Drought Continues, No Relief in Sight.

Wish I could say we had a decent shot at some widespread, soaking, generous rainfall sometime in the near future, but that does not appear to be the case. In fact, notice the first map on the right which is an indication of the chances of receiving some moisture for basically the first week of December. Obviously, there is a pretty strong signal indicating below normal chances of precipitation during that week for our state; and not only that, but the second map on the right also has a strong signal for above normal temperatures for that week. In other words, no relief is yet in sight for a break in the ongoing drought situation.

That is not to say that there will be no chance of rain whatsoever, just that what we do receive will not amount to much. For example, another front will be moving through early Monday along with mostly cloudy skies and a chance for showers. However, the chances will only be on the order of 20% and primarily for the more eastern counties at that. Also, what does fall will be very light and will not do much more than settle the dust. After the Monday system, it looks like pretty much a dry forecast for the rest of the week and into the coming weekend.

Temperatures on the other hand will be bouncing around. After a very cool day today, Sunday will see a brief warm-up with daytime highs back into the 60s after a morning start generally in the 30s. Except for some high, thin cirrus clouds we will also have lots of sunshine on Sunday and southerly winds to help moderate temperatures. As mentioned, this will be rather brief as the next cool front will be arriving Monday morning shifting our winds back to the N along with mostly cloudy skies. That makes temperatures a little tricky on Monday as we should start the day in the mid-upper 30s, then should warm up before the cooler air arrives and temperatures start falling again. Right now, it appears that we may make it into the lower 50s around the noon hour, but temperatures will be falling back into the 40s that afternoon on the heels of those gusty northerly winds.

Tuesday will be sunny and cool with morning lows in the 20s, daytime highs in the 40s and lower 50s, along with light northerly winds. After that, temperatures will be moderating with above normal temperatures the general rule for the rest of the week and into the coming weekend. Along with the warmer temperatures we will have gusty southerly winds and mostly sunny skies. This combination will also produce an enhanced fire danger for much of the coming week.

So, it looks like the month of November will end on a relatively warm note with above normal temperatures and that general trend will likely extend into at least the first week of December. Also, our prospects for significant rainfall are not very promising anytime soon.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot