THURSDAY: There’s a slight chance of thunderstorms today and tonight as a cold front moves through the region. However, there isn’t much support for thunderstorms. They’ll be scattered at best, and perhaps no better than isolated. Otherwise, we’ll be mostly sunny with a high of about 86 degrees, dropping to around 64 degrees at night.
THE WEEKEND: Dry conditions will return for the weekend, along with warming temperatures. The Friday night football forecast is excellent, with temperatures falling through the 70s after a high of 85 degrees, and no chance of rain. We’ll be in the mid to upper 80s on Saturday and will likely approach 90 degrees by Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: We’ll start next week dry with temperatures pushing 90 degrees. Slight chances of rainfall return to the forecast by Tuesday, and we need it, as we’re getting quite dry. However, these rain chances are very low. On the whole, next week looks quite warm, with temperatures in the low 90s much of the week. The heat wave doesn’t look to abate much as we head into the Labor Day weekend and beyond.
FURTHER OUT: Overall, September looks like a warm month. There were strong indications that we’d see above-average rainfall this month, but the focus for above-average rainfall appears to be shifting to the western half of the country. In fact, if current trends continue, we could end up with below-average rainfall for the month of September.
RIVER CONDITIONS: Streamflows are about normal for this time of year, with the Big South Fork near 150 cubic feet per second (cfs) and Clear Fork under 30 cfs. Water clarity is excellent. Water temperatures are topping out a little above 80 degrees during the peak of afternoon heating. It should be a great weekend for wading and swimming at your favorite swimming hole.
TROPICAL WATCH: A tropical wave southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands continues to move west and could become a tropical cyclone over the next couple of days. However, atmospheric conditions are expected to become increasingly hostile to further development, and it is currently unlikely to be a threat to the United States. Otherwise, an extremely quiet Atlantic hurricane season continues.
WINTER OUTLOOK: One of the strongest El Nino patterns on record will influence our winter weather, though it’s too soon to know what the exact impacts will be. The most likely impact is above-average rainfall for the Southeast, and that could extend far enough north and west to include our area. Strong El Nino patterns are also associated with fewer intrusions of cold arctic air, although temperatures are much more dependent on smaller-scale atmospheric patterns that are not determined this far in advance. Due to the more active southern branch of the jet stream that is associated with El Nino, some of our region’s biggest snowstorms have occurred during strong El Nino years. Again, it’s too early to predict major snows for our area.
TODAY: The United Methodist Church’s Gerry McDonald Mission House will be open from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and you can pick up food once a month. Call (423) 569-8828 for more details. The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will offer exercise from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tonight, high school soccer finds Scott at Union County and Oneida at Sevier County. Gametime is 6:30 p.m. at each location.
