High (Clouds) & Dry! 

A weak front moved through central Florida Thursday without much fanfare, a few sprinkles and showers out over the water -- other than that, it was mainly dry. With that front stalled across the area today, we saw plenty of cloud cover and cooler weather, but another rain-free day! In this La Nina winter, even when fronts do manage to make it into the area, it seems we just can't buy a shower. As you might remember, we're coming off the driest Januarys on record in Daytona Beach and Melbourne, and the third driest in Orlando.

The satellite picture from this afternoon tells the story. Check out all of the clouds dominating the sky from the central Gulf east into the western Atlantic -- but not much moisture near the ground! The problem? A high pressure ridge (sinking air) remains in place aloft over central Florida, keeping any rain producing clouds (for the most part) out over central Gulf coast. The front that's helping to produce the rain out across the central Gulf coast will eventually move into our area, but lose a lot of its punch doing so. The result? We end up with just a 10% chance of a shower for your Super Bowl Sunday and a meager increase to 20% on Monday.

In the meantime, we're closing in on another record in Melbourne. Today marked our 38th consecutive day without measurable rainfall in Brevard County. This ties the record for the 2nd longest stretch of rain-free days (1961 and 1967 had similar streaks). We're just eight days away from tying the 46 day record dry stretch from late November 1968 to early January 1969. There is some hope, though, that we won't break this record! Our models have been pointing toward a wave developing in the Gulf mid to late next week, tapping into tropical moisture, and pushing across the area by next Friday. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Otherwise, enjoy your warm and (mainly) dry weekend!

Brian Monahan