Good morning bloggers,
It is May Statistics Day! It rained 17 out of the 31 days last month, but the total rainfall was just barely above average. It took yesterday's light rain just to get us a bit above average for the month. Here are the May Stats:
It was 88 degrees less than a week ago, but there weren't many warm days last month. As we move through June summer will arrive. The jet stream is weakening and shifting north. The jet stream is caused by temperature contrast. During the winter it may be 40 below zero in Canada and 90 in Mexico. This 130 degree contrast drives the stronger and farther south jet stream. During the summer it may be 40 degrees above zero in Canada and 110 degrees in Arizona. This is a 70 degree spread compared to the 130 degree spread, or contrast. The jet stream will lift north and weaken as the warmer air arrives.
This map above shows a trough swinging across Kansas City this afternoon. It will produce a chance of showers today, and then by the weekend the jet stream retreats as you can see below:
This map above shows the jet stream has retreated north into southern Canada with a dip south over the Pacific Northwest by Saturday. This will allow for a rather substantial warm up here in the plains. I think I can speak for most of us in saying that we are ready for this big warm up.
We will continue this discussion tomorrow. For now, we have another mostly cloudy day with a chance of a few rain showers. Have a great start to your work week!
Thank you for spending a few minutes of your day reading the Gabbing with Gary blog. Have a great Tuesday.
Gary
