Prolonged Stretch Of Unsettled Weather

By CBS 3 Weather Team

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ? It feels like a scene right out of the movie ?Groundhog Day.? The Philadelphia region has been stuck in the same steamy weather pattern since earlier this week, and the pattern doesn?t look to be breaking anytime in the near future.

The Bermuda High, a strong high pressure system which sets up south of the Azores Islands, has stationed itself off-shore and to our east. The clockwise flow of the high has been bringing a general southerly wind to the Philadelphia region, allowing the warmer temperatures and humidity from the southern states to creep north.

The pattern has also been influenced by a trough set-up, which is located over the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley Region. As the trough continues to deepen further south, tropical moisture and humidity are being siphoned up from the Gulf of Mexico along the eastern side of the trough.

This has helped enhance the chance for showers and storms, moving disturbances from the Gulf of Mexico and the warm southern waters up the eastern seaboard. We have seen measureable rainfall each of the past five days at Philadelphia International Airport, and the Storm Prediction Center has placed our area under a ?Slight Risk? for severe thunderstorms later Friday afternoon.

With measurable rainfall being recorded 13 out of the 27 days completed in the month of June, Philadelphia is knocking on the door of the 10.06? June monthly record. As of Thursday, Philadelphia has received 9.37? for the month, making it the second wettest June of all-time, and only 0.69? is needed before Monday to tie the record.

Friday?s showers and storms will move through the area in the late afternoon and early evening, and Saturday looks like the better day of the weekend. Rain returns to the forecast on Sunday, lingering around throughout most of the day. The work-week is filled with showers and storms almost every day as the unsettled pattern continues at least beyond the Fourth of July. Instability in the atmosphere will also keep the potential for strong storms in the forecast also.

Meanwhile, we saw our second heat wave of the year Monday through Wednesday, and temperatures are expected to hover in the mid-to-upper 80?s through the July 4th holiday.

Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/06/28/prolonged-stretch-of-unsettled-weather/

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