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The great July heat wave of 2013


Ian

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we even suck at heat this summer..the only thing we are good at with weather is absurd lows

 

it's predictable though -- you have a vegetation canopy that is experiencing no water stress and a humid airmass, takes a lot of energy to warm.

 

Yeah, 850s aren't spectacular and it is wet.  That's why the 2011 heat was so obscene, we had the dews and the heat.

 

All the PWS out here are reporting high dews also.

 

Maybe it has something to do with the LWX equipment surrounded by concrete in an open field while most of the outer stations are in more rural areas - evaporation from the vegetation raising the dewpoint?

 

The Davis VP2s are basically the gold standard of the home PWS market, and even they have DP trouble. 

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Anytime the DP is above 60 it is too humid for my comfort. 

 

With my WV place in the books heading out west next week to shop for a vacation property..

 

one day I will not have to live in this nasty east coast climate.. wife is very ready to move too... :thumbsup: 

 

probably end up choking on smoke from a wild fire in a few years but at least it will be a dry smoke.. :P 

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Yeah, 850s aren't spectacular and it is wet.  That's why the 2011 heat was so obscene, we had the dews and the heat.

 

 

The Davis VP2s are basically the gold standard of the home PWS market, and even they have DP trouble. 

 

So, if the 850s are not that hot (way too hot for my taste though) then what causes such high heights?

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I'd let somebody come install a station at my house if it was going to be part of a reliable mesonet. Really tons of benefits would come with it.

Yeah. A better obs net would go well with all the radars.
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So, if the 850s are not that hot (way too hot for my taste though) then what causes such high heights?

 

Well, the entire column from the surface to 500 has to be warm.  It is kind of analogous to looking at the 540 thickness line in the late winter.  We could have a relatively warm 800-500 layer meaning that thicknesses will end up higher, but the lower layer might be cold enough for snow.  I'm guessing right now that temps at 500mb and 600mb are way above normal.

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Yeah. A better obs net would go well with all the radars.

Not to mention that in a lot of ways we would probably benefit more from it than OK. Obviously they have tor alley but we have so many different zones in our forecast area that are subject to vastly different types of weather phenomena. I guess we can keep dreaming, though...not enough moneh!

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Well, the entire column from the surface to 500 has to be warm.  It is kind of analogous to looking at the 540 thickness line in the late winter.  We could have a relatively warm 800-500 layer meaning that thicknesses will end up higher, but the lower layer might be cold enough for snow.  I'm guessing right now that temps at 500mb and 600mb are way above normal.

 

Appreciate the explanation.

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So the DC normal is 89?

Both yesterday and today put up a +7 for a high.

The Jan normal is 43?

So if DC records a couple of daytime highs of 36 will it be called the great January arctic outbreak?

Seems kinda lame for a heat wave.

I assumed the title of this thread was a little facetious. You can't compare Jan and July departures, though. There is a much higher standard deviation of temps in January. And these peak summers highs would be more akin to lows in the winter, so if we had a run of lows in the teens at DCA, yes the media would be all over it.

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I assumed the title of this thread was a little facetious. You can't compare Jan and July departures, though. There is a much higher standard deviation of temps in January. And these peak summers highs would be more akin to lows in the winter, so if we had a run of lows in the teens at DCA, yes the media would be all over it.

But would anyone HERE really consider that an arctic blast? I don't know DCA, but Winchester normal low is 22. I wouldn't consider 15 an arctic blast.

I do understand what you're saying about the difference though. It's quite possible to get a -25 departure on a winter high but impossible to get a +25 high in July.

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I assumed the title of this thread was a little facetious. You can't compare Jan and July departures, though. There is a much higher standard deviation of temps in January. And these peak summers highs would be more akin to lows in the winter, so if we had a run of lows in the teens at DCA, yes the media would be all over it.

I also like to poke fun when heat comes up short.

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I do understand what you're saying about the difference though. It's quite possible to get a -25 departure on a winter high but impossible to get a +25 high in July.

To put some numbers on this difference, January 1950 in DC averaged 48.0 degrees, whereas January 1918 averaged 23.7 degrees -- a spread of 24.3 degrees between DC's warmest and coldest Januaries. On the other hand, the warmest July in DC was 2011 at 84.5 degrees versus the coldest DC July of 72.0 degrees in 1891 -- a spread of just 12.5 degrees.
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The title was somewhat in jest but if we run 5 days 95+ it's as legit a heat wave as the worst in most summers. We are unfortunate to have to compare to the last few... The derechos of Julys.

And more in the weeds a 4th yr in a row with a low of 80+ at DCA is unheard of in the records.

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The title was somewhat in jest but if we run 5 days 95+ it's as legit a heat wave as the worst in most summers. We are unfortunate to have to compare to the last few... The derechos of Julys.

And more in the weeds a 4th yr in a row with a low of 80+ at DCA is unheard of in the records.

 

83/74 at midnight.. have the feeling there will be a 79 for DCA's low tonight

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