10/10/2013 Daily Update: Clouds and Shower Chances Increasing; Phailin Rapidly Strengthens, Threatens Eastern India

Good afternoon everyone!

Clouds start to fill in due to a stalled coastal storm south of us creeping up north and scattered rain chances spreads into the region this evening lasting into Friday.

TODAY: Cloudy with scattered showers late. Highs in the lower 60s. Winds from the NE at 5 to 10 mph.

TONIGHT: Scattered showers with lows in the mid to upper 40s. Winds from the NE at 5 mph.

TOMORROW: Scattered showers with highs in the lower to mid 60s. Winds from the NE at 5 to 10 mph.

The long Columbus Day weekend does look dry, sunny, and seasonable so that's great!

ATLANTIC TROPICS

• Tracking what is Invest 98L SW of the Cape Verde islands. Models aren't enthusiastic at this one and so is the case of this year's tropical season.

NATIONAL WEATHER

• Dry and cloudy in the Northeast with gusty rain showers south in the Mid-Atlantic associated with a stalled low
• Nice weather in the Southeast
• Warm and windy across the South and Midwest
• Rain in the Rockies and Southwest
• Mostly dry in the Northwest, showers in extreme NW areas

WORLD WEATHER

• Tropical Cyclone Phailin in the Indian Ocean rapidly intensified yesterday and now is a Category 3 with maximum winds for 115 mph. Further strengthening is possible today and eastern India is slated to take the full brunt of the cyclone by the weekend. It is a dangerous situation there.
• Typhoon Nari is east of the Phillippines and boasts maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. It is projected to make landfall in the Phillippines Friday evening (Japan Standard Time).
• Narda dissipates in the Eastern Pacific
• Rain over central Europe
• Mostly dry in Australia with the exception of a few showers in New South Wales

IR (NHC enhancement) of Phailin posing a dangerous threat to India
(Credit: CIMSS)

EARTHQUAKES

• There were no earthquakes rated at or above M6 yesterday or so far today.

SPACE WEATHER

• Things have quieted down since the M-class flare two days ago. Sunspots 1861 and 1865 are the ones that are likely to produce a flare if one were to occur today. M-class flare chances are relatively moderate at 25% in the next 24 hours.
• A coronal hole stream may trigger a minor geomagnetic disturbance when it reaches Earth around the 11th-13th.
• Take a peek at SOHO. A sundiving comet from the Kreutz family can be spotted making its death plunge.

One less comet in the solar system after today... (Credit: SOHO LASCO C3)

Sunspots 1861 and 1865 are the most
active of the bunch (Credit: SpaceWeather.com)