AquariusRadar

Hurricane Helene soaked the Southeast Florida, Georgia,Carolinas, and Eastern Tennessee, eliminating all dry. Bad flooding in mountain valleys; not a good way to end drought.

Not much change in the drought map. Some improvement in western Montana. The big storm Helena coming ashore should help in the Georgia, Carolina, the Tennessee Valley, and the upper Ohio valleys such that next weeks map will see the improvement in the east.

Some good rain in Montana today should show some relief in next weeks map. The downpours came too late to help this weeks map. Generally , across the nation dry conditions continue except the Northeast where normal conditions prevail.The Ohio river valley stays dry with a slight expansion of the extreme drought area.

The traditional peak of the hurricane season has passed with very few storms, contrary to the predictions. Some of these predictions are based on the premise that warmer air can hold more water vapor. That is true, if the water can get there. Under current global warming conditions, where the air above the ocean surface warms faster than the ocean surface below, the intensity of the marine layer is greater and steadily increasing. Greater temperature differential means stronger low presssure systems are needed to lift moisture so winds aloft can distribute the moisture via the cyclone and atmospheric rivers. Temperature inversion along the ITCZ now makes for fewer thunderstorm clusters that feed water to the upper atmosphere. The Atlantic storm zone now abnormally quiet. With the exception of the Northeast, the North American continent is increasingly dry. In contrast, serious flooding still occurs around the world. Mostly thunderstorm "training" the result of stalled cold fronts. The cold air of the polar regions simply not as robust. Previously-decades ago-cold artic air plunged through the continents with breakneck speeds. Years ago a Canadian clipper could race down through the plains to freeze Florida oranges in just 48 hours. In today's world of weather, the movement of cold fronts is sluggish, frequenlly stalling out to create flooding in a confined area instead of distributing the rain widely along the moving front. The double whammy of global warming; drought and flooding.

Continued slow expansion of dry conditions. Todays arrival on the Gulf Coast of Hurricane Florence should alleviate the dry through middle of the east Tennessee valley, southern Ohio , and West Virginia.

The maximum time of hurricanes is a week away and so far the season has been very quiet. Only 3 storms in the Atlantic so far. The next two weeks should point to the activity in the last half of the season. As the air cools above, most storms should occur in the October- November period. Some storms even in December?

Slow expansion of drought and dry areas continue. New Hot spots emerge in Alabama, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Only New England remains drought free.

Unfortunately, the dry cranky weather continues in Texas and in general across the country extreme cases of drought continue to emerge.

Extreme drought in West Texas and New Mexico expands. Minor expansion in Montana and a new tiny area in Wyoming.

Storm Debby has completely eliminated the dry of the Piedmont of the Atlantic coast. The extreme drought of northern Virginia and Maryland also curtailed.Some expansion of drought in the Pacific NW. The wheat country in Oklahoma and Kansas continue very dry.

Storm Debby should eliminate any dry in the Carolinas for sure. But the dry continues to expand in the West.

All the science evidence says the air temperature is increasing and the ocean surface temperature is also increasing. The ocean surface increases at a much slower pace than the air. So air average temperature around the world may be up 1.4ºF and the ocean surface may be up 0.14ºF. This increase in air temperature results in a dramatic inrease in the impact of the marine layer. This temperature inversion has always been present. The stronger marine layer inhibits water vapor from reaching the upper atmosphere as it traps the moisture at the ocean surface. The increased marine layer means low pressure systems must be stronger to overcome the inversion in order to lift water vapor to high altitude. In general, gobal warming inhibits moisture from rising to heights required to generate rain clouds over the oceans or otherwise be transported by atmospheric rivers to the continents.. Overall, warmer air can hold more moisture-if water vapor can get there. The science community forgets that the ocean is the principle source of water for the water cycle and that water must evaporate and exit to the atmosphere in order that the water cycle operates. Cooler water vapor is trapped at the ocean surface by warmer air above. The water vapor is not bouyant. It cannot rise. The chances of World drought is enhanced. Trees, on the other hand, transpire water vapor with positive buoyancy; the leaves of the forest canopy absorb sunlight and the water vapor leaves the surface of the canopy with a temperature greater than the air temperature. The moisture has positive bouncy and can rise on it's own accord. So cutting the trees down adds to the water cycle problems. The world has a worse drought problem in the future ahead.

Not much change in the map.

The NWS precipitation 10 day says the Tennessee Valley is predicted to get some good rains. Texas not so much. A new but small area of exceptional drought is noted in western Montana. With the execption of the Mississippi, almost all of the headwaters of our major rivers are dry or in drought. The eastern dry expands somewhat.

Surprisingly, extreme drought has pop up in Northern Virginia and few scattered locations in the Tennessee Valley. The western Montana drought now has a small patch of extreme conditions. Dry areas consume all of Oregon and seems to be expanding in norther California and Nevada. Overall the Northwest is very dry.