There was a big difference in rainfall patterns during the month of May across the ACF basin. The image to the left indicates either a surplus or deficit of rainfall for the month. Note that northern reaches of the ACF basin received as much as 5 inches more rain than normal while southern reaches were much drier receiving 4 inches less rainfall than normal. Blue Water Outlook 1 June 2013
Significant Rainfall Events In May May 4-5 May 18-19 Blue=Wind Green=Hail Tell Others About The ACF Report! The ACF Report is sponsored by the Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center at Albany State University. one can subscribe for notifications about updates of the free ACF Report at: http://bluewateroutlook.com/acfreport/ Blue Water Outlook 2 June 2013
The above image is a time line representation of drought classifications for Georgia over the past year. The most recent observations are on the right side of this graph. Note the absence of drought over the recent past. However, the story is a bit more complicated. The following image is an accumulated rainfall plot for Atlanta for the past 90 days. Green-shaded areas indicate a surplus of rainfall. The most recent readings are on the right. Note the increasing surplus of rainfall over northern reaches of the ACF. Atlanta Past 90 days Now, take a look at far southern reaches. Here is a 90-day accumulated rainfall image for Tallahassee. You can see almost completely opposite conditions, with increasing rainfall deficits (brown-shaded spots). Tallahassee Past 90 Days Number of Measurable Rain Days Due to the rapid decrease in rainfall over the southern third of the ACF basin, drought impacts have once again started to emerge. Blue Water Outlook 3 June 2013
Drought Outlook June-July-August Upper Chattahoochee Insight Rainfall was well above normal for the month of May over northern reaches of the ACF. Much of this rain came during one event, May 18th, where over 6 inches of rain fell right over Lake Lanier. Somewhat light amounts were indicated east of Cleveland, but for the entire month, rainfall was 2 to 3 times normal. Blue Water Outlook 4 June 2013
Coverage of the 2013 hurricane season will commence on June 1st, the start of hurricane season. The BWO Hurricane Season Update will be issued throughout the season and cover many aspects of tropical weather. All BWO subscribers will receive email update notices. This information is available to everyone, not only BWO subscribers. If you know of anyone who might be interested in this information they can sign up at: http://bluewateroutlook.com/hurricane Early Season Hurricane Outlooks 1. There are three primary factors that these active season forecasts are based upon: A continuation of a multi-decadal cycle of higheractivity that began in 1995. Tropical systems that develop very early in the season are typically quite weak and generally short-lived. Most systems develop close-in, usually within the Gulf of Mexico. The following graphics depict origins and prevailing tracks of June tropical cyclones. Several early outlooks for the 2013 hurricane have been issued. There is a consistency between these forecasts, all calling for above-normal activity. Accuweather: The early-season outlook from Accuweather calls for an above-average season, with 16 tropical storms and 8 hurricanes. They are also calling for 4 of these systems to become major hurricanes. University of Colorado: Above normal with 18 tropical storms and 9 developing into hurricanes. NOAA: 13-20 named storms with 7-11 hurricanes. Keep in mind that it is not how many hurricane develop, the critical issue is how many will make landfall. There have been recent active years with minimal U.S. landfalls. There have also been quiet years with only a few storms have made landfall with big consequences. BWO will cover critical steering winds and patterns through the hurricane season. While June tropical systems do occur, you can see that the peak ramp up of activity does not typically start until late July and August. Blue Water Outlook 5 June 2013