STORMS POSSIBLE NEAR COAST TODAY; LONG, DRY SPELL STARTS THIS WEEKEND… Showers and thunderstorms will be possible near the Alabama and northwest Florida beaches today. Most communities across south Alabama and northwest Florida are expected to remain dry. High temperatures will be in the mid-80s across the region. Unfortunately, today is the last day with considerable rain chances for awhile. Dry conditions will make the drought situation across the region even worse. The flip side of that and positive news is that we will have sunshine this weekend into next week.
OCTOBER IS OUR DRIEST MONTH OF THE YEAR… Climatologically speaking, October is our driest month of the year. The current 7 Day Forecast highlights sunny and dry conditions locally as we enter the month of October on Sunday. The extended range points to dry conditions prevailing well into October with limited chances of rain locally. This will considerably worsen ongoing drought conditions across our local area and across much of the Deep South.
TROPICS: PHILIPPE MOVING TOWARD PUERTO RICO… Tropical Storm Philippe continues to slowly move westward in the Atlantic Ocean. The overall projected path for Philippe has been nudged a bit to the south, meaning impacts from Philippe will be possible in parts of the northern Leeward Islands on Friday and into the weekend. The good news is Philippe will be battling an increasing amount of atmospheric shear as we get into the weekend. The storm is expected to dissipate on Sunday or Monday while moving near Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Regardless, impacts (including heavy rain and breezