MORE STORMS AROUND TODAY; TROPICAL UPDATE… Some spots have already been wet this morning with more showers and storms on the way on this Saturday! Another round of showers and thunderstorms will happen today across south Alabama and northwest Florida. Storms will be most numerous during the heat of the day across the region between 11AM and 7PM. We also continue to monitor the tropical wave moving toward the Gulf of Mexico over the southeastern Bahamas. There continues to be a fairly low chance of tropical storm development next week. Let’s look at forecast details…
TROPICAL WAVE ON THE MOVE… The tropical wave that is moving northwest through The Bahamas toward the southeastern Gulf remains highly disorganized today. The wave is expected to remain disorganized through at least Monday when it enters the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center now says there is a 20% chance that the system may develop into a tropical depression or tropical storm before it makes landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast. Model data continues to vary quite a bit, and at this point, it’s hard to know exactly where landfall might happen. See more about timing & impacts below.
TIMING – TROPICAL FEATURE… Regardless of “formal” development into a tropical storm or if this system remains a tropical wave, the timing regarding potential impacts has shifted somewhat. Impacts, IF any occur in south Alabama and northwest Florida, would most likely happen Tuesday into Wednesday of next week. Nearly all models have the system farther to our west by Thursday.
POTENTIAL IMPACTS FROM TROPICAL SYSTEM… The good news concerning this tropical situation seems to be that all models suggest the tropical feature (that may be a tropical wave or tropical storm next week) will remain well below hurricane status. The intensity “range” at this point seems to be non-developed, open tropical wave up to a low-end tropical storm. Heavy rain will be the number one concern next week, regardless of development classification. It’s still too early to know whether tornadoes and or wind may be an issue for our local area. Local impacts will also depend largely on the track of the system if it develops. If the system moves farther south and west, we may have no issues at all. Again, time will clarify these remaining questions over the next few days. We’ll keep you posted.
HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES TODAY… Most spots had quite a bit of rain on Friday as a mass of rain moved by from south to north across our area. Some spots, especially near coastal areas, have had quite a bit of rain this morning. We expect another round of showers and thunderstorms to pop up late this morning into the afternoon hours. High temperatures will again be around the 90 degree mark. Have a way to check the radar throughout the day. One of the ways you can do that is in the RedZone Weather app in the Radar tab OR by visiting redzoneweather.com/radar in your phone or tablet’s internet browser.
MORE POP-UP STORMS AHEAD… Rain chances will remain above our climatological norms for this time of year over the next few days as more pop-up thunderstorms happen each day. Keep the rain gear close by as another round of storms will happen likely on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Severe weather is not expected over the next few days.
I’ll have more updates throughout the day here in the RedZone Weather app. Have a great Saturday!