Warm-up expected soon in Starkville; Forecasting Contest Begins

Good afternoon, everyone! It's been Chamber of Commerce weather here Starkville, MS as sunny skies and drier conditions have persisted. It looks like this weather will sustain itself for the rest of Sunday where temperatures have been in the mid 80s in the Golden Triangle area. Tonight, the dry air and clear skies will allow for optimal radiational cooling. NWS-JAN is calling for Monday morning lows in the mid 50s for Oktibbeha County.

For Monday, HPC forecast surface maps are showing a ridge near the mid-Atlantic coast. The GFS and NAM are hinting at more of a southeasterly flow by 0Z Tuesday (7 pm CDT Monday). Warm air advection from the Gulf of Mexico will help increase moisture and raise temps and dewpoints. A chance of rain exists for most of the week as moisture continues to increase and as a low south of the area begins to inch its way back to the north, per NWS-JAN's forecast discussion.

FORECASTING CONTEST

In Weather Analysis I, students are required to participate in a forecasting contest. Unfortunately for Starkville residents and my friends back in the Gainesville-Ocala area, we are given cities to forecast and they change every so often. In our class, the contest officially begins Tuesday and will start with Wednesday's forecast. However, I will start a day early just to get in the habit of doing it. The first city: Atlanta, Ga.

My desire is to post my forecasts on here for the required four days per week. So, expect a brief discussion on the given city with the predicted high, low, amount of rain and rain amount chances. As usual, I appreciate comments and discussion from blog readers on my forecasts.

I'll make posts on Starkville and beyond as needed. Maybe this will get me back in the habit of noting weather back here and at home. Stay tuned...