The Daily Dose returns to the Valley forecast

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Hot and humid can always be counted on as the Valley turns toward summer. Another summer staple is the sea breeze shower, sort of a daily lottery but with rain instead of cash.

It works like this: Each day the sun heats the ground across the Valley, that warmth then heats the air which rises. The rising air then draws in air from the nearby Gulf of Mexico. The westward movement of air coming in from the Gulf forms a boundary between different sources of air.

When the boundary, the leading edge of cooler air, scrapes westward across the RGV it speeds up the rising air which generates clouds, showers, and even short-lived thunderstorms.

The activity rolls west with the boundary throughout the afternoon and typically shuts off by sunset. If the sea breeze collides with another boundary, say from storms elsewhere near the RGV, that can strengthen the effect.

Knowing if the sea breeze will blow in is easy, knowing if the sea breeze will generate rain is hard, and knowing exactly where the sea breeze showers will dump rain is almost impossible, that's why it is a rain lottery.