As mentioned before, we are forecasting our first 90 degree temperatures of the year.  We are expecting 91 degrees for a high.

As is many times the case on a sunny and warm day, an Air Quality Alert has been issued for the Nashville area for ozone.  The alert is in the “orange” level and is intended for “sensitive” groups like people with asthma and other lung diseases. 

Ozone is good in the upper atmosphere where it filters out ultraviolet light so we can survive.  However, at the surface where we live, it can be hazardous to breathe.  It is created by heat and sunlight combining with automobile exhaust.

Although the dry humidity will allow for a very pleasant evening with temps falling quickly once the sun sets down to near 60 in the city, with 50s in the outlying areas.

But the same dry air will allow that temperature to rise very quickly on Monday to around 91 by Monday afternoon.  The last time the temp was 90 or above was September 13th of last year.

We should remain mostly dry until Wednesday and Thursday when we expect showers and t’showers.  There is a slight chance of a few early evening isolated t’showers late Tuesday after another day of anticipated 90 degree weather.

It has been rare this late spring to get a completely dry weekend, but it looks like this one is the exception.  Sunday should be mostly sunny with highs in the mid 80s.

The sun will continue on Monday, with highs pushing to around 89 to near 90.  Getting a little toasty!

By Tuesday, we will have a slight chance for some isolated afternoon pop up showers, but more significant rain chances come Wednesday and Thursday of next week.

There is a slight chance that a few showers or t’showers will push into the extreme northeastern parts of Middle Tennessee this evening from places like Dale Hollow Lake onto the Plateau.  Even those chances are only around 20% while the rest of us have no rain chance at all (including Nashville).

We need some days to dry out, and it looks like we will get them, though it will be getting on the warm side.  Sunday’s highs should be in the mid 80s.  On Monday we should see upper 80s to 90.

We should remain rain free until a slight chance appears for Tuesday afternoon.  Shower and t’shower chances are more likely Wednesday & Thursday of next week.

After six of the last seven days with rain (and afternoon storms) we get a run of drier weather just in time for the weekend.  Some morning clouds should break apart late morning. Then a just a few clouds develop in the heating of the day. We have a northwest wind bringing in lower humidity, highs today should barely reach 80 degrees. The next chance of rain is a very slight one Saturday night and early Sunday. A weak cold front will push into the middle Tennessee during that time frame, below Predictor shows some storm/rain chances along that front. Most of the weekend will be dry with temperatures in the low 80’s tomorrow and mid-80’s Sunday.

One more day of storm risk across middle Tennessee before we head into a dry end to May. A cold front moves over slowly through the day. Just ahead of it storms should develop in the heating of the day. Since the front will clear the plateau in the early evening we are concerned that during the peak of the afternoon some strong storms will form. From Nashville and I-65 to the east there is slight risk of severe weather with damaging winds the main threat. Highs today will reach into the low 80’s. There will be a little bit of rain and weak storms move through tonight on the backside of the front. Then a run of dry weather starts. Tomorrow some clouds and highs in the upper 70’s. By weekend mostly sunny and in the mid-80’s. Below is how Predictor puts most of the rain/storm chances from Nashville and to the east.

Joseph Goodman sent us this picture from Lebanon, TN of a t’storm cloud over University Medical Center while he was eating some good BBQ at Stroud’s.  It looked scary, but luckily produced no severer weather.

If you are watching Stormtracker above this late morning, you can see the storm that pushed through Camden, Waverly, and Erin Tennessee, approaching Dickson as of 11am.  The lightning count was in the thousands as the storm moved through Waverly and Erin, but is down in the 500 range as of 11am (that’s still a lot of lightning in 15 minutes).

IF the storm holds together, it could be in Nashville between 11:30am and noon.  Other storms were already breaking out in north parts of Davidson  County.

It looks like a farily active day for pop up storms with the most dangerous threat being lightning and possibly some hail.