Lots To Follow This Week

After a record-breaking chill during the opening week of June, a nice recovery has taken place over the past 6 days. The mean temperature has risen sharply from more than a dozen degrees below average to the current 3 degrees below average. However, that string of "red" days will be broken as temperatures go yo-yo this week starting off with today's 60 degrees which is 17 degrees below the average for June 15th. A bump up to the upper 70s on Tuesday & Wednesday will be followed by a dip to the upper 60s Thursday followed by a spike to the lower 80s Friday and a possible fall to the upper 60s again later next weekend.

We will have several opportunities for rain this week with the highest probability today. After that, a few late boomers are possible Tuesday followed by scattered showers again Thursday into early Friday. The one wild card exists sometime next weekend . That is all dependent upon the track of the remnants of what could be the next tropical depression of the season which may become

a minimal tropical storm called Bill. It will strike the TX coast with a swath of flooding rains tonight into Tuesday. Presently, it appears the axis of 10-15" rains will just miss the Houston area but slight shifting could make a huge difference. The circulation and its lobe of moisture will likely track across the Ohio Valley and perhaps enter New England late Saturday to early Sunday. Once that exits, there could be a burst of hot weather for a day or two in a week from now.

One of the final features to follow is the conjunction of the crescent Moon, Venus and Jupiter next Friday and Saturday night. Considering the present timing of the many systems this week, it should be clear to view this celestial event on Friday night but the clouds arriving from the remnants of the potential tropical storm could be here Saturday night. Look to the western sky about an hour after sunset. By the way, the earliest sunrise of the year occurs today!

Looking ahead a bit, the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter will be spectacular from June 28 through July 2! Hopefully, we'll get some decent viewing with not too much haze and just a few clouds on a few of those nights.

In conclusion, the summer solstice happens on Father's Day- next Sunday at 12:38pm. That is the official beginning of astronomical summer which ends on September 23rd at 4:21am.

Thanks to WSI, WeatherBell plus Sky & Telescope for the various graphics and maps included in this blog.