8:30 AM MDT Friday, June 19, 2020.
10:00 AM MDT Friday, June 19, 2020.
A vast brown cloud of Shara dust can easily be seen in the first image above moving westward off the Northern African Continent. In the second image above we see the same dust cloud depicted in blue and pink shades.
Here Comes The Sahara Dust!
Is this for real? Yes, it is. And really it happens just about every summer. If you have wondered what causes those dull hazy summer skies with fiery sunrises and sunsets then here is your answer. Sometimes this occurs as a result of vast clouds of Shara dust that is blown westward from the Northern Africa Shara Desert by low-level and mid-level easterly and southeasterly winds and into the Southern U.S. Even as far west as Texas and New Mexico.
NASA Dust Cloud Extinction Analysis.
Valid At 6 PM MDT Thursday, June 18, 2020.
NASA Dust Cloud Extinction Analysis.
Valid At 12 AM MDT Friday, June 26, 2020.
By late next week (Friday the 26th) or a week from this blog post, we may see some of this Shara dust begin to work its way into West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. As depicted in the NASA model forecast above. Notice how thick it is forecast to be along the southern Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisana.
Heat Wave To Continue Into Next Week.
Today.
Today Into Next Week.
Saturday.
Sunday.
Monday.
Tuesday.
Our hot dry weather shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Which is pretty typical for the middle to end of June. Although June 15th officially marked the beginning of our annual summer Monsoon season, here in Southeastern New Mexico more often than not we usually don't see it kick in until around the 4th of July or later. Long time ranchers and farmers always told me that if it hadn't started raining by the 4th of July then expect a long hot dry summer. More often than not this turned out to be true over the past fifty years of my lifetime.
Recent runs of the various computer forecast models continue to bounce around and struggle with just how hot we will be next week. I still think that Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday may see our afternoon highs soar up into the 105º to 110º range across SE NM and parts of W TX. We are coming up on the hottest weeks of the year normally and as you can see below the daily record highs for the next four days are pretty toasty.
Record Daily High Temperatures.
Friday, June 19 | Saturday, June 20 | Sunday, June 21 | Monday, June 22 |
108 | 108 | 109 | 109 |
1996 | 1996 | 1981 | 2018 |
Friday, June 19 | Saturday, June 20 | Sunday, June 21 | Monday, June 22 |
111 | 107 | 108 | 109 |
1960 | 1960 | 1935 | 1960 |
Friday, June 19 | Saturday, June 20 | Sunday, June 21 | Monday, June 22 |
110 | 110 | 110 | 110 |
2012 | 1998 | 1942 | 1978 |
Friday, June 19 | Saturday, June 20 | Sunday, June 21 | Monday, June 22 |
109 | 110 | 110 | 108 |
1998 | 1998 | 1960 | 2008 |
Friday, June 19 | Saturday, June 20 | Sunday, June 21 | Monday, June 22 |
93 | 95 | 95 | 93 |
1981 | 1981 | 1981 | 1953 |
Friday, June 19 | Saturday, June 20 | Sunday, June 21 | Monday, June 22 |
87 | 85 | 88 | 84 |
2010 | 2001, 2012 | 1981 | 1960 |
Isolated Severe T-Storms Today In Far SE NM.
Isolated to widely scattered high-based thunderstorms may impact parts of the local area later this afternoon and early this evening. Damaging thunderstorm wind gusts in excess of 60 mph along with localized areas of blowing dust will be possible with the stronger storms. Hail will be possible with a few of the stronger storms as well. Deadly cloud to ground lightning will also occur with any thunderstorm that develops.
Stronger and more wide-spread thunderstorm activity is forecast further east into the northeastern Permian Basin and northward.
The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction!