Lack of rain is really frustrating & more records to set

The lack of rainfall continues to create some serious frustration around the state. I'm guessing most of us have moved into a "believe it when I see it" kind of mood anytime chances pop up in the forecast.

Weekend rainfall amounts will be far from enough to do much of any good. As of Friday night, here's where the August rainfall records stand:

Given the forecast of limited moisture between now and the end of the month, we will likely have ourselves a top 10 driest in many locations. 

It's also been a very hot month, but probably NOT a top 10 finisher. However, think about this for a moment:

We are likely going to tie for 2nd most "days at or above 90" in August. 

Setup next week:

The forecast is not at all very clear. We've seen so many different possibilities of what could setup. No matter what happens, odds for some good, soaking rain continue to be very low. There's a chance we could have some weak energy in the central Plains around Wednesday or Thursday (Aug. 31st/Sep 1), but even if we do, I think the best we could hope for are pop-up storms (or isolated). It's really sad. 

One model develops some very spotty rains mid-week, while a second model has nothing at all. It's about as clear as mud, and given our latest track record of getting rain, it's hard to be overly optimistic at this point. 

It's such a low confidence forecast that we've been holding off putting rain in the forecast - a false sense of hope is never good in these kinds of situations. 

Latest model outlook for September: It does offer some hope, but it doesn't look like the month ahead will be super productive for rain - but hoping it has more than July and August have had for Kansas.

Hurricane season (in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico) has been a dud so far:

Consider for a moment that the peak of the season is coming up September 10th. Only three named storms so far, and we are on track to have one of the longest gaps between named storms. Even though the season has been slow, there can still be quite a few systems between now and the end of November (when the season usually shuts down for good)

It does appear that as we head toward the Labor Day weekend, there could be a couple of tropical systems moving across the Atlantic (and perhaps the Gulf too), so be watching for some updates on that as the holiday draws near.