Weather Roundup Early August 2014

Some of the long range forecasts are starting to come out for the fall season.  The first one I saw was this visual put out by accuweather that indicates that the main general pattern that we have been in the last couple years will continue into the fall with a ridge and warmth in the west, and a trough with cooler weather in the east.  I was hoping for a change this year because I really don't want another super cold and snowy winter this year too.

Hawaii, the land of paradise, has been hit on the main Island with its first hurricane in over 20 years.  This was not a major hurricane at all, quite minimal actually.  There were some tornadoes reported in some bands and it was preceded by a mild 4.3 earthquake.  A second hurricane is heading for the region and expected to give a glancing blow to the Islands.  Throw in a volcanic eruption and a tsunami and you have just about the full spectrum of disastrous weather in the span on 48 hours.

Washington and the pacific northwest continue to literally be a hot spot with many fires burning.  Washington state had its biggest fire ever this year and the weather patterns are not going to offer them any help or relief any time soon. 

The inland southwest has been getting a lot of rain of late.  Some areas have seen some of their worst flooding in years as monsoon storms are dumping large amounts of rain and not really moving all that much.  It is a bit too much of a good thing as the area does need to have rain





Mostly the country is in the dog days of August and the patterns and storms are not really moving all that much.  August typically is a calmer month with popcorn storms being the norm over large storm systems, but usually come the end of the month into September we start to see the volatility come back as colder air starts to reclaim its territory.