THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR...

Memorial day 2020 was memorable from a weather standpoint for its warm summery conditions. The combination of warmth and humidity that had been lacking all spring finally came together. Highs in most of my area reached the mid 80s, (the highest levels of the year so far). Iowa City topped out at 87 and took honors for the warm spot. These are readings around 3:00 pm.

Once convective temperatures were reached in the low to mid 80s storms popped on a scattered basis. You can see the pop corn nature of the convection nicely on the hi-res satellite imagery. It fizzled quickly after sunset.

This overall scenario with warm humid conditions and scattered thunderstorms is likely to continue for several more days as as a warm tropical feed remains anchored in place. Additionally, an upper air low centered over the southern Plains will also eject spokes of energy northeast from time to time that enhance the strength and coverage of the storms. You can see the set-up in the 500mb flow below.

Notice the water vapor that's now available over the central and eastern U.S. This type of look is a sure sign of the summer season ahead.

It's also 1.5 to 2 times greater than what's typical for late May over the Midwest.

With multiple chances of rain through Thursday it's a good bet that that more heavy rain falls in parts of the region, especially west of the Mississippi in Iowa. The Weather Prediction Center shows this for rain the rest of the week.

The EURO has a similar look but a little further east.

The GFS weighs in with totals that look like this.

The rain threat comes to an end Thursday night when the southern Plains trough is ejected allowing northwest flow to plunge into the Midwest for the coming weekend. This is the 500mb jet stream flow Friday morning.

Look at that dry air surging into the Midwest.

Dew points by Saturday morning will be in the 40s, down abut 25 degrees from where they reside through Thursday.

With high pressure back in control the coming weekend will be pleasantly cool and dry. Highs both Saturday and Sunday will be in the upper 60s to near 70. Heat and humidity returns by early Tuesday with some active storms a distinct possibility. Until next time, roll weather...TS