SCATTERED P.M. STORMS TODAY; TRACKING PTC#1/ALEX IN SOUTHERN GULF… Scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop this afternoon into this evening across south Alabama and northwest Florida. Some of the storms may produce gusty winds, torrential downpours of rain in localized areas, loud thunder, and even small hail. Rain chances today will be elevated compared to this weekend when lower rain chances will happen. We are tracking Potential Tropical Cyclone #1 this morning, broadly centered in the southern Gulf of Mexico near the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. PTC1 is expected to officially become a tropical storm later today or tonight, taking the name “Alex” before moving across the Florida Peninsula this weekend. Fortunately, no direct local impacts from PTC1/Alex are expected in south Alabama or northwest Florida.
STORMS AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING… Rowdy thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon into this evening. The Storm Prediction Center has includes parts of our area in their low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) severe weather risk zone. This risk zone is driven exclusively by the low-end chance of a few stronger storms that may produce gusty winds. There is no defined tornado risk across the area today. High temperatures on this Friday will be near 90 degrees. I will have radar updates posted throughout the day and throughout the weekend, as needed, in the RedZone Weather app.
LOWER (NOT ZERO) RAIN CHANCES THIS WEEKEND… Mostly sunny skies are ahead for Saturday and Sunday. High temperatures will be in the upper-80s and low-90s across the region. While I cannot completely rule out a few showers and storms on Saturday or Sunday, I expect storms to be few and far between. One or two storms will be possible Saturday but most locales will remain dry.
PTC#1/ALEX TO PASS THROUGH SOUTH FLORIDA THIS WEEKEND… The National Hurricane Center initiated advisories on “Potential Tropical Cyclone #1” yesterday. The system is located in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The Potential Tropical Cyclone designation allows the National Hurricane Center to go ahead and issue necessary tropical storm watches and warnings in advance of a low-level center of circulation actually forming. PTC1 is expected to become Tropical Storm Alex in the hours ahead. PTC1/Alex will move across the Florida Peninsula somewhere south of Orlando on Saturday. The storm will likely make landfall between Tampa Bay and Naples along the western coast of Florida. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Englewood, FL south to the Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas. Again, no local impacts are expected in south Alabama or northwest Florida due to PTC1/Alex. This will primarily be a big rainmaker for South Florida, although gusty winds and a few tornadoes will also be possible.
MORE SCATTERED STORMS NEXT WEEK… Our summertime weather pattern during the upcoming week will feature more scattered showers and thunderstorms, primarily happening in the afternoon and evening hours each day. High temperatures will be in the low-90s next week with morning lows in the upper-60s and near 70.
APP… If you haven’t already downloaded the RedZone Weather app, now is a great time to do that. redzoneweather.com/app is the link to the free download. Once you have the RZW app installed on your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab to turn on the specific notifications you’d like to receive. All notifications are handcrafted by me. No automation and we promise not to bug you!
See all the details in your Friday morning #rzw forecast video. Have a great day!