WEATHER BLOG: July Swing

A ridge of high pressure is going to slide to the east, and it'll eventually be consolidating off the coast on Sunday and Monday. So, we could still see only few isolated showers and a thunderstorm over the higher terrain. We will see temperatures around average for this time of the year. High temperatures will be in the middle to upper 80s. Then tomorrow, as some more humid air begins to make its move northeastward as the wind shifts to the south and west, we're expecting this weather pattern to start to 'unravel', albeit rather slowly. For example, there can be a couple of showers and heavy thunderstorms west of the Appalachians as early as Sunday morning. But, the odds seem to favor that these will take until late Sunday afternoon or Sunday night to reach the I-95 corridor and the coastal plain. Most
temperatures will be in the lower 90s on Sunday, so the eventual uptick in the humidity will certainly make it 'feel less comfortable' than today. We're very concerned about just how things could play themselves out around here early
next week. Even the Storm Prediction Center, which issues a 'long range outlook' for potential trouble spots, is suggesting Tuesday can be a volatile day. The big reason why is (here's that popular phrase from last winter), the "polar vortex", will be digging into the Midwest and Great Lakes Monday and Tuesday. So, as some vigorous jet stream energy swings through the base of a deep, upper trough, and those 'cool and warm air masses collide' over the Ohio Valley, the mid-Atlantic states and in the Northeast -- we may be looking at a series of strong or severe thunderstorms across the region early next week, with the potential for flooding rains. By next Wednesday and Thursday, our temperatures could be no higher than 80 or so, which is a few degrees BELOW normal for mid-July.