Ryan Mahan
Meteorologist
Hattiesburg, MS
:no_upscale()/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/gray/9ec3ed28-4bc8-4b68-868c-e4fa86e9a89e.jpg)
Ryan Mahan’s passion for weather began in 2005 after witnessing the destruction that Hurricane Katrina had on his family and home. With nothing but a point-and-shoot digital camera in hand, he walked miles up and down the Coast to document the tragedy and its effects on the area and people around him. Using social media, he posted the photos and the stories behind them. The reaction from his peers inspired him to pursue a career doing what had, up until then, been a hobby.
A former student of Millsaps and a graduate of the University of South Alabama, he now has a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology with a focus in Broadcast.
Born in Tennessee, raised in Arkansas, and now with over 20 years as resident of Mississippi, Ryan is proud to be a Southerner and to belong to this community.
When not in front of a green screen, you can find Ryan spending time with his wife, Mandy, and son Sigurd. He enjoys all things science fiction, gaming, and staying active at the YMCA.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/GIPW6KWDGJDRHEFLSZX3DY26PE.jpg)
The clouds that have plagued us all week long have finally been forced away, ushering in dry air and sunny, beautiful skies. It looks like we’ll even cool another degree or so more than I though, today’s high now falling to 89 instead of the low 90s. Still slightly hotter than it “should be,” but going to feel much better than the rest of the week did thanks to the low humidity.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/PUNDEXYOVNAPHIHYTBBFGWJGO4.jpg)
That’s right! Drier, low-humidity air is on the way, it’s just going to take some time to filter in. That means today will still be on the humid side of things, but will be ever so slightly drier.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/XVH7YELD6RF4DCWAFW5EOFLKG4.jpg)
Another great day lies ahead, which will be even cooler and drier than yesterday...but just barely. Yesterday’s high was 92 after a start in the mid 70s, while today’s will be around 91 with a start in the low 70s/upper 60s. So, not much of a change, continuing our recent trend of very similar days with subtle changes.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/VEH7OX7W2VEFNADZO54UOHZX4Y.jpg)
We saw a few spotty t-storms pop up yesterday, but today is the first in a while we could call “rainy.” Even then, I only expect it to rain around half the day, but that’s far more than we’ve seen in weeks...potentially months. Thankfully too it isn’t looking like anything concerning, with thunderstorms possible but severe weather not expected.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/GRAJXTXH6JGVHC5K7YY3MFOIRM.jpg)
Still a nice morning ahead for you, but it will be noticeably warmer than the last few days have been. That won’t be all that hard to accomplish considering morning’s this week have been some of the coolest since the beginning of the year, but it will be noticeable. Lows climb from yesterday’s ~61 degrees to today’s 68 degrees, though the afternoon won’t warm much.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/YO2OG3LWC5BURL4ZRHETJEFB5A.jpg)
Don’t expect any dramatic changes in today’s forecast, but we are a little warmer this morning and going to be slightly more humid this afternoon. That’s basically the only change, but that does affect a few things. Little more moisture to work with will lead to a little more afternoon cloud cover, which I expect will “cool” us one degree from yesterday...”down” to 93.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/QSAFCMZMOVDSLNGQU5RRQYI4EY.jpg)
If you enjoyed yesterday’s fall start and summer afternoon, you’re in for a treat as low humidity air continues to dominate. Like yesterday, we started today off with a fall-like temperatures and humidity.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/PBKWWSZGVBG25MHTJERSSY5BOQ.jpg)
It felt pretty good this morning as low humidity and lower-than-average lows moved into the area on the backside of our latest front. It didn’t bring much rain with it, just a few spotty areas closer to the coast, but noticeably drier air has moved in.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/C7VC62ZBS5DWNGKG7SNJJIYAOY.jpg)
