by the upper levels of the atmosphere, we get isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms. However, over that last couple of days everything has fallen into place. First, we have a surface area of high pressure (the bottom layer of the cake) situated right over the Atlantic Coast that is bringing in warm, tropical air from the Caribbean and is transplanting that warm air over Louisiana. This is the reason for the unseasonably warm temperatures, but it does not provide us an answer to the dry conditions. To make the rain free weather, the jetstream (the top layer of our cake) had to cooperate and lucky for us it did. Right now, the jetstream is ridging well to north of Louisiana instead of directly over us. This ridging has produced an upper-level region of high pressure. Upper-level high pressure creates sinking air. Sinking air, in most cases, is stable. What does this mean? A stable atmosphere usually prevents rain and keeps us dry. So, when you join the two layers together, you get a weather pattern that is quite pleasant for this time of the year. We are seeing extremely warm temperatures without having to worry about our activities being rained out. Enjoy! We all know this gorgeous weather won't last long.
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