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Forecast Discussion:
The lingering moisture and an upper air ripple (short wave) was enough to create thunderstorms that delayed the Denver game, but the Broncos shrugged it off. Now it dries out and gets warm once again...but not for long. Figure 1 shows the not-so-large ridge overhead today with the start of the west coast trough that will mean business later this week. Jose and Maria are the most obvious tropical features over in the Atlantic.
The big news is the strong cold front and pattern change coming at the end of the week. We linger in the 80's until Friday (as seen in the forecast graph in Figure 2). I marked the earliest arrival of the big front with a bold blue line. After that we get cloudy, cold, and wet. Real Fall weather. Figure 3 is the Thursday morning 500mb map showing the giant trough that will usher in this front. Jose and Maria have traveled further on their treks at this time.
In the Longer Range (Tropics Focus):
Figure 4 shows a quick view of the five named systems from the Eastern Pacific into the Northern Atlantic. Yes, we still have Jose around. Figure 5 is the 5 day forecast for Jose (currently still packing 115mph sustained winds). Incredibly, after brushing Cape Cod - it may begin to loop back around to the south. And we need to start really watching Hurricane Maria in Figure 6. It is following a track south of Irma early on, then a bit north like Jose after that. What will happen beyond day 5? You'll have to tune in here to find out (or watch any of 100 hurricane Websites and apps <wink>).
