Chicago’s 90° tallies have soared after similarly warm Mays
Significant rains appear a possibility by the coming weekend for a section of the country desperately in need of moisture—but also for a region which has received too much rain in recent months. Parts of wildfire-scarred Florida, where rainfall deficits since March 1 exceed 6" in many locations, could be in line for beneficial downpours. A jet stream, well south of its normal location, sets the stage for rain development. This sub-tropical jet is to begin lifting humid Caribbean air east of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in coming days, lowering barometric pressures and producing t-storms in the process. The disturbance which results is to drift north across Florida late this week into the coming weekend. Though computer rainfall projections tend to over-forecast rain in full-blown drought situations like Florida’s, the region’s abundance of warm ocean water increases the odds of the rain actually occurring. Rainfall won’t extend to all sections of the parched state, but some projections suggest local 4"+ totals aren’t out of the question.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist