Dry Times
We have seen some dry times around here recently. Since the beginning of September Philadelphia has received just .40" of rainfall. If this trend continues, this will be the driest month here since September of 2005 (0.21"). Philadelphia itself is not alone in the dry spell as nearly the entire Delaware Valley is below normal in the rain department this month. Some places (in the brighter red) are running at only 10%-25% of normal rainfall month to date, with the dark reds in Chester County being 5-10% of normal rainfall.
Out to the last 90 days, the August rains some of us saw have only helped ease the dryness. North Jersey and Central PA, two places that were pretty wet in August, have only seen 'normal' precip when the dry weather of July and September was factored in. Much of the Philadelphia region, according to this precip analysis map is running between 50 and 75% of normal for the past 90 days.
You can thank the westward expansion of the Bermuda High for the lack of rainfall in our region. Typically, the Bermuda High parks itself just off of the East Coast and the southwest wind pattern that we would see from it would provide moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Since the high is farther west, over the Southeastern US, we have been stuck with a dry pattern as the Gulf of Mexico moisture source has been shut off. Until this high pressure breaks down or weakens, which would allow the Gulf of Mexico to be utilized for rainfall, or until a remnant tropical system can impact our area like Erin did last month, we will likely stay in a drier than normal pattern around here.
Out to the last 90 days, the August rains some of us saw have only helped ease the dryness. North Jersey and Central PA, two places that were pretty wet in August, have only seen 'normal' precip when the dry weather of July and September was factored in. Much of the Philadelphia region, according to this precip analysis map is running between 50 and 75% of normal for the past 90 days.
You can thank the westward expansion of the Bermuda High for the lack of rainfall in our region. Typically, the Bermuda High parks itself just off of the East Coast and the southwest wind pattern that we would see from it would provide moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Since the high is farther west, over the Southeastern US, we have been stuck with a dry pattern as the Gulf of Mexico moisture source has been shut off. Until this high pressure breaks down or weakens, which would allow the Gulf of Mexico to be utilized for rainfall, or until a remnant tropical system can impact our area like Erin did last month, we will likely stay in a drier than normal pattern around here.Technorati Tags:
