TD2/ARLENE-TO-BE PUSHING SOUTH IN GULF; HOT WEEKEND LOCALLY W/ A FEW P.M. STORMS… We have a hot weekend on tap across south Alabama and northwest Florida with high temperatures expected to be in the 90s on Saturday and Sunday. A few pop-up storms may happen today and this weekend, primarily in the afternoon and evening hours. MOST communities will remain dry today and into the weekend, however. The National Hurricane Center started issuing advisories on Tropical Depression Two late yesterday. TD2 is likely to become Tropical Storm Arlene (if it has not already by the time you are reading this). Fortunately, TD2/Arlene-to-be is moving south, away from our local area. Significant local impacts are NOT expected in south Alabama or northwest Florida from this system. We ARE expecting an increase in the number of rip currents at local beaches this weekend, however.
TD2/ARLENE IN EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO… The first tropical system of the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season formed on the first day of the season yesterday. Today, we continue to track TD2/Arlene-to-be in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The system will continue to move south over the open waters of the eastern Gulf today and tomorrow before weakening on approach to the western tip of Cuba on Sunday. While significant local impacts are not expected in our local area, it should be vehemently emphasized that rip currents will be a significant danger at all local beaches this weekend. If you are planning on getting into the Gulf, PLEASE stay safe and be aware of high danger rip current zones!
REMAINDER OF TROPICS QUIET FOR NOW… The Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean are quiet at this point with no new tropical storms expected to form over the next 5-7 days. The “one to watch” this weekend will be TD2/Arlene in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
HOTTEST WEEKEND OF THE YEAR SO FAR… High temperatures will be in the low- to mid-90s on Saturday and on Sunday. In addition to the high temperatures, humidity values will also be fairly high. This means that heat index values will be in the mid- to upper-90s. Quite hot this weekend!
MORE POP-UP STORMS NEXT WEEK… Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible each day next week with most of the storms happening in the afternoon and evening hours. High temperatures will continue to be in the 90s each day with morning lows in the upper-60s. No organized severe weather risks are noted in the extended forecast, for now. Good news!
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 RedZone Weather forecast video. Have a great weekend!