Things were slightly cooler this morning, but I have to continue to stress “SLIGHTLY” as these changes continue to be on the subtle side. This morning was about 2 degrees cooler than yesterday morning was, and technically less humid as well, but it’s hard to tell in those misty early morning hours.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/HYN6PYI5ZZD57NZIUXFPRY44PI.jpg)
It hasn’t happened many times this summer, but I expect today’s high could fall to, or even slightly below, our seasonal average. That’s not to say it’ll be “cool” since our average these days is 89 degrees, but that’s already a noticeable drop from the last few days. Yesterday ended up a couple degrees warmer since the rain didn’t materialize in many places as the front stalled out.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/MJVWEVJDZVGA3NLIJHR7JBCB6Y.jpg)
Finally going to see some cooling in the area, but don’t expect anything too drastic...highs will still be above average nearly every day for the next week. Lows on the other hand will be quite nice thanks to the considerably drier air moving in, it just isn’t going to be much cooler. Still, it’ll feel so, so, so much better than our summer has trended so far, giving us quite a nice taste of “fall” a week before it officially arrives.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/OFARHP3N3VCW3O6HYY3NW5XCII.jpg)
Today is another of those rare days this summer where we’ll get a taste of two seasons, a bit of fall in the morning and a bit of summer in the afternoon. We’ve seen a few such days recently, but before that it was non-stop heat and humidity, so it still feels “new” to me at least. It will fell less and less new in the days and weeks ahead though as we head deeper into September and eventually, officially usher in fall. That’s the end of the month though...remember it’s still summer today.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/S5ZKXTE4CZDBPJ77O3PHUDZ6L4.jpg)
Get ready for a taste of August later today as 100 degree highs returns to the area today. Thankfully they won’t be sticking around as long as they did in August...basically the whole month...since we’ll only have them today. Expect a high of 100 by 4 PM, though it is possible a front swinging through could develop enough cloud cover/showers to cool things a degree or two
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/7R3WKPQRGJDF7JJEPFZUZN4H4I.jpg)
I hope you’re able to get outside for a few minutes early this morning, because we’re off to a great start! Morning low temperatures were as low as 67 in the Pine Belt, with a high end of around 71. The humidity was still elevated, so it doesn’t quite fell “fall-like,” but it’s definitely a teaser.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/PWKXNHNQ5RENTLCPIMX4EIFAUE.jpg)
Still on the warm and muggy side to start the day off in the Pine Belt, and we’ll be hot and muggy before you know it. Today that’ll largely be due to the clearing skies and sunshine, which we’ll see quite a bit of today.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/7W2TFKQMFJEP3PDOLIRCU7SN64.jpg)
Things were pretty dry all of August, but we saw at least a little rain starting on Friday and lasting through today before it dries up. Even then though, we didn’t see as much as was possible over the weekend and today isn’t looking impressive either. My hourly rain chances only go as high as 30%, meaning it will rain, but only over about a third of the area at any given time.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/QQHXQH3URFD7LKGQN73FCBRDWU.jpg)
We saw a few drops fall from the sky late yesterday as cloud cover started to build, slowly starting off what’s going to turn into a rainy few days for the Pine Belt! Not looking like a complete washout or anything, but we haven’t seen much consistent rain recently so it may feel that way.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/VGM4BC4TQBFSVA2UIFEFMQLTLI.jpg)
The pseudo-cold front in the area finally brought some noticeably cooler and drier air! Barely noticeable, but noticeable none-the-less as things will feel decidedly more fall-like this morning. Tomorrow morning will still be quite nice as well, but this morning’s low of 67 is the lowest we’ll see this week as the humidity inches back up.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/HB5XUFU5V5AZPPQLSZI2RPGNQM.jpg)
Hurricane Idalia is made landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida after sunrise this morning, but our local weather is looking much more benign thanks to yesterday’s front. It wasn’t much of a front, basically stationary but trying its best to be a weak cold front. I expected a little bit more out of it yesterday, so we didn’t quite cool as much as expected due to a little less afternoon/evening activity.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/ZMT6ZWH4FZBO7NFYBEOX7GJEJQ.jpg)
