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Carvers Gap

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  1. The Plateau has taken a beating during the last several severe seasons. That runs so counter to reasoning, but yet, there it is. High elevation storms.
  2. @John1122, that cell to your west looks nasty. Keep us updated.
  3. El Niño is usually far more favorable for the eastern valley.
  4. Pretty textbook El Nino early summer pattern on several recent GFS runs. Fingers crossed not only that it verifies but also continues!
  5. The next two weeks look abnormally dry. Let's hope that is short-lived. I don't think there is a significant drought upcoming given El Nino, but...that is how droughts get anchored(early and prolonged absence of rain during early summer). Again, I think that is unlikely, but for those at any level of agriculture... it is a royal pain in the tail.
  6. Out of Riverton, WY, today. It sounds like @nrgjeffwrote the afternoon disco. LOL!!! Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Riverton WY 128 PM MDT Fri May 19 2023 .DISCUSSION...(This evening through Friday) Issued at 126 PM MDT Fri May 19 2023 High pressure is currently building over the state today. And normally, this would mean a nice spring day with sunshine, mild temperatures and light to moderate wind. The problem is courtesy of our neighbors to the north, where smoke from the abnormally large fires in Alberta and Saskatchewan are making going outside like stepping into a bar in the 1970s when the requirements were a leisure suit and a pack of unfiltered Camels. My lungs and throat are begging for mercy. Anyway, it looks like the smoke should, hang around at least through the night. As for the chance of convection, it is not zero. However, the rising heights as well as the smoke are decreasing instability. There could be a couple in and near the mountains, but a vast majority of the area will remain rain free.
  7. Good to hear. The West is baking, so Nino appears to be establishing itself as we speak. Likely means the hangover from La Nina is just about over. Nino summer are decent in terms of temps. Moderate to strong Ninos during winter are.....not so much. Highs in the 50s. Lows in the 40s. Cloudy for weeks. Snow chances very low west of the Apps, much lower west of the Plateau. The Apps do ok...valleys -> it is very tough. Leaning towards an upper end-weak Nino to moderate. BIG differences in the TN Valley between weak and moderate. The good thing is that we are coming off three consecutive La Ninas and the SST gradient may help us. The pool of analogs will likely be quite small. As of now my thinking for temps: Dec: Much AN Jan: AN but transition to seasonal as the month progresses(overall temps AN for Jan) Feb: Seasonal Snow(areas east of Plateau): Dec: Well BN Jan: Normal-ish(big question mark here) Feb: Normal Precip: AN Fall and Winter Interestingly, the endless summer of La Nina climo will be less likely this fall. Might see a cooler start to fall in regards to normals, and then AN temps as fall ends and winter begins. If the El Nino stays weak for DJF, the eastern valley would be in play from mid-Jan to early March. Nino winters are sit-and-wait since they are often back loaded.
  8. Plenty of lightning in NE TN this AM. Lasted for a couple of hours.
  9. Rainy pattern looking likely for at least the next seven days. Transition from spring to summer and Nina to Nino make this a very tricky time to forecast. My guess is we see some MCS stuff for a couple of weeks and then switch to typical summer rains. If Nino is finally taking over in terms of the troposphere, summer heat might be tolerable. Next winter looks quite warm if this goes to a moderate to strong state. I would almost go wall-to-wall. Still holding back on that for now.
  10. Looks like we have our first "sort of " MCS complex arriving from the north early this afternoon in NE TN. So far, the storms don't seem to be overly severe as the thunderstorm warning were just dropped. We will see if they re-strengthen which can be a common characteristic as the afternoon warms.
  11. Yeah, anytime you see a trough over E NA during late spring or early summer...hang on tight. It has been a while since we have seen that threat. But man, when it locks in...better make sure the insurance is good. They do a lot of damage up here. They can have a difficult time getting over the Plateau, but if they can overcome the hilly terrain in SE KY and SW VA, look out. NE TN gets hammered by those far to often. I really don't like them. LOL.
  12. I don't have access to LR modeling right now as I normally cancel subs during the summer. Looks like ensembles want to park a stout ridge out West in the medium and LR. That "should" help with drought conditions here - maybe? Nino signal for sure on those ensembles. Are they too quick? Maybe. Maybe some concern for MCS influence when that comes into play. @nrgjeffwill have the best handle on the upcoming pattern. Maybe he will drop by....
  13. Definitely dry IMBY. I see on the US drought monitor that the souther Plateau slipped into yellow. Maybe building drought which is common w/ La Nina during early summer - guessing that is a hangover. El Nino should take over at some point sooner than later...for now definitely dry.
  14. From MRX on FB...great write up: [TECHNICAL POST] Hi everyone! We have read your comments & questions the last few weeks about the wind we have all been enduring so far this year and wanted to share some data & insight into how this wind compares historically and some technical meteorology info that we can use to see how anomalous it is. The line chart is # of wind advisories & high wind warnings issued for Eastern Tennessee, the mountains, and our counties in NC and VA. This archive dates back to 2005, so it’s not an exhaustive climatology. This weather office has indeed issued an unusual number of wind products so far this year. The second image contains two wind roses. These are a bit more technical, but the basics of them are they display wind data by showing where the wind comes from and how strong that wind is. The plot on the left is climatology for Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport from 1970 to 2023 constrained to just January 1 – May 3 of every year. The right plot is just this year’s data. There are two important takeaways from these wind charts. 1. The average wind recorded at Knoxville McGhee Tyson since Jan 1 is the same as the long term climatology, roughly 7.5 mph 2. This year’s wind has been more extreme versus long term climatology. That is we have experienced a greater period of calm winds and a greater period of high winds. You can see this reflected in the wind rose centers where they show the Calm % and the dark red/maroon bars are larger in this year’s plot (right) than they are in the long term climatology (left). The next logical step is to ask “why”. Best guess is the active pattern that existed out west (if anyone has seen the news about California snow) has translated to a good setup for windy days for us. The last chart is the most technical plot of the three, it shows where low and high pressure systems have been anomalously frequent over the same areas of the country. In the blue and purple areas, multiple low pressure storm systems have tracked through those areas and in the green and yellow areas, multiple high pressure ridges have tracked. Between a low and a high, a pressure gradient is formed. For us meteorologists, this plot hints that we have been in a setup this year that has allowed for strong pressure gradients over Tennessee, and that gradient is what drives the winds we’ve been seeing. That same image also explains why we did not see a snowy winter - all of the good setups for snow were out west! So, in conclusion we have indeed experienced some unusually strong and persistent winds here in the Tennessee valley. While it averages out to normal, our windy days have been windier and our light wind days have been calmer. The good news is we do experience a more calm wind-wise pattern in the summer months owing to a different climatological pattern that doesn't allow for these strong pressure gradients to set up over Tennessee. However, summer thunderstorms can always deliver strong wind gusts in their own right!
  15. Nice stretch of early summer weather inbound. Man, today has been beautiful.
  16. Took a trip to Philmont during the late 80s and got caught in a canyon as lightning just hammered our area(fortunately we were not on the ridges). Our campsite had a tree blown to smithereens. We had several instances of lightning during our week long trip. Unfortunately that summer, several scouts would perish due to lightning strikes throughout the course of the summer. Storms there come up quickly and are fierce in New Mexico!!!
  17. That is wild. Not unheard of, but one of the many reasons why tracking weather is interesting. I was sitting at a track meet yesterday in 25mph sustained winds. LOL. We have run meets in 40 degree temps with drizzle, 85F temps, and yesterday the wind tempest(within three weeks of each other and at the same place)!!!
  18. I am noticing our higher elevations have rain/snow mix for tonight on the higher ridges(even Roan Mountain City...might be a good day to check web cams tomorrow for RM). I was hardening off my tomato plants, and getting ready to put them in the garden...guess I had better wait!!! Those mid-80s during early April alway fool me.
  19. WSWs posted for West Virginia? Am I seeing that right? Upper Peninsula in Michigan as well(less newsworthy at that latitude).....May 2nd.
  20. April finished only 0.8F above normal after two days at 85+. Overnight lows were actually below normal which is a testament to the number of days without rainfall - only 2.64" of rain for the entire month of April at TRI. Dry spells equal cold nights quite often here in NE TN. The La Nina hangover is upon us. Hopefully, we see rainfall pick-up by mid-summer. The Mountain West has really warmed up as places in western WY and NE Utah set records for seasonal snowfall.
  21. Snow fell at 5,500' last night(just a dusting on LeConte). Wind chills were projected by the crew at the Lodge to be near 0 overnight.
  22. Whew. Going for record highs on Friday. Not a fan. Looking forward to next week.
  23. I am moderately concerned of a spin-up on the EC(tropical or hybrid). If that occurs, it could usher very cold air west of the Apps. It is probably a red herring in modeling, but it has my attention. My stuff is going in the ground during the last week of April if warm temps continue. Ground temps, even with a cold snap, are unexpectedly decent. The lack of rain has helped warm up temps. So, in terms of frost, I doubt NE TN has seen its last. I am not even sure I have seen the last flake of snow IMBY which seems surreal given the late June temps we have had here! Again, likely warmth continues...but the spin-up is the concern.
  24. Prelim winter 23-24 will be possibly a wall-to-wall torch in terms of temps. Nino outlooks are more robust than they were a few months ago for next winter. Snowfall is a big question as moderate to strong Nino winters can still have big coastals. That idea is dependent on the Nino rising to moderate-strong levels. If it is weak-moderate(I think unlikely), then we are in business. Saving grace might be a failing QBO........
  25. Looks like a return to more seasonable conditions next weeks. Summer is just around the corner.
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