The comfortable and dry weather pattern that we’ve been experiencing in recent days will continue right through the upcoming Labor Day weekend and into the early part of next week. A cold front will cross our area by early tomorrow and this system will be followed by high pressure for the weekend and first half of next week. The incoming high pressure system had its origins in central Canada and it will come with some cool air for the end of August/beginning of September...some suburban locations are likely to drop into the lower 50’s for overnight lows.
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The month of August has been quite kind in many parts of the nation with numerous cooler-than-normal air masses dropping into the US from Canada. A strong cold front pushed off the east coast earlier this week and set the stage for widespread cooler-than-normal conditions here at midweek that extend virtually from coast to coast. This air mass had its origins in the Arctic region and has resulted in more than one hundred tied or broken daily low temperature records on Wednesday and in Atlanta, Georgia, the low temperature today was 55 degrees which tied their monthly low temperature record. I expect to see another large number of stations on Thursday morning with record or near record low temperatures in the eastern US.
Looking ahead, the pattern will repeat later next week with another much cooler-than-normal air mass dropping into the US from Canada bringing a refreshing cool start to the month of September across the eastern half of the nation. This pattern has also been quite dry in parts of the nation including the Mid-Atlantic region and the next several days don’t offer much hope with respect to the chances of some soaking rainfall.
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One cold front pushed through the region on Monday morning paving the way for a few days of comfortable temperatures for late August and a second one will cross the area from late Thursday night into Friday. This next cold frontal passage will set the stage for a dry and comfortably cool Labor Day weekend with overnight lows in the 50’s in most areas. The month of August comes to an end on Sunday and it’ll end up averaging cooler-than-normal all along the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor.
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A cold front pushed through the region early yesterday and its passage has set the stage for a great last week of August and a reinforcing cool shot of air will arrive for the upcoming weekend. Widespread cooler-than-normal air now encompasses much of the eastern half of the nation and below-normal temperatures will be the rule of thumb right through the upcoming Labor Day weekend which should be dry and pleasant.
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A sounding rocket mission from the NASA Wallops Island Facility in Virginia that was set for Sunday night has been rescheduled to later tonight with a launch window from 10pm to 3am. The TOMEX+ mission was cancelled last night due to local cloud cover and high seas in the recovery area left behind by Hurricane Erin. Those in the Mid-Atlantic region may be able to catch a glimpse of the rockets depending on the weather conditions, and it is currently looking quite favorable for viewing later tonight. According to NASA, the main purpose of the mission is to investigate the “mesopause” which is one of the planet’s most turbulent atmospheric regions.
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A cold front is working its way through the region this morning and it’s passage will set the stage for a very nice week in the Mid-Atlantic region to close out the month of August. The month has already been filled with plenty of comfortable weather and average monthly temperatures are slightly below-normal in the DC (-3.1°), Philly (-1.3°), and NYC (-1.7°) metro regions. The next several days will feature cooler-than-normal conditions with high pressure firmly in control of the weather in the Mid-Atlantic.
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An upper-level trough will push into the northeastern states later today and raise the chance for afternoon and nighttime showers and thunderstorms in the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor. Hurricane Erin (category 2) will curve away from the east coast during the next couple of days partly as a result of this incoming upper-level trough and begin to accelerate to the northeast on Thursday and is likely to be positioned over the open waters of the North Atlantic by later this weekend. Despite Erin’s track well to our east, rip currents and rough surf will be a big problem along coastal sections during the next couple of days and there can be some beach erosion and flooding at times.
A second high pressure system takes control of the weather for the late week and beginning of the weekend with sunny weather and comfortable temperatures expected on Friday and Saturday. Looking ahead, there are signs for cooler-than-normal conditions across much of the eastern half of the nation for the last week or so of August and we’ll have two tropical systems to monitor on the heels of Hurricane Erin that are now in the eastern Atlantic (may become Fernand and Gabrielle).
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Erin has weakened during the past 24 hours and has now lost its “major” hurricane status and is classified as a category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. The long-anticipated curve of Erin has begun with a movement currently to the northwest at 9 mph to be followed by a northerly push on Wednesday and then an acceleration to the northeast on Thursday. While Erin has weakened in recent hours, it has also expanded in size and its outer perimeter winds are likely to reach tropical-storm force levels across the Outer Banks on Wednesday and potentially even to hurricane-force levels. Rip currents and rough surf will extend all the way up the eastern seaboard for the next couple of days and beach erosion/coastal flooding is on the table in many areas. The biggest impact along the Mid-Atlantic coastline will come later Wednesday night and Thursday with strong winds impacting coastal sections from Long Island-to-New Jersey-to-the Delmarva Peninsula.
Looking ahead, there are two other tropical systems now in the eastern Atlantic, and they’ll have to be monitored during the next several days...any impact from these two systems would be from next week into the following week which would take us into the early part of September. Also, a cooler-than-normal weather pattern looks like it’ll set up for much of the eastern half of the nation for the last week or so of the month of August once Hurricane Erin exits off to the open waters of the North Atlantic.
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High pressure to our north will continue to produce an ocean flow of air around here for the next couple of days helping to keep temperatures cooler-than-normal for this time of year. It’ll be unsettled as well with an occasional showers through tonight and then they’ll be a chance of showers and thunderstorms from tomorrow afternoon into tomorrow night associated with an upper-level trough of low pressure.
Hurricane Erin - now a category 3 storm - will curve away from the east coast during the next couple of days partly as a result of this incoming upper-level trough and by Thursday, it’ll begin to race to the northeast towards the open waters of the North Atlantic. Despite Erin’s track well to our east, rip currents and rough surf will be a problem along coastal sections during the next few days and there can be some beach erosion and flooding at times. A second high pressure system takes control of the weather for the latter part of the week and beginning of the weekend with nice weather and comfortable temperatures expected on Friday and Saturday.
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Erin has strengthened today and is now a category 4 “major” hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and is moving to the west-northwest at around 10 mph. Hurricane Erin will begin a turn to the northwest later today followed by a general turn to the north from Tuesday into Wednesday and then it’ll begin an acceleration on Thursday and take a sharp turn to the northeast.
Even though the center of Hurricane Erin will remain offshore as it curves away from the east coast, its strength, expansion in size, and the prolonged nature of an onshore flow of air will likely result in significant impact to the Outer Banks of North Carolina where beach and coastal damage may be extreme. Elsewhere along the east coast, rip currents and high surf are likely along many coastal sections and there is likely to be beach erosion and coastal flooding with a prolonged period of onshore flow.
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