Georgia Caught Between Two Lows
I talked to a friend of mine last night who was planning on attending the BellSouth Classic today, and wanted to know what the weather would be. I told him rain and thunder. He said, “But it’s clear outside now”. How quickly things change in the weather world.
The picture to the right, courtesy of NOAA, is a combination satellite image and weather map as of 5:00 this morning. Our weather is being controlled by two upper level lows, one over the Oklahoma panhandle, and the other in northern Wisconsin, marked by the white arrows. In between is a cold front associated with the Wisconsin low extending down the Mississippi valley and into northwest Alabama. You can see the rain, in brown, to the right of the front.
Normally, you would expect this cold front to pass East, bringing a fairly quick end to the rain. However, the interaction between the two systems isn’t really going to let this happen.
The picture on the left, courtesy of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, shows the projected positions of the two lows as of 7:00 Friday morning. The Texas low is now over Alabama, while the Wisconsin low has moved over Canada. Notice how the cold front connecting the two systems is still north of Georgia, keeping our weather in the warm sector, and promising 48 hours of precipitation. (Actually, the cold front will briefly enter the state tonight, causing a bit of a lull in the rain, but will move north again).
The whole mess moves out of our area Friday night, as the cold front below the southern system moves across Georgia, bringing slightly cooler but pleasant weather for the weekend. Until then, there is a chance of severe thunderstorms (the weather service has a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 9 AM for most of Alabama, and extreme West Georgia). There is also a possibility of flooding, as the rain from this system hits the already saturated ground from last week’s storms.
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