Yesterday was off and on cloudy. Some teams were able to make observations, but no shift was cancelled due to the clouds. It was not nearly as breezy as was predicted.
This morning has been mostly sunny, warm and still.
The NWS in Boulder, CO, forecasts a sunny day, with a high temperature of 99 F. The winds will be from the west at 6 mph, becoming light and variable in the afternoon. This evening will be mostly clear, with a low temperature of 65 F. The winds will be from the north at 6 mph, becoming west northwest by midnight.
The NWS has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook concerning the hot and dry weather today. There could be a few dry microburst events as well, with gusts reaching 50 mph.
The visible satellite image shows thin, light clouds over the Denver Metro area this morning.
The 12 Z upper air sounding from Boulder shows a nearly saturated layer at 500 mb, but otherwise drier atmosphere as compared to yesterday. There was 0.69 inches of precipitable water present in the column. There was 18 J/kg of Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) and -588 J/kg of Convective Inhibition (CINH). The Lifted Condensation Level (LCL) was 766 m. There was a small thermal inversion near the surface, and the 0-3 km average lapse rate was 5.1 C/km.
The hodograph shows that there was 13 kts low-level shear (due mostly to directional changes) and 42 kts deep-layer shear (due mostly to speed changes).
The surface observations (from the SPC Mesoscale Analysis Map) show warm temperatures and moderate humidity, based on the dewpoints. The skies are clear and sunny, and the winds are light and variable.
The surface pressure chart shows that there are no strong pressure systems or gradients over the state this morning. The RAP shows that the pressure will drop with diurnal heating, but no strong pressure gradients are expected over Colorado.
The NAM 250 mb chart shows moderate, zonal flow over the state today.
The HRRR simulated reflectivity shows no storms firing over the Denver Metro area today. This image has been excluded from today’s post.
The HRRR predicts that the high temperatures for Boulder will peak in the upper 90’s by 23 Z.
The HRRR dewpoints will hit their drop into the lo2 20’s by this afternoon.
The HRRR shows no significant gusts. This image has been excluded from today’s post.
The NAM shows skies starting to cloud up at the beginning of the observation shifts.
The HRRR concurs.
Today will be warm and mostly sunny. A few clouds may drift into our area in the evening, but there will be an opportunity for observations this evening.
Thank you for reading my post.
Sources:
The forecasts from the National Weather Service are from The NWS Homepage
The upper air soundings and mesoscale analysis plots are from the Storm Prediction Center website.
The satellite data, model data, and forecasted soundings are from College of DuPage – SATRAD
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