Yesterday still managed to reach 100 despite a few nearby thunderstorms, but today will cool nicely thanks to a stalling front. That will mostly be due to the easterly morning cloud cover and eventual afternoon showers and thunderstorms. This front isn’t all that well put together at this point, so severe weather won’t be likely or expected, but thunderstorms are possible and could be quite flashy and loud.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/YMSXAWCFNFBIFN4N4GBCGGF6YQ.jpg)
That’s right! Today will be “technically cooler” than yesterday, which is a BIG win since it yesterday was only one degree south of the all-time high temperature record at 105. It’s still going to be quite hot today with a “technically cooler” high of 103, but with the humidity and sun it’ll still feel largely the same.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/K7H7DNHTMNGLNCQSHAAY7GFGPA.jpg)
We’ve been talking about the dangerous heat for months now, seemingly since even before summer, and we’ll continue doing so for the foreseeable future. Today will only be slightly hotter than yesterday and many recent days, but it could be hot enough to tie or beat our all-time high temperature for Hattiesburg. That mark is 106 degrees which was set in June of 1963, and we’ll make a good run at it today.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/LLHKFCX2GBEHRDVUKUSRAEGTR4.jpg)
You read the name of the forecast right, yesterday was our last day below 100 for a while! Even then it was just by one degree with a high of 99, but today’s will continue the slow climb up the thermometer...stopping around 102 today.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/42TZDNJE4FEQJB6JT75GMXQCEE.jpg)
This morning was about as good as it gets for comfortable weather in mid-August, seeing lows as far down the thermometer as 62 degrees in the area this morning! Hattiesburg’s lowest was right around 67, still almost fall-like with the lower humidity.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/JC764IOXOFFBFFHRJU4JAOUS7A.jpg)
Yesterday’s cold front didn’t bring much in the way of rain, but we are waking up to a dramatically improved morning! You might think Fall crept up on us this morning and tomorrow with all this cooler/drier air, but it’s actually just getting us back to where we should be in summer.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/QSVJAZHIFJC73MAEJWGAUWL2YQ.jpg)
Things were about as hot as they were going to get over the weekend and start to this week, but now a cold front is moving in and we’ll see some short-lived relief. “Cold front” doesn’t seem like the right term to use...it isn’t going to be “cold” anywhere in the Pine Belt, but it will be “cooler” and “drier.” It’s exciting, but sadly going to be short-lived, so I’m getting a bit ahead of myself because we won’t notice much until tomorrow.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/QGBBBDVH4VEU5CZHRMDW6CYHCQ.jpg)
No surprise we’re starting down the barrel of another dangerously hot day, with heat indices expected to top 110 again this afternoon. The air temperature itself has surpassed my forecast high for the last few days, wishful thinking I guess, so today I adjusted my numbers up ever so slightly.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/FFV4DMLSCZDA5AJ7C7HFAWO7TU.jpg)
Get ready for another hot one! I hope you were able to enjoy yesterday because it did end up our coolest day of the week with a high of 96, but that was it...now we’re warming up again. Today’s cloud cover should keep us just shy of the triple digits again today, but just barely with an expected high near 98 degrees.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/36Q5NKJ7QNCFPJFD67N44KLQWY.jpg)
You read that headline right, today we’re expecting the coolest afternoon high we’ve seen in several days! Let me go ahead and temper those expectations though...it’s still going to be hotter and more humid than “average.” Still, I think many of you are like me and will take what we can get at this point...which today is a technically cooler high of 95.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/V3ISSSZHABACNIC3JWHUVMLPTI.jpg)
