Well, it’s late June and we have our first Tropical Storm of the season. Arlene is located in the Gulf of Mexico and will most likely slam the Mexican coast before dissipating over Mexico. It shouldn’t have any threat to the US mainland whatsoever. If any details change about Arlene, I will let you know. For right now, however, I wouldn’t start worrying about this one.

Here is the current radar image of Arlene. I wouldn’t expect her to get much more organized in the limited ocean space she currently has:

There were a few nasty thunderstorm cells that pulled through the area yesterday. One passed through Montgomery and Bucks counties, before eventually dissipating over New Jersey. The other storms passed through South Jersey, where one death was confirmed by the National Weather Service. Both of these storms created problems for residents in the Philadelphia area. There was one report of a house almost catching on fire from a lightning strike in Newtown, PA. In Hatboro, PA there were reports of multiple trees down, and in Ocean County, NJ, there were reports of power lines down.

The storms that hit yesterday, as I said in yesterdays post, were scattered. It will be a similar story today. Right now skies are cloudy in much of the area, but as the clouds burn off during the day, strong thunderstorms will pop up during the afternoon hours. These storms will look similar to the ones that hit yesterday. I would expect strong winds, hail, and some minor rotation where they hit.

I will update as the day progresses

UPDATE 3:15 PM Wednesday: There is a Severe Thunderstorm heading to Bucks and Mercer counties. Right now it is over Lansdale, Montgomery County. Expect it at Doylestown at 3:35 and Richboro at 3:50. It will be in NJ closer to 4:15. If you hear thunder, move indoors immediately!

 

After a fairly quiet week and a half, we are going back to the stormier pattern for the end of this week. A frontal boundary to our north has brought in an unstable air mass, which will harvest strong thunderstorms and some isolated super-cells for the next few days. These storms will be widespread, but scattered. Philadelphia may get 4 or 5 severe storms over the next few days, and Doylestown may get none. It really all depends on location. As I’ve said in previous posts, keep your eyes to the skies. If you see any dark clouds approaching, move inside and secure any outdoor furniture. These storms have the potential to cause a decent amount of damage where they hit.

Here is the simulated radar for later today. According to this model, parts of the area would be experiencing a severe thunderstorm (as shown by the yellow color over the Philadelphia area):

As of right now, there are two cells of concern that are approaching the area. One is in northern Montgomery, moving east. The other is just north of Baltimore, moving almost stationary. I expect that more storms will be flaring up as the day progresses, so I have posted a live radar on this post to keep people informed.

Live Radar

Temperatures are going up near 100 right now as the heat and humidity build in front of a major scuall line heading down from the Northwest. As of right now, there is a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the area until 10 PM. There is currently a high risk of hail and high winds in excess of 70 mph.

Here is the current radar as of 3:45 PM

The squall line will reach the northern parts of the area at around 6 PM and move out of the region by 7-730 PM. Please keep a watch on the skies. If you see dark clouds, get inside immediately! These storms are extremely dangerous and will pack quite a punch where they hit. I will continue to update as the storms get closer

Heat Wave #2: It will be a bad one. After the last week of beautiful weather, it is only mother-nature-like to have a nasty heat wave right after. A very hot air-mass from Mexico will be moving into the area tomorrow, raising the temperatures into the low 90s. By Wednesday, the high could get to 95-96 degrees as the air-mass parks itself over the region. The hottest of the three days will  undoubtedly be on Thursday, where the temperatures could reach 100 degrees! Truly amazing stuff for early June. There is an Excessive Heat Warning out for the area, as the air quality will be unpleasant to say the least.

Here is the NAM’s predicted temperatures for Thursday afternoon. The scale only goes to 95 degrees, and it is showing temperatures hotter than that.

And here is the forecast: