ISOLATED STORMS THIS AFTERNOON; WATCHING TROPICAL DISTURBANCE… Pop-up thunderstorms will be possible on this Sunday afternoon and evening, particularly south of Interstate 10 in our coastal counties. Widespread severe weather is not expected, but these summertime storms can pack a punch with very heavy downpours of rain, gusty winds, and prolific lightning. We’re also monitoring an area of disturbed weather in the southern Gulf of Mexico that has a 60% chance of becoming a tropical storm over the next 2-3 days before moving into Mexico south of Texas. Our next chance of widespread rain and thunderstorms will happen by the end of the week as an area of low pressure approaches from the west. We’re more active in the weather department this week compared to the last two weeks! Let’s talk details…
FEW STORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON; HOT TEMPERATURES… First things first, let’s look at what you can expect today into tonight. For inland areas, vast majority of us will be dry and hot. Temperatures will peak in the 94-97° range by 3PM. It will be a nice day to be outside by the pool. Grab that sunscreen! Most spots inland should not have any issues with rain or storms. If you’re in one of our coastal counties (Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia [FL], Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, or Walton counties), you have a slightly higher chance of seeing thunderstorms before the end of the day. Just like yesterday, these storms will pop up in the heat of the day and drift eastward. There is a chance that some of the storms could be on the strong side, producing gusty winds, very heavy rain, and quite a bit of lightning. Widespread severe weather is NOT expected. I will be posting radar updates as needed in the RedZone Weather app.
INVEST 91L/TROPICAL DISTURBANCE IN GULF… The National Hurricane Center says there is now a 60% chance of a named tropical storm forming in the southern Gulf of Mexico near the Mexican coastline over the next 2-3 days. There definitely is noted counterclockwise circulation on the visible satellite loop (see the video to see this in action) but it is unknown whether a low-level circulation has formed. A U.S. Air Force reconnaissance crew is tentatively scheduled to fly into the system this afternoon to analyze the situation. If a tropical depression or tropical storm forms, we will send out a Medium-Level Alert in the RedZone Weather app. REGARDLESS of formal development, this system will NOT affect Alabama or northwest Florida. It will be a significant rain event for parts of Mexico south of Texas, but no major impacts are expected locally.
OTHER AREAS IN TROPICS ARE QUIET… The remainder of the north Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico (outside of the Bay of Campeche where INVEST 91L is located) remain quiet. Now that we are officially in hurricane season, I will do my best to make it a point to include at least one paragraph each day talking about the tropics, even just to say that everything remains quiet.
RAIN CHANCES TO INCREASE LATER THIS WEEK… Tuesday will be mostly dry and hot. Wednesday will feature a few storms near the coast. Rain chances rise to around 30-40% regionwide by Thursday. Friday could be our wettest day we’ve had in quite some time as an area of low pressure approaches from the west. Details are still scarce at this point but most major weather models have consistently suggested that our area will be in the warm sector out ahead of an area of low pressure. It’s too early to know whether severe weather issues will be a concern. The highest probability scenario points to an increased amount of pop-up storms in the heat of the day. We’ll keep you posted about this over the next few days. Temperatures will be seasonal this week with highs in the 90s and lows around 70°.
STORMS POSSIBLE DURING THE UPCOMING WEEKEND… Saturday into Sunday (one week from today) could be the wettest weekend we’ve had in quite some time. Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms will be possible. High temperatures will be in the low-90s with morning lows in the 70s.
APP ALERTS… redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you can download our free RedZone Weather app. Once you have the app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) then tap the large, yellow “Alert Settings” button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
See all the graphics and details in your Sunday evening #rzw forecast video… Have a nice evening!