P.M. STORMS THIS WEEK; NO TROPICAL TROUBLE FOR US… Scattered showers and thunderstorms continue in spots across south Alabama and northwest Florida on this Sunday evening. Tropical Storm Beryl continues to rapidly weaken and decay, while Tropical Storm Chris is strengthening and moving away from the United States. A classic mid-July week is ahead for our region with scattered pop-up storms likely each day. Let’s talk details…
STORMS HAPPENING NOW… Numerous showers and thunderstorms are occurring across the region as of 3:20PM. At the moment, we’re observing very heavy rain near Thomasville, Tallahatta Springs, Campbell, Florala, Crestview, Baker, Milligan, and Castleberry. These are “splash and dash” thunderstorms that are not severe, but are producing quite a bit of cloud-to-ground lightning. This should go without saying, but “when thunder roars, please go indoors.”
BERYL WEAKENS TO REMNANT LOW… Anytime we have a tropical system that is weakening rapidly, that is a great thing! That’s the case this afternoon with the remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl. Maximum winds are down to 45mph. Beryl has degenerated into an open tropical wave, meaning the system is no longer a tropical storm. Several folks have asked whether the remnants of Beryl will pose problems for the Gulf of Mexico later this week. The answer is almost certainly NO. The remnants of Beryl will likely weaken to the point of no return, where the system cannot regenerate. We note all major weather models (including the GFS and ECMWF [Euro]) show no regeneration happening.
T.S. CHRIS A BIT STRONGER… Tropical Depression 3 became Tropical Storm Chris this morning off the North Carolina coast. Chris will meander off the Carolina coast, not moving very much at all over the next 3 days. The system is expected to ramp up to a category 1 hurricane later this week. The good news is that Tropical Storm Chris is expected to begin moving out to sea over the cooler waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean by Thursday. The system will race northeast toward Newfoundland, Canada by the end of the week. No Alabama or northwest Florida issues are expected since Chris will remain far away from us.
P.M. STORMS THIS WEEK… A highly seasonal mid-July week is ahead for our region as high temepratures will be in the 90s with morning lows around 72 each day. There will be a chance in each of the next 7 days for pop-up thunderstorms. Not expecting severe weather, but some of the storms will produce heavy rain, lots of lightning, and gusty winds. Welcome to summer in the Deep South!
I’ve got all the details for you in your Sunday evening #rzw forecast video here… Enjoy your evening!