Thanks to nearly four inches of rain from former tropical storm Barry, rainfall in Central Park has already surpassed the average amount for June. On the other side of the world, Cyclone Gonu, also currently known as Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Gonu, or more prosaically, 02A, has become the strongest cyclone ever recorded over the Arabian Sea. Gonu has become the first tropical storm known to make landfall in Oman, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Muscat. The storm is expected to weaken as it passes over cooler water and into drier air as it heads northward toward the Strait of Hormuz and Iran.
Fascinating facts: A cyclone over the Indian Ocean or Arabian Sea is meteorologically the same thing as a hurricane over the northern Atlantic or Pacific. Over the latter, tropical storms are given alternating male and female names. Gonu, however, means "a bag made of palm leaves" in the language of the Maldives.
No worries about tropical storms for the rest of the week here in the Big Apple. A high pressure system has mostly kicked out the last remaining humidity brought here by Barry. Today should be cool and clear, with a high only around 70 degrees. Tomorrow will still be dry but a few degrees warmer, except along the south-facing shore, as an upper level ridge builds.
The upper level ridge, combined with the surface high pressure system moving offshore, promises to deliver us a hot and sticky Friday. Manhattan should top out around 90 degrees. Locations along the shore should be cooler, while interior New Jersey will be hotter. The heat will be short lived and the weekend weather should be pleasant.
This morning's uneventful surface weather map from Weather.com.
