SCATTERED STORMS & HIGH HEAT INDEX VALUES; TROPICAL DISTURBANCE EAST OF FLORIDA… Get ready for a hot day! While the air temperature (what you read on the thermometer) will be in the mid-90s this afternoon, factoring in the excessively high humidity levels will reveal a heat index well in excess of 100 degrees by 1PM this afternoon. Some spots may be in the 105-110° heat index range by 3PM. If you’re going to be outside for an extended period of time, keep the sunscreen and extra water bottles handy!
STORMS LIKELY THIS EVENING… Another round of scattered showers and thunderstorms is expected this afternoon into this evening. These pulse-type, pop-up thunderstorms will develop very quickly. The strongest storms may produce gusty winds, small hail, and torrential downpours of rain, in addition to cloud-to-ground lightning. Widespread severe weather is not expected today. No tornado threat today.
TROPICAL DISTURBANCE IN ATLANTIC NEAR FLORIDA… An area of disturbed weather east of the Florida Peninsula and north of The Bahamas has a growing chance of becoming a named tropical storm over the next few days. This system won’t be moving much at all today or tomorrow, but a general movement to the east may begin Sunday night into Monday. It remains too early to know if local impacts will be possible with this system, especially after yesterday’s sudden shift in model guidance to now include a big chunk of the Gulf of Mexico in the potential future paths for the system. If the system becomes a tropical storm, it will take the name “Fred.” More updates will be posted about this system in the hours ahead in the RedZone Weather app.
APP… If you haven’t already, be sure to download the free RedZone Weather app to keep up with all the latest information on the world of weather in south Alabama and northwest Florida. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Once you have the app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) and tap the large, yellow Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
I will have radar updates posted throughout the day in the RedZone Weather app as needed. Have a great Saturday!