Sunday, June 7, 2009

Stuck in the Liquid Sunshine in Florida, A Winter Wonderland in the Dakotas




You can see the lingering lousy low that will not go away in southeast Georgia this morning. This low pressure is the culprit for all of the heavy rain across the First Coast and do not expect it to move away anytime soon. We are in a holding pattern as this area of low pressure is stuck between a high pressure in the northern Gulf of Mexico to its southwest and a high pressure over the Carolinas to the Northeast. This is unusual for Florida in that we once again saw several hours of continuous rain yesterday. Usually it rains for less than 40 minutes this time of year and then you can get on with your plans. Not this time around. The rain was relentless and our rain-maker was the product of a trough split. You can say this beast formed due to the unusually stormy and snowy weather in the Plains and Midwest. Dickinson, North Dakota turned into a winter wonderland with its first June snow in 60 years.

Kids usually have the shorts out and swing away. Yesterday they were searching for sleds in their hats and gloves as two to four inches of snow blanketed the area.


The picture above tells it all. The sun pops out for a few minutes but do not let it fool you. It should really be called "liquid sunshine". With plenty of moisture, lift, and heating of the atmosphere this fires up more rain showers and thunderstorms. It's like nature turns up the heat on a stove and our atmosphere is that pot of boiling water. It certainly boiled over yesterday. You can see how the sunshine quickly gave way to a sky that was almost as dark as night. Here is how it looked before I got on Interstate 95 yesterday.



I quickly put away the camera and then went through a torrential downpour. This low pressure if anything will slowly drift south and then southwest over the next couple of days. I do not think we will return to our more typical summer pattern in Jacksonville until Tuesday at the earliest but at this point we will just have to take it a day at a time as this storm has a mind of its own. This weekend here in St. Johns we have totaled almost one inch of rain and look for another one to two inches of rain before this system finally winds down by the middle of next week.


At least I did get to the ballpark with my two oldest daughters on Friday night and watched the Suns beat the Mudcats 5 to 2. It was their first baseball game and they had a great time. We sat near the field near the first baseman and that kept us all on our toes. We did not catch any balls but had a few close calls. We saw a few towering home runs as the wind blew out to left field. It was also Hurricane Preparedness Night and we got our tracking charts. That is what a great night at the old ballgame. Check back on the blog for a tropical update coming your way on Monday which does include a tropical wave in the Caribbean that is trying to get its act together. Nothing is imminent but it may be a sign of a named storm in June over the next couple of weeks. I am heading to a birthday party. Thanks for reading and take care. Do not let the rain wash you away!

9 comments:

JIWB said...

Hey Mike. Looks like a little while of being in FL, have given you a TAN! ;) I was out at the lake yesterday with my Dad doing some fishing and got me a nice one as well. It was HOT yesterday in the sun. Even hotter in the sun by the water! LOL.....

Sounds like you all had a great time at the ball park!

Next time you go back have a hotdog for me! LOL :)

Your friends in Indiana.....

Anonymous said...

Watching/reading you from Indiana, Mike! Looks like you are having a blast with the girls!

MA in REM

Anonymous said...

Mike-looks like your girls, all of you are having a great summer!

Has been beautiful here, the last few days in Lafayette IN, I think that could change today.

My daughter is getting ready for a big vacation with her dad, They are heading to Costa Rica, the end of this week lucky them!

I dont think she is too thrilled, will be in the Rain Forest, she has had enough of rain LOL!

everyone-enjoy your day!

Teri in Indiana

Unknown said...

Mike - fan of you when you were in Lafayette, and now you moved back to my old stomping grounds in Jacksonville, Florida - I am also a runner and enjoyed many of the annual "river run 15K" races. Have a framed race poster from 1985 in my living room. You will have opportunities for races every weekend. Take care and I hope your family will love Florida

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