"The Blob"

Shown is the current radar image and latest surface analysis. "The Blob" is just off Florida's West Coast and steadily approaching.

Phase I of the double barrel frontal system has passed, providing 0.15 inches of rain at my place. The much more aggressive system and main cold front is steadily approaching on schedule...wish I could buy a ticket and take a ride along with it way south. As you can see from the other graphic..there's a train of weak low pressure system riding along the frontal boundary..(I drew those fronts and lows in). The main low is producing quite a bit of rain and even some lightning...so a rumble of thunder around noon time (specifics to follow) is not out of the question.

TODAY: The timing is PERFECT! (so what does that mean?) Phase I has passed. Phase II (the second 'boundary') approaching. I have noticed a trend over the past hour (it is now 9:23am) of some isolated heavier 'mini heavy-showers' developing ahead of "The Blob"...which is steadily progressing in a more or less eastward fashion. Some of these might become lightning producers as we work toward noon. But the main thing to watch for, believe it or not..is strong wind gusts near 40mph if not more as we work toward noon and the micro-storms formulate and progressively work east. Nasty little suckers they might be. But VERY isolated...the gremlins you could say.

The TIMING: It appears "The Blob" and company will be arriving almost right at max-heating, or in today's case, highest sun angle. This will be between 11:45am to 2pm. Assuming it holds together....(sort of a Big "IF")...anywhere from Stuart to Daytona on on the east coast of the peninsula could experience a good period of moderate rain with intermittent heavy spurts...all in all though..due to the progressive nature of the system..rainfall totals won't be anything worth noting except in the old rain gauge. BUT, there is the chance of thunder (some of those cells (rain storms) on radar look suspicious..and with the strong low level winds we have just..and I do mean JUST over our heads..any heavy downpour will transport, or drag down, those winds to the surface (ground level...where we are at..:0).

In any case (cutting to the point)...if one of these per chance downbursts happens to bless you..it could get 'super windy' for a brief time..in the severe category possibly..in fact, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) out of Norman, Oklahoma has much of the peninsula 'outlooked' in a "See Text"...in other words, the set up is worth mentioning, as has just been done here.

But the even bigger and more affirmative story, which to me equates to the end of the earth as we know it, is the cold air. Suffice it to say, and I know I've hammered this to death the past couple of days, get your Snuggie, Blankie, Whateverie...that keeps you warm..prepped. Personally, I guess we're forced here to actually wear socks and shoes..and long pants?..GASP!

The main front to go through in the 1:30Pm -3:30pm time frame..everyone except for maybe Lake Okeechobee and points south should be cleared of the front by 6:00pm. Temperatures on the west coast of the state really won't be much different as has been the case the past couple of days when we had relatively calm winds. We'll get to "share the wealth" in other words.

This front will be ushered in with a good cool blast, but the temperature drop probably won't be as rapid as was 'threatened' yesterday. The big drop will happen though in classy fashion..heralding a prolonged period of sub-normal-standard-acceptable-tolerable-ad nauseous temperatures. In other words, it will be colder than what one would expect for this time of year.

TUESDAY MORNING: Yup, right now..you'd think by then we'd be warming up right? Alas, such is not to be the case. This system means business..and business is good. We could actually see frrrreeeezzzzzing along the coast. Just a possibility....I won't believe it until the evil whites of its eyes is evident. So that's still a few days away.

Before then: Tomorrow morning thru Monday..Lows in the low-mid 40s..colder pockets in the upper 30s...highs near 58. Don't know if we'll ever see the old mercury in the thermometer get above the 60 degree line..but I bet it will on my sun/wind protected porch. Otherwise, it will feel very cool. Dress accordingly...for the next week. I wonder if this will be "our winter" for the season?