Mid-August Weather Pattern

A normal pattern for mid-August is setting up. Small dips and ridges will be common with the jetstream, though high amplitude troughs and ridges are not expected. Every few days a dip in the jetstream will track across the upper Midwest and send a front in our direction. Seasonal temperatures are also on tap with highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s to around 70. We'll have to keep an eye on the tropics because if a system were to track into the Gulf, the Bermuda high may steer it northward. Inland flooding is always a concern when a tropical system makes landfall. Remember Ike and Gustav from last year?

TROPICS UPDATE

The tropics are heating up and we have two named storms in the Atlantic basin. Both Ana and Bill are tropical storms with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Both are moving westerly at 16 to 17 mph. Ana is forecast to maintain a more westerly track and Bill a WNW track. This subtle difference is HUGE because Ana is forecast to track over more land than Bill which means Ana will be weaker. Bill is forecast to track a little bit further northward and become a hurricane by Wednesday. The Bermuda high is directing the storms due to the clockwise flow around the system. The U.S. (Florida) may be impacted by Ana as soon as Thursday, however, Ana may only be a tropical storm at the time. A lot can change between now and then and both of these systems will need to be watched closely.