A Cap Tops Off Labor Day Weekend

Monticello, AR- After a very mild night in which the mercury had trouble falling into the lower to mid 70's, temperatures on Monday, Labor Day 2009 managed to climb again into the 90's on the back of partly to mostly sunny skies.

Although some parts of the Midsouth received an appreciable amount of precip when it did rain, many regions south of the I-30 corridor have received little or no rainfall, thanks to a "cap" situated over the Midsouth trailing back into the Arklatex area. A "cap" or "lid" is nothing more than a layer of warm air aloft, several thousand feet up, which inhibits thunderstorm development, even in the presence of very unstable air(which we do NOT have).

Even with the cap in place most of the upcoming week, and isolated thundershower still cannot be ruled out.

Later in the week a cold front will approach the Midsouth and could again increase our precipitation chances.

Until then, enjoy the vestige air of summer for a little longer!

Summer Sets; The "Official" End of Summer is Here

Since Labor Day Weekend marks the official end of Summer, with family reunions, harvest time, college football (GO HOGS), and families trying to squeeze in that last getaway of the year, it's only fitting that last official summer weekend end on a possibly rainy note. After the two past weekends though- we cannot complain!

Moisture is steadily returning to the Midsouth as our high pressure moves off to the east and the semi-stationary cold front dies and interacts with upper level impulses moving downstream in the northwesterly upper-level jet . As these impulses come down the pike, look for rain and thunderstorms to break out intermittently throughout the Labor Day weekend. Although no severe weather is expected, one cannot rule out scattered heavy rain amounts.

Temperatures will remain slightly below the norm for early September standards. By late next week, temps will edge back up to normal, with highs in the mid to upper 80's.