Pity the dogs; PM thunderstorms all week
So how does your dog do with thunder and lightning? What about the cats? They're in for a bout of loud weather this week as the National Weather Service folks out at Sterling predict 30 to 60 percent chances for showers and thunderstorms every day this week.
I've never owned a dog, but I can remember when I was a kid, our cat used to make a bee-line for the boot box under the basement stairs whenever he heard thunder (or sirens). There must be a million pet-and-thunder stories out there.
Here's the set-up: The high pressure that produced the fabulous weekend weather we just enjoyed has moved out to sea.
It's been replaced by plenty of warm, humid air ahead of a cold front to our west. Add sunshine and a series of disturbances moving across the region, you get instability. And that means mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms.
Reminds me a bit of when we first moved to Baltimore from Massachusetts in June of 1980. It seemed like we had thundershowers every evening that month. We thought we had moved to the tropics. The old Ford Fairmont had black vinyl seats and no AC; it was torture. Of course, the house had no AC, either, for the next five years. Welcome to Baltimore. But, I digress.
Instability this week will be especially high in the eastern half of the forecast area, Sterling says. That means east of the mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. Some of the storms could become severe, with the danger of damaging winds and large hail. Least likely to see storms tonight is extreme Southern Maryland.
Today will be the warmest day of the week, if the forecast holds up. They're calling for a high of 85 degrees at BWI. It's already 80 here at The Sun, with the relative humidity at 74 percent. Anything above 70 percent starts to feel pretty sticky. But temperatures later in the week will slide a bit, only reaching the low 80s by mid-week, and the high 70s by week's end.
The highest risk of showers and thunderstorms would seem to be Tuesday and Thursday. A cold front arrives Friday, reducing the risk of rain. But that won't last long. Shower chances remain in the forecast, and the warm, moist return flow returns Saturday as that high moves out to sea.
(SUN PHOTO by John Makely 2004)
Comments
I have a dog that has been scared to death of thunder all her life. If a storm comes in the middle of the night while I am asleep, I will be awakened by a 70-lb dog on my chest. Fortunately, now that she has become hard of hearing, she isn't as disturbed by storms.
Send your rain over way. Here in Texas, we could use it.
Posted by: beni | June 8, 2009 12:29 PM
Sometimes our dog will confuse a low-frequency thunder boom for a stranger stomping around upstairs, which will cause her to start barking. Other than that, she's pretty apathetic towards thunderstorms.
Posted by: Sam | June 8, 2009 2:57 PM
Hi Frank, What a surprise...more rain!!! Now we're getting AM T-Storms in advance of our usual PM ones. Looks like another washout...It's been all of what, two days since our last monsoon. I can't wait for this nonsense to end. I'm praying for a drought!!! Thanks.
Posted by: Dan | June 9, 2009 8:15 AM
I adopted my yellow lab when he was about five years old. He HATES thunder and fireworks. Unfortunately, I live about five blocks from the stadiums. I have (had) a cellar door and the first New Year's Eve that I had him, he ate through the door, tried to get behind the gas stove, pulled down the shower curtain, all to try to get somewhere that was not booming! I finally got him some doggie downers, which help if I know that there will be fireworks or big storms. But I really hate to do that to him, and would rather have all 65 lbs of him try and sit on my shoulders so I can comfort him.
Posted by: pigtown | June 9, 2009 12:50 PM
You may want to look at The Anxiety Wrap (www.anxietywrap.com), a patented product that works without drugs to end/lessen thunderstorm fear in dogs. It's mentioned in Dr. Temple Grandin's new book, "Animals Make Us Human."
Posted by: Kimberly Ring | June 9, 2009 11:31 PM