Last week saw a slow build from “slightly below average” highs and lows to ridiculously hot and humid by the end of the week, and things haven’t really changed since then. We expected to see afternoon showers return slowly over the weekend, and while we did see a couple, it wasn’t quite widespread enough to keep those temperatures down
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/IFEE5JOKORHZRCUEKFLKZJNPLM.jpg)
We’re in for another hot one as we see the last Pine Belt students heading back to school for the new year! We celebrated by hanging out at South Jones High School with the band during Sunrise, getting an early “school spirit” start to the day.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/37KYP7JHYBA5ZCBONXRLSG4PPU.jpg)
I’m expecting today to be one of the hottest days of the week/year so far, but it’ll still barely be higher than recent days. For example, yesterday’s high in Hattiesburg hit our expected 99 degrees, and today’s is going to be 100.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/VUHRIWJM6VB3BGOVBDSNMFPSEA.jpg)
Get ready for another hot and humid one! In fact, counting yesterday I’d say we’re looking at around four nearly identical days. That’ll get us up to 99 for a high today, an increase of about a degree from yesterday...which was a slight increase from the day before. That’s a trend that’ll continue for the rest of the week, peaking over the next four days.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/KJ6CDM7KQNESZA2QNZYOJ35NKQ.jpg)
Yesterday ended up being one of our cooler days of the week after looking like one of the hottest all of last, and it still reached 96 degrees! The weekend’s front ended up being ever-so-slightly more robust than expected, bringing cool-ish air which was noticeably drier. That lower humidity is responsible for today’s average-to-slightly-above average morning low in the 72-74 degree range, the lowest we’ll see for the next two weeks.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/SJV7VHWSTJEZJKS7UVB5O6BZWE.jpg)
That’s right, the entire week will be seeing similar weather...highs of nearly 100 degrees and some of the consistently highest humidity yet this year. That’s not to say we haven’t seen some hot days, we certainly have, but each day this week will be within a degree or two of 100! With each day being largely the same, heat safety will be more important than ever.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/PJUWOYYIXJAFVN3MVY6KX2VABA.jpg)
Yesterday saw the first “significant” cloud cover we’ve seen all week long, and brought at least a few isolated and short-lived showers to the area. The cloud cover lingered through the night and into the morning, and that’s what’s going to keep up just the tiniest bit cooler than yesterday which inched into the upper 90s. Today’s will still be above average at 95, but compared to the weekend and next week it might as well be winter!
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/NA5IHQWKP5GI7NHKCLMAYPH2VY.jpg)
Yesterday’s high maxed out at 94 in Hattiesburg, but we’re continuing our slow climb up the thermometer today, reaching 96 later this afternoon. That’s still more than manageable compared to levels we’ve seen recently, but noticeably on the rise again.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/YTUB6IISVRFCTF4H2FQ7GDPEYA.jpg)
Yesterday was one of the best summer days we’ve seen in a while, starting the day with below average lows in the mid-to-upper 60s and the high was right at our average of 92. We haven’t seen many mornings south of average this summer, so getting another (just barely though) today feels pretty nice. We’re going to start the day around 70, but with nothing but sun in the sky expected again today we’ll warm rapidly.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/IP5PQEEJHNEABKX3ZTMHPFQXTI.jpg)
Wow...what a change from the end of last week! Today’s morning low was in the 60s! THE 60S! Thanks to the cooler and drier air, lows were as low as 67 degrees, and with low humidity! Basically, it was fall for about two and a half hours this morning, but shortly after sunrise it’ll remember we’re still in summer...like right in the middle of summer.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/L57L2CLTHNEM7J5ANYICLULZNE.jpg)
We have more dangerous heat in the area again today, but for the lucky districts starting today who aren’t too cool for school you’ll at least be cool...inside the school. In fact, we were on location at Petal Upper Elementary this morning for the start of the Panthers’ 2023-24 school year!
