ISOLATED STORMS LIKELY TODAY; ISAIAS TO MAKE CAROLINA LANDFALL… Mostly sunny skies are likely on this Monday with a few pop-up thunderstorms possible during the afternoon and evening hours. Temperatures will peak this afternoon in the 93 to 96 degree range across our region with heat index values between 100 and 100 degrees. Our forecast locally will essentially be on repeat in the days ahead with low (not zero!) rain chances and hot temperatures. We continue to watch Isaias off the eastern coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. The system will continue to rapidly move north and northeast in the days ahead. Landfall is expected in the Carolinas tomorrow morning most likely as a category 1 hurricane or strong tropical storm. We’re also monitoring a tropical disturbance south of Bermuda in the Atlantic. I’m excited to debut some new weather graphics in the video this morning! Be sure to see the paragraph below about that to learn about some neat changes. Let’s look at all of your forecast details.
STORMS MOST NUMEROUS INLAND TODAY… Most spots will be dry on this Monday, but we could have a few highly isolated storms bubble up this afternoon into this evening. Showers and thunderstorms will likely be most numerous across inland areas today. Heavy rain, gusty winds, and lightning will be possible in the stronger storms.
MORE OF THE SAME OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS… Each day through Friday will be quite similar with hot temperatures, plenty of humidity, and P.M. pop-up storms being possible. High temperatures will be in the mid-90s this week with morning lows in the low- to mid-70s. Our focus will increasingly be on the tropics over the next few days.
ISAIAS MOVING NORTH ALONG EASTERN SEABOARD… Isaias, at the time of this writing, remains a tropical storm. The system has been hovering between hurricane and tropical storm status with winds fluctuating between 70-75 mph. The differentiation is truly a technicality at this point as Isaias is holding its strength as it moves northward. The system has basically paralleled the Atlantic coast of Florida for the last two days. The center of circulation this morning is about 60 miles east of Cape Canaveral, Florida or about 320 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Isaias is poised to make landfall in South Carolina or North Carolina probably early on Tuesday morning. The system will continue to accelerate in forward speed to the north and ultimately northeast as it moves across basically the entire Eastern Seaboard in the days ahead, all the way up to Maine. Impacts in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia will include heavy rain, high wind gusts, and potentially isolated tornadoes, in addition to beach hazards like high waves, storm surge, and rip currents. No direct local impacts are expected from Isaias in Alabama or northwest Florida.
TROPICAL STORM WATCHES & WARNINGS UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST… It certainly isn’t everyday that a tropical system prompts a Tropical Storm Watch and Tropical Storm Warning that extends from Florida all the way northward to Rhode Island. That is the situation this morning with a Tropical Storm Warning extending from Sebastian Inlet, Florida northward to Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for part of this same zone from South Santee River, SC to Surf City, NC. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina to Watch Hill, Rhode Island, including all parts of Chesapeake Bay, the tidal Potomac River, Delaware Bay, Long Island, and Long Island Sound. I expect a Tropical Storm Watch to be issued farther northward, potentially all the way to Maine later today.
INVEST 94L – 60% CHANCE OF DEVELOPMENT… The National Hurricane Center continues to outline an area of disturbed weather south of Bermuda and north of the Leeward Islands that has a 60% chance of developing into a tropical storm this week. Regardless of if this particular system develops into a tropical storm, local impacts in Alabama and northwest Florida are NOT expected. From NHC: “A trough of low pressure is located about 300 miles north-northeast of the Leeward Islands. Shower and thunderstorm activity associated with the trough has decreased during the past few hours and the system does not appear to be very well organized at the surface at this time. However, environmental conditions are expected to allow some slow development of the system to occur during the next few days, and a tropical depression could form by the middle of the week. This system is forecast to move northwestward over the western Atlantic on Monday and Tuesday before it stalls southwest or west-southwest of Bermuda by the end of the week.”
GULF & CARIBBEAN ARE QUIET… While we monitor Isaias near the East Coast and INVEST 94L in the Atlantic, we note that the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea are quiet with no tropical storm formation expected in those two zones over the next 3-5 days. Good news!
ROLLOUT OF OUR NEW GRAPHICS… After months of research, planning, and development (and years of snapping aerial photos), I’m excited to roll out our brand new forecast video graphics package this morning. There are MANY changes (too many to list here) both in what you see and how our videos are made everyday, but the most important change for you is the new background graphics visible in every forecast graphic (the Day Planner at the beginning of the video and the 7 Day Forecast graphic toward the end of the video). You’ll notice that the background images change based on the projected weather forecast for that day. I’ve taken hundreds of aerial photos over the last several years in all types (both good, bad, common, and not-so-common) of weather. These images will be featured in the background every, single time we produce a forecast video. The background image is now reflective of the forecast, making our videos even easier to understand each day. As a reminder, our normal production schedule is six days per week. One video airs on Sunday in the afternoon/evening hours then a morning forecast video debuts every weekday morning by 7:15AM. I hope you like our new “look.” Let me know what you think!
APP ALERTS… Be sure to download our free RedZone Weather app if you haven’t done so already. redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you can download the app for your iOS or Android device. Once you have the app downloaded, be sure to visit the Alerts tab in the lower right corner of the app to select the specific notifications you would like to receive straight from me.
See all the details in your Monday #rzw forecast video… Have a great start to your week!