Water vapor molecules set to increase; mid-August chance of rain, too

I wasn’t going  to blog today, but rather than disappoint my reader, and seeing a ooupla photos that were kind of nice, I pushed through the laziness.  I hope you’re happy now….

Also, humid air is pushing up from the S today, and while it hasn’t gotten here yet (dewpoint here in Sutherland Heights next to my gravel driveway being but 36 F now, its in the 60s at Yuma, Nogales and Douglas.  With that invasion of water vapor molecules comes a slightly better chance of a shower, or at least SEEING one somewhere! You might hang out some wash today to further increase the moisture content of the air; it would be a more basic form of “cloud seeding”, maybe “cloud doping.”

Sunset to sunrise, because they imported that way:

SONY DSC
7:19 PM. Cirrus spissatus, in the distance; foreground and center, Cirrus uncinus, if you care.
SONY DSC
6:48 PM. Cirrus fibratus and spissatus. This was kind of funny to me. Looks like a flying ghost or something with outstretched arms trying to grab me, or maybe something else.
SONY DSC
5:36 AM. Cirrostratus fibratus instead of CIrrus because of the all sky coverage.

 

Factoid:  The amount of rain that continues to fall in the formerly severe drought areas of Kansas and Oklahoma continues to astound.  Here, from WSI Intellicast, their 7-days of radar-derived totals. Also note the substantial rains in eastern Colorado and New Mexico.  Good news for all.

Radar-derived rainfall totals for the 7 days ending August 13th.
Radar-derived rainfall totals for the 7 days ending August 13th.  Areas of dark green to yellow indicate totals of between four and TWELVE inches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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(colon deliberately left above at left to provide some tension, some anticipation in case you’re bored already)

5:55 AM. Flakes of a droplet cloud, Altocumulus, rather suddenly appeared or moved in.
5:55 AM. Flakes of a droplet cloud, Altocumulus, rather suddenly appeared or moved in.

By Art Rangno

Retiree from a group specializing in airborne measurements of clouds and aerosols at the University of Washington (Cloud and Aerosol Research Group). The projects in which I participated were in many countries; from the Arctic to Brazil, from the Marshall Islands to South Africa.