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/HHSPSKHMWRDPNCIYAJAT6UIWOM.jpg)
No surprises today, just more borderline unbearable heat. I expected we’d see 100 degrees in Hattiesburg yesterday, but fell just short. We have another chance at 100 again today, but based on yesterday I’m officially going with 99 for Hattiesburg’s high today, but we’re literally talking about one degree...I’m surprised we didn’t get it yesterday, but also wouldn’t be surprised if we fell barely short again today.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/3JYLO5SPNZGY3C76OCTQ5MQYCQ.jpg)
Going to be another hot one today! Dangerously so once again as well, as our Heat Advisory from yesterday was upgraded to an Excessive Heat Warning for a handful of our local counties today. That means the heat index is expected to surpass 110 degrees for a good bit of the day and remain high into the night as well.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/2NNUEYIIMND3RGLGLLH7NM3G3A.jpg)
Get ready for another hot one out there today! Well, they’ve all been “hot,” but today we return to dangerous heat across the board. Yesterday saw a handful of heat advisories in the area, today though every county is under one until 8 PM. That means heat indices in the neighborhood of 105-110 all afternoon/evening long!
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/WTHKAMVSBFFWLLNIMG2A6365MA.jpg)
No weather-related issues for your morning forecast in the area as we head into another fairly typical summer day. There is however a Flash Flood Warning for the area of Clarke County from Quitman to just south of De Soto along the Chickaswhay River. This is due to a dam bursting, which may cause fast, dangerous flooding, so be extra cautious if travelling in this area today.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/2WMRG5TZ3JGAVBVYHXQHFJO37Q.jpg)
Get ready for another nice, fairly typical summer day! That means heat, humidity, and usually afternoon thunderstorms, which we will see again today. Yesterday they were all to the south of Hattiesburg, though today will be a bit more wide spread. Still not going to be a complete washout or anything, and activity will still be scattered about, but things are drying up from where we started the week on Sunday.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/XNER2YU6EJEZ7J6J6BOPWTD4V4.jpg)
Get ready for another rainy one out there today! Not going to be a complete washout or anything, but expect it to be on par with yesterday...just a bit more rainy than average. Today’s activity should remain on the southern half of the area as well, giving the northern a much needed break after the last few weeks of strong storms and damaging tornadoes.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/DIPEG4EL2ZCGDO6VSFGNKXVKCA.jpg)
Get ready for another of our more “rainy” days this week. Yesterday was one of those, developing several showers and thunderstorms, at least one of which was severe warned.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/AYQUUMZ7MNCZ7OQU3ROBFGHKCA.jpg)
Happy 4th of July everyone! The good news is it isn’t going to be a particularly rainy day, but the “bad” is there will be at least some rain in the area. Timing-wise, it looks like things will work out for any nighttime festivities, and afternoon activity will be fairly scattered about.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/HHYPGGVVTRGRHHBF7XFR5SMROM.jpg)
It’s still summer, so it isn’t going to be “cool” anytime soon, but it is looking significantly “cooler” than the end of last week or the start of this one was. Temperatures were still in the upper 90s yesterday, but we started to see afternoon shower/thunderstorm development moving back in.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/RQX7TXJWG5GINIZ3V4RDNUNYOY.jpg)
Get ready for another hot one, guys! I’ve been expecting today to be the hottest day of the week (and year so far), and it doesn’t look like that assessment is far off, though Saturday afternoon will be right there with it.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/H7567KOJQBFHVKPBV2FTTF24WU.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/4MPYOSVJPFDBNHSLVKQNIG67XY.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/RRXNGCW5EFC33FZH2D27XPWSJ4.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/VZOMYGUO3NFJ7NZQN6STKK3CZM.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/FEVMPS5EWBHSDOMGHDLX2SDCAI.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/6HHFO3YOWVHCDOOWG5MLLUEUGE.JPG)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/IT23XOLNHBCJZKFVE43YCY4OGE.png)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/2NLRFJ6P3BGYFP7FHW3ONTVC4U.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/THMTPEBZN5F73JYVSEJKCX5N6M.png)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/GLRBPVM5J5BMRNOVQACYKFWMKY.png)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/YFA2SEBF2JDWPCQXC2MOC2OUXM.png)