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Another work week is done(for many)! Time to discuss the weekend forecast and to update the our rainfall numbers so far this September. Also, we'll look at some 'twisters' in space from the Hubble telescope. These are awesome!
Let's start off by looking at our rainfall numbers so far this September at KCI. This past Wednesday added about another 1.00" to our montly total at KCI. The total for September now stands at 9.78".
Here's the breakdown of the wettest September's of all-time.
1. 16.17" 1914
2. 11.58" 1961
3. 11.34" 1977
4. 10.90" 1905
5. 1040" 1986
6. 9.78" 2008
Most of our nearly 10" of rain came during the first half of September. Not only has it been very wet here but also in areas like Chicago which recorded record rainfall a couple of Saturday's ago. My friend that works at KCI sent me this photo from O'Hare airport in Chicago from Saturday, September 13 when 6.64" of rain was recorded. I guess they are taking the snow plows for a test run in advance of winter!
If you are wondering O'Hare has recorded 12.81" of rain so far this September!
Now it is time to look at maybe a first ever picture of 'twisters' in space! This picture is courtesy of NASA from the Hubble telescope. Here is the description of the picture from NASA:
This Hubble Telescope snapshot unveils a pair of one-half, light-year-long interstellar "twisters" -- eerie funnels and twisted-rope structures (upper left) -- in the heart of the Lagoon Nebula (M8) which lies 5,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.
The hot, central star, O Herschel 36 (upper left), is the primary source of the illuminating light for the brightest region in the nebula, called the Hourglass. The glare from this hot star is eroding the clouds by heating the hydrogen gas in them, seen as a blue mist at the right of the image). This activity drives away violent stellar winds that are tearing into the cool clouds.
This is by far one of the most fascinating pictures from space I've ever seen. Not only are the 'twisters' in the picture but just seeing the other stars in the distance thru the Nebula is pretty cool.
The weekend forecast looks pretty good right now. Highs should be the warmest on Saturday with 82-84 in most areas. Sunny to partly cloudy skies should be the rule, but late in the day a weakening front will give areas from St. Joe and points north a 20% chance of an isolated shower or t-storm. The metro should stay dry though.
On Sunday I think everyone is dry with highs a few degrees cooler than Saturday. Overall it should be a great weekend for those attending the races at the speedway and the fans at the Chiefs game.
A bigger change may arrive by mid to late week as cooler air returns to the area. This could push our highs back into the 60s for a couple of days. The GFS and EURO both keep the coolest air over the Great Lakes and slide the trough east by next weekend. So the really cool stuff(60s) shouldn't last too long. Morning lows would likely drop into the 40s for a few mornings. Depending on cloud cover, wind, and the position of the high some spots in Missouri...probably north could drop into the upper 30s.
Here is the 500mb forecast map from the 18Z GFS for early Friday. Notice the large trough over the Great Lakes.
This would likely produce the first lake-effect snow of the season for parts of the Great Lakes. When I lived in Marquette, MI back in 2000 there was a 10"+ snowfall the first weekend of October. So snow isn't uncommon in northern areas this time of year.
Have a great weekend and please tell your friends and family about our blog and newscasts! I'll update the blog as needed Saturday morning! Thanks for making this the best blog around!
Jeremy