After an up-and-down April, we are back up to start May. And it looks like we may stay near or above normal for the entire month without a few days mixed in where we are below-normal.
Looking at the temperatures for April compared to normal, we had a few stretches of above normal temps with only a few dips below normal.
This isn’t a big surprise given how warm the Gulf of Mexico has been compared to normal. The Gulf surface waters have cooled a bit during the last few weeks, but the water below the surface is still well-above normal.
That will likely spell a pretty warm – and muggy – Summer for us.
Or, as explained by ChatGPT:
In the shorter term, the NWS and WPC are concerned about excessive heat as we get toward May 7 through May 11. After that point the pattern should shift slightly and help to ease us back to normal, but it may feel like near 100F on a few of those days when you factor in the humidity.
Back in March I wrote: “We may quickly springboard into a pretty hot June from a mild May. I also wonder if we see another prolonged severe weather season, too, that lasts into June.”
Instead, it looks like the warmer temperatures may shot up two weeks earlier than I thought back in March. And we may springboard into a hot mid-May with a sharp cutoff of severe weather.
Keep in mind, though, that when facing a potentially active hurricane season, one would rather face the scorch of the sun than the wrath of the rain.
REGIONAL DAY TO DAY FORECAST
Today: Areas of fog this morning. Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds around 5 mph.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly cloudy. Patchy fog in the morning. A chance of thunderstorms with a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 60s.
Monday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.
Monday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 60s.
Tuesday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.
