May 5, 2008
by WVUA Weather
Once again, our week started off with a chilly morning followed by a pleasant afternoon. The way things have been going lately, the rainy weather has been holding off until late in the week. This pattern has been in place for about the last 3-4 weeks. With that said, dry weather will prevail yet again for the first half of this week. High pressure centered just off the coast of Louisiana will build eastward and keep our weather pleasant though at-least Wednesday. There has been quite a bit of return flow on the backside of this high and this is producing rainy weather back over Texas. Debris clouds associated with this activity will pull our way and we will have a partly cloudy sky for tonight and tomorrow.
If you see a couple of meteors flying across the sky tonight there will be a reason behind this occurrence. Earth is passing through a region of dense comet dust left behind from Halley’s comet. The best time for viewing the meteors is during the predawn hours looking east; however, the southern hemisphere is expected to get the best show. I will have more information posted on the Blog later today.
By Wednesday a front will be approaching the northern edge of the high pressure ridge and this feature will come to a stall. A couple of waves of rain and thunderstorms will ride along this front and we could see some thunderstorms action, mainly scattered about late Thursday and into Friday. The best chance for a passing thunderstorm or shower will be in areas north of Tuscaloosa. A stronger south flow will develop on Saturday as the flow becomes more amplified in advance of a deeper trough. You can expect a front to drop in on Sunday and bring a better chance of rain and thunderstorms. Right now the data is saying the front will clear the area, but the zonal wind profiles, advertised by some models, have me scratching my head. We may see this front stall to our south; therefore, we are calling for a partly cloudy sky, with a stray shower or thunderstorm possible on Monday.
Wes Wyatt
Chief Meteorologist
Tonight the ETA Aquarid meteor shower will take place. This is one of the many few meteor shower occurrences that can be seen from anywhere in the world. The ETA Aquarid meteor shower occurs due to the left over trail dust from Halley’s Comet. The earth passes through the comet dust twice a year: once in May and the other in October. Around 70 meteors per hour may be seen in the southern hemisphere, while meteors that are seen in the northern hemisphere will be around 40 per hour. The ETA Aquarids are named after a 4th-magnitude star in the constellation Aquarius. The best time to look for the meteors is during the predawn. The meteors will be coming out of the east and the best place to get a view of the meteors will be outside of the city, away from the city lights. A new moon phase will help the viewing. So just keep your eyes peeled for the ETA Aquarid meteors!
