unusual Texas meteorology (Austin Statesman)

Here's a little more detail on our atypical summer from our local daily news source, the Statesman. (Note, if you are visiting from the Future, welcome. Sorry that these stories may already have expired. I hope you are comfortably cool and dry in the Future.)

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/29/0629junerain.html

"June comes in as the third- or fourth-wettest month of the year," said Lower Colorado River Authority meteorologist Bob Rose. "But usually the rain occurs earlier in the month."

...

Rose said a ridge of high pressure usually forms after the first couple of weeks of June, preventing storm systems from moving across the state. But this year the ridge of high pressure has split to the east and west, allowing a stationary upper-level low-pressure system to spin over the state, drawing in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

Rose said the forecast for the summer looks wet.

"Long-term models say this pattern may be over Texas for a couple of weeks and bring scattered activity to the area," Rose said. "This pattern is not typical at all for June."

While the 19 inches (revised upward) in Marble Falls in 24 hours was very local, similar problems are occurring elsewhere in Oklahoma and Kansas as well as in Texas. Here's a map of recent flooding in Texas:

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/29/0629weathermap.html

Local humorist John Kelso on the benefits of the local climate shifting toward more rain, which he calls "global dripping":

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/29/0629kelso.html

examples:

When you get to work in the morning there's not some jerk in the elevator asking, "Hot enough for you?"

You don't have to spend a lot of money on sunblock.

That overpriced $750,000 loft in downtown Austin you just paid for might be worth it, since it's on the third floor, which may save your carpet.

Pet grooming is easier. You can shampoo your dog and just set him outside to rinse.

Update: Another month has passed, basically raining most of the time. I blogged further on July 27.