Cool, Cool July…

It sure was an unusually cool and wet July across the High Country of Johnson County.  Below are the numbers!

Avg. Low:  54.1 Coldest Low: 45 on the 3rd

Avg. High:  77.7 Warmest High:  83 on the 9th

Peak Wind:  26 MPH on the 23rd

Rainfall:  8.53 inches

Snowfall:  0.00 inches

The above numbers are simply remarkable for July.  Though records haven’t been kept too terribly long in Mountain City, I’d bet money this was a top 5 cool July in our history.  Most certainly since I’ve had the pleasure of living in the mountains of Johnson County (since 1995).

In the longer term…well, I’ve already given a few hints for the winter (snow lovers should be smiling), but the upcoming fall season should be very, very nice…perhaps even a few degrees warmer than normal for September and October.

SPECIAL NOTE:  PLEASE CHECK OUT JOE REEDY’S BLOG FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE COLD JULY. 

Not Tryin’ To Rub It In, But….

Have a look-see at the tropical paradise I will call home during the next week.  Come on down and join us!

http://www.beachview.com/panama_city_beach.htm: Live Webcam On Panama City Beach, FL

Panama City Beach Bound

This post is coming to you from the road (thanks to the AWESOME SPRINT wireless Air Card) as we drive through Knoxville, TN- en route to Auburn, AL for an early evening arrival.  After a stop at my Grandparent’s place tonight, it’ll be on to Panama City Beach early in the morning! Posts will definitely be “off schedule” between now and next weekend (a long, but much needed vacation), but they will come!

We’re heading into “crunch time” now for prepping the Winter Outlook, and once I return work will begin on putting the final touches on that. We’ll then release it (www.mountaincityweathercenter.com) on the first Friday of October.

It’s hard to believe the summer is rapidly coming to a close…where does time go?!  Of course, this summer has seemed extra short, considering the lack of true, summer-like weather.

I’m also enjoying reading up on the “goings on” at SEC Media Days…FL, UGA, UA, and Ole Miss are up today, I believe with UT, Auburn, LSU, and South Carolina up tomorrow.  Practice begins in full force in only a short couple of weeks!  Ah, Autumn and the glorious football season is almost upon us!

More later!

Tropics Heating Up?

atl_overview

It sure has been a quiet start to the tropical season (now over 20 percent of the way in), however, as we head into the months of August and September (the “meat” of the season), I’m sure activity will pick up, at least somewhat.  Recall back to our Summer Outlook (http://www.mountaincityweathercenter.com/summer-outlook/) and you’ll see we never really were expecting this to be a busy tropical season.

That said, for really the first time this year, we’re going to have to keep a closer eye on the southwest Atlantic for possible development late this week and weekend.  Energy continues to pile into the region from the east, and with the placement of high pressure to the north, the combination of the two features should at least raise an eye brow for folks living along the SE coast…from FL to the Carolinas. 

If something is to come of this it should be very slow to develop and should remain on the weak side.  That said, in a season that’s produced very little “excitement” (and should really remain much quieter than normal, and certainly quieter than we’ve been used to) to those who love tropical “issues,” at least there’s something nibbling at the line…

Looking Down The Road Towards Winter…

Just throwing out another graphic for you to look at!  “It looks cool baby and I ain’t foolin’!”  As much as I know my snow and cold lovers are wanting to focus on the developing cold pattern as we head into the winter season over the East and South, pay just as much attention to the bubbling area of warmer than normal anomalies over the Northwest and Alaska.

In any event, understand that work is fully underway on MountainCityWeatherCenter.com’s Annual Winter Outlook and this will be posted in early October.  The warming over the NW and Alaska (shown by the graphic below) is just one piece of the puzzle, with MANY other factors coming into play this winter season.  We’ll lay it out all on the line with a detailed, graphic-heavy (unlike our Summer Outlook) discussion that you won’t want to miss.

cfsjuly13

News And Notes And A Winter Hint

Just dropping in to play a little “catch up” during the slowest time of the year for me (at least when it comes to the weather).  Lots of changes will be taking shape to MountainCityWeatherCenter.com during the course of the coming months (some plainly obvious and some not so obvious), so get ready.

  • Work is now fully underway on producing our annual Winter Outlook (hard to believe this will be our 6th ANNUAL Winter Outlook), and will be published to the site in October.  Without giving away too much, you lovers of cold and snow may be all smiles when you see what I think may be in store during the upcoming snow season.  Then again, maybe not!  Ha, gotta’ keep you guessin’ a bit!
  • I’m also excited to note that MCWC will begin to do a live feed on WMCT AM 1390 once a week once the colder months set it…we’ll probably start this up in September.  Of course, you can always catch your latest MountainCityWeatherCenter.com forecast on WMCT AM 1390 and on their NEW website…wmctradio.net.
  • Don’t forget about the new live stream up on the site.  http://www.mountaincityweathercenter.com
  • Joe Reedy and his ERWC continue their nature photo contest for the chance to win some free Rita’s Italian Ice through Labor Day.  Check his informative site out here.  http://erweather.wordpress.com/  Submit those photos!
  • Finally, I’ll be hitting the road to the beloved Panama City Beach during the last week of this month so posts will be “off schedule” during this time.

- Enjoy the rest of your summer as it’s quickly coming to an end, stay tuned to the site for your detailed weather information, submit those photos, and try and “tame” that excitement for the release of our annual Winter Outlook!

June Climate Data Summary

This June was a fairly typical June across the mountains of Johnson County, in terms of temperatures and precipitation. Unlike last June, we went through the month without touching the 90 degree mark…this is usual, but not like last June where we saw the mercury climb at or above 90 on three different occasions.

June ‘09 Climate Data Summary

Avg. Low: 56.4 Coldest Low: 44 on the 1st

Avg. High: 81.8 Warmest High: 88 on the 2nd

*90 Degree Days: 0

Pk. Wind: 44 MPH on the 15th

Rainfall: 4.28 inches

Snowfall: 0.00 inches

Nicely Said…

http://nsstc.uah.edu/aosc/files/AOSC_Responds_5.pdf

Nicely Said…and that’s all that needs to be said!

A Wet May Across Johnson County

With Mountain City Weather Center.com’s May Climate Data Summary recently released, the big news is the whopping 8.86  inches of rain which fell on the greater Mountain City and Johnson County region.

Other headlines include nearly average temperatures for daytime highs, a late month freeze, and periodic strong winds across the county.

Below is the complete May Climate Data Summary.

May ‘09 Climate Data Summary

Avg. Low: 51.2 Coldest Low: 30 on the 19th

Avg. High: 72.4 Warmest High: 80 on the 26th

Pk. Wind: 33 MPH on the 31st

Rainfall: 8.86 inches

Snowfall: 0.00 inches

Serious Severe WX Situation

A serious severe weather situation will unfold across eastern TN and southwest VA this afternoon as a derecho roars southeast into the region over the next couple of hours. Widespread damaging winds in excess of 70 MPH will be the primary threat as this mass of rain and leading edge of severe thunderstorm drops down into our region.  With temperatures in the lower 80s as of this post and dew points in the high 60s, our local air mass is plenty unstable to support severe.  Below is a graphic provided by the Storm Prediction Center.  Notice they label this is a PDS event, Particularly Dangerous Situation.

severe

SEL1
  
   URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
   SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 461
   NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   1040 AM EDT THU JUN 18 2009
  
   THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
   SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
  
          MUCH OF NORTHERN GEORGIA
          PARTS OF SOUTHERN KENTUCKY
          FAR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
          NORTHWESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA
          PARTS OF MIDDLE AND EASTERN TENNESSEE
  
   EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING AND EVENING FROM 1040 AM UNTIL
   600 PM EDT.
  
   …THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION…
  
   EXTREMELY DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH…LARGE HAIL
   TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER…AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN
   THESE AREAS.
  
   THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 85
   STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF
   BOWLING GREEN KENTUCKY TO 35 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF ATHENS
   GEORGIA.  FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
   ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).
  
   REMEMBER…A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
   FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
   AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
   THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
   AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
   DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.
  
   OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 459WW 460
  
   DISCUSSION…BOW ECHO/DERECHO IS MOVING RAPIDLY SEWD CENTRAL KY
   DRIVEN BY A 60-70 KT REAR INFLOW JET.  MORNING SOUNDINGS SWD INTO GA
   INDICATE THAT POTENTIALLY A VERY UNSTABLE AIR MASS IS IN PLACE IN
   ADVANCE OF THIS SYSTEM AND WITH DAYTIME HEATING…EXPECT THE CURRENT
   ASSOCIATED WIND DAMAGE TO BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD AND INTENSE.
  
   AVIATION…A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
   TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70
   KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM
   MOTION VECTOR 33045.
  
  
   …HALES