SHOWERS & STORMS TODAY; TROPICS BECOMING ACTIVE… Our daily round of showers and thunderstorms will pop up later today across south Alabama and northwest Florida. Our focus will increasingly shift this week to be on the tropics where multiple systems could develop in the next few days. Our local weather pattern will remain consistent into next week. Let’s look at details…
POP-UP STORMS TODAY... Just like the last (two months?) few days, we have a chance of showers and thunderstorms as we go into the afternoon and evening hours. This consistency is exactly what we expect for this time of year. Plenty of heat content in the atmosphere will lend itself to the development of storms that pop up in the afternoon and evening hours. High temperatures will be in the low-90s. Storms will be strong at times but likely well under severe limits in most cases. Another round of storms is set to occur on Sunday as well.
MULTIPLE SYSTEMS IN THE TROPICS… We now are watching two areas of potential concern in the tropics. One is INVEST 98L, currently located over the southern part of Florida. The other area of disturbed weather has been branded as INVEST 99L, located several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles. Tropical Depression Chantal dissipated last night and is off the board. While 98L will likely move out into the open waters of the Atlantic and not directly affect our area, 99L is a system we will need to monitor a bit more carefully.
NEW CONCERN IN THE TROPICS: INVEST 99L… There is a 70% chance of a tropical storm forming east of the Lesser Antilles in the next 5 days. The National Hurricane Center issued this statement in regard to INVEST 99L earlier this morning. “Showers and thunderstorms associated with a small area of low pressure located about 1050 miles east of the Windward Islands are showing some signs of organization. Environmental conditions appear conducive for additional development, and a tropical depression is likely to form over the weekend or early next week while the low moves westward to west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph. Conditions appear less favorable for development when the low reaches the Lesser Antilles and eastern Caribbean Sea by the middle of next week.”
INVEST 98L OVER SOUTH FLORIDA… The area of low pressure we’ve been tracking for the last few days near The Bahamas moved inland over south Florida yesterday. The system is expected to gradually move east or northeast in the next day or two. Once the system emerges over the Atlantic Ocean near or north of The Bahamas, a tropical storm may form as the system moves out to sea. No direct local impacts are expected in Alabama or northwest Florida from INVEST 98L regardless of if formal development happens.
APP ALERTS… Be sure to download the free RedZone Weather app (redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download) and set up your customized alerts. Once you have the RZW app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner), then tap the large, yellow “Alert Settings” button to customize the specific alerts you would like to receive. We have a solution for everyone – folks that want a lot of information and folks that may only want the important, rare alerts. Check out details in the Alerts tab today!
I’ll keep you posted about the latest developments in the tropics in the days ahead in the RedZone Weather app. Be sure to check with me over the next few days for the latest info!
Have a great weekend!
