Wx Infinity Forums

biggerbyte wrote:Don will move inland well south of the area. Our ridge simply is not going to allow that hoped for move more north. Impact on our local weather will be minimal at best.

As others have mentioned, this storm is only the beginning.

I take it that ridge of high pressure has not moved much or even at all ever since Tropical Storm Don entered the Gulf of Mexico?

srainhoutx wrote:

rescuemomma wrote:a question that is a "bit" off topic: will this continue all summer? will the high ever move and allow us some rain?

also, wondering, was this drought predicted? or CAN it be predicted?

sorry if these are silly questions, just wondering!

The Ridge will likely shift around (oscillate) for the remainder of the summer. La Nina neutral years tend to be a bit dry for TX as well, other than an occasional tropical disturbance rotating under/around the W flank of the Ridge.

I agree with Srain. I think it will be with us until at least August. It will wane a a bit at times, but still be here. It will take a "wallybanger" of a system to dislodge it. What I mean by that is a "FRONT". LOL

OT:

From NWS Miami:

EXTENDED FORECAST...MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
LONG RANGE MODELS INDICATE UPPER HIGH CENTERED OVER THE S GREAT
PLAINS NEARLY STATIONARY AS THE UPPER TROUGH DEEPENS OVER THE W
ATLC. STEERING WINDS DEVIATE FROM EASTERLY BY MID WEEK DUE TO THE
ADJACENT UPPER TROUGH TO NORTHERLY BUT LEAN MORE EASTERLY THURSDAY
AS THE UPPER HIGH BEGINS TO SHIFT E

Interesting.

Looks like Don might be putting on a last minute growing spurt, which will hopefully push some rain farther north. Anyone see that, or is it me hoping?

Feeder bands look halfway decent. Maybe we can even get a little training (crosses fingers)...

srainhoutx wrote:

rescuemomma wrote:a question that is a "bit" off topic: will this continue all summer? will the high ever move and allow us some rain?

also, wondering, was this drought predicted? or CAN it be predicted?

sorry if these are silly questions, just wondering!

The Ridge will likely shift around (oscillate) for the remainder of the summer. La Nina neutral years tend to be a bit dry for TX as well, other than an occasional tropical disturbance rotating under/around the W flank of the Ridge.

There is a slight negative correlation with ENSO and summer rainfall total.
r = -0.07
p = 0.48

As for temperature, there is a correlation with ENSO and summer temperature.
r = 0.18
p = 0.06

Kinda bummed that all the rain around Houston this afternoon are some piddly llight showers, and not the convective bands we had earlier in the day. They all missed the casa...

I did get 0.36" today, the 4th heaviest rain I've measured since Jan 24.

Tropical Storm Don made landfall just moments ago.

Ptarmigan wrote:Tropical Storm Don made landfall just moments ago.

Geez....how could you tell? It just disappeared! I don't think I've ever seen that happen before.

Hardly a swirl of light rain and drizzle down there.

Tropical Storm Don goes down as probably the wimpiest tropical storm in some time. Even Edouard in 2008 was better. We got rain at least, the steady kind. That dry air is enough to dry up Tip-sized storm.

Don, we hardly knew ye.. I swear I have never seen that. It was like watching water go down a drain. Unbelievable. What a year so far...

I have seen some weak storms cross the TX coast, but never one without any kind of rainfall structure. Looking at CRP and BRO reflectivity it is almost impossible to find any kind of LLC, although there is one in the surface obs over S TX. Even the repeat of Ivan in 04 had a few bands around the center.

jeff wrote:I have seen some weak storms cross the TX coast, but never one without any kind of rainfall structure. Looking at CRP and BRO reflectivity it is almost impossible to find any kind of LLC, although there is one in the surface obs over S TX. Even the repeat of Ivan in 04 had a few bands around the center.

Jeff,

Did the High Pressure Ridge of Death do him in? I mean, I watching the radar loops from then to now and wow, I mean wow. Just soaked him up like a sponge in record time.

Okay, as of 11p.m. EDT, Don was declared a Tropical Depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 m.p.h. by KHOU's Hurricane Central.

Don is just a little disgrace.


Thanks Don,

For nothing.

Never in my life have I seen something disappear like Don did. Wow!

Wow! That was amazing. I was watching the radar and it just went poof!

Definitely the weirdest thing I have ever seen with a TC. As NHC said it happened without mountains interfering with the circulation. I would guess there was a sudden gulp of dry air along with the already dry environment of Texas that basically robbed Don of his moisture. Strange things happen when there is an ongoing EXTREME drought. I hope if we have any more TCs to the TX coast that they don't do the same. I'm almost to the point I'll take the rain along with whatever else comes with it. Did I just say that? Ouch!