110-120° HEAT INDEX VALUES TODAY; HEAT WARNINGS IN EFFECT… Today will make a run at being the hottest day of the year, plain and simple. Air temperatures will be in the 99-103° range this afternoon with heat index values in the 110-120° range. Those numbers have triggered an Excessive Heat Warning and Heat Advisory for just about every local county. Regardless of the warnings in effect, everyone needs to be aware of the potential for extreme heat – and not just “normal Deep South summer” heat. Take it easy if you have to be outside for an extended period of time today.
A FEW STORMS POSSIBLE TODAY; MOST COMMUNITIES TO REMAIN DRY… I am certainly more concerned about potential heat-related impacts today compared to the risk of thunderstorms. There is no formal severe weather risk anywhere close by but inevitably we will have a few pop-up showers and thunderstorms. Any storms that develop today will be capable of producing pockets of heavy rain, cloud-to-ground lightning, loud thunder, and gusty winds. Rain chances are low today, comparatively for a summer day. I expect higher rain chances in the days ahead, particularly next week.
TROPICAL UPDATE… The Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea remain quiet with no tropical storms expected to form over the next 5-7 days. The National Hurricane Center is monitoring an area of disturbed weather southeast of Bermuda in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This area of disturbed weather has a 30% chance of becoming a tropical storm while moving to the north. No direct U.S. impacts are expected.
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 Thursday RedZone Weather forecast video. Have a great day!