The Ring of Fire

High Pressure over Mississippi and Alabama is creating warm temps!

Today’s synoptic features (those H’s and L’s and fronts) give us a nice example of what’s called the Ring of Fire. That High is situated right over Mississippi and Alabama and you can see the clear to partly cloudy skies over the southeast:

Clear skies for the Southeast

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The high is where sinking air is found and you need rising air to get clouds and showers. And, as wet luck would have it, that rising air, or the outer ring, is right over Southeast Texas. We are getting the rain while they are getting the sun and the heat. Look at temperatures today and you’ll see lots of 90s over there:

Temperature map courtesy Air Sports Net Weather

This is why it’s called the Ring of Fire -- the high is in the middle where the clear skies and hot, fiery temperatures are due to sinking air, surrounded by a ring of rising air (clouds and rain).

More Rain For Us

Speaking of synoptics, you can see the slug of rain I circled that has been coming through today and I’ve circled one out of Mexico that will be here tomorrow.

More rain tomorrow

We will begin the dry out Wednesday and will see a hot, dry Memorial Day weekend.

Frank

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About the Author:

KPRC 2's chief meteorologist with four decades of experience forecasting Houston's weather.