HOT, SUNNY THURSDAY LOCALLY; HURRICANE DORIAN MOVES OUT TOMORROW… Heat index values have already surpassed the 100 degree mark on this Thursday as big time heat builds in to our local area. Sunny skies are in place across the region with no rain anywhere close by. Hurricane Dorian continues to batter the eastern parts of South Carolina and North Carolina today. Several tornadoes have happened with more expected in those areas in the coming hours. Dorian remains a high-end category 2 hurricane with maximum winds near 110 mph this afternoon. We’re also monitoring Tropical Storm Gabrielle and other areas of concerns in the tropics today. Let’s look at a few details…

HURRICANE DORIAN 1PM UPDATE… The National Hurricane Center just posted, “Multiple observing stations located in and around Charleston Harbor have reported wind gusts of 75-80 mph within the last hour.” The center of the large eye of Hurricane Dorian is located near 32.7N and 79.0W as of 1PM EDT. That is about 55 miles east of Charleston, South Carolina or 125 mile SSW of Wilmington, North Carolina. Maximum winds remain at 110 mph with the minimum central pressure at 958 millibars. Hurricane Warnings continue for much of the South Carolina coastline and all of the North Carolina coastline. Hazards from Hurricane Dorian will continue to impact the eastern halves of those two states through Friday. Dorian will begin to lift away from North Carolina on Friday evening. Interests in Nova Scotia, Canada should closely monitor the progress of this system as Dorian is likely to make landfall there as a category 1, large hurricane or a powerful extratropical system.

FERNAND DISSIPATES; LAST ADVISORY ISSUED… The National Hurricane Center has issued its final advisory on Tropical Depression Fernand. The system dissipated last evening over the high terrain of northeastern Mexico.

GABRIELLE WON’T AFFECT LAND… Tropical Storm Gabrielle is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and Africa. The system continues to move northwest at 10 mph. Maximum sustained winds are at 50 mph. Gabrielle is expected to move northwest and stay out at sea. No issues for the United States are expected because of Gabrielle. The system should completely dissipate in about a week over the far northern Atlantic Ocean.

TROPICAL STORM LESS LIKELY TO FORM N.W. OF BERMUDA… The area of low pressure we’ve been tracking near Bermuda has passed the island commonwealth to the north at this point. There is a 30% chance that a tropical storm will form in this area in the days ahead. Odds are decreasing that formal development will happen as the environment around the area of low pressure becomes less favorableThe system will not directly affect land in the next few days. No U.S. impacts from this, regardless of formal development.

TROPICAL WAVE EMERGES INTO ATLANTIC FROM AFRICA… There is also a 40-50% chance that a tropical wave emerging from the African continent will develop into a tropical storm this weekend as it passes near or south of the Cabo Verde Islands. This will be a system we need to focus on more closely as we are in the peak of hurricane season. Any lower latitude systems like this warrant watching, as there is no way to know where they will ultimately end up. Nothing to worry about at all, but something to keep our eyes on. I’ll keep you posted.

NEW: AREA OF LOW PRESSURE EAST OF THE ANTILLES… The National Hurricane Center says there is a 10% chance that a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles could become a tropical storm as it lifts northward over the next 2-3 days. This is a new area highlighted in the NHC Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook. Nothing to worry about for now, but something to watch in the model trends over the next few days.

HOT WEEKEND UPCOMING… Sunny skies and hot temperatures are likely on Friday and Saturday. High temperatures will again be around the 100 degree mark with heat index values at or above 105° in some spots across our region. No rain is expected on Friday or Saturday.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FORECAST… Other than the oppressive heat and humidity, Friday looks nice. Sunny skies are expected at 7PM across the local area as many high school football teams get set for kickoff. I expect temperatures at 7PM Friday to be in the mid-80s. Temperatures will fall to around 80° by 9:30PM when many of the games are ending. No rain is expected.

See all the graphics and details in your Thursday #rzw forecast video… We will return to our normal morning video production schedule on Friday now that there is no imminent tropical threat to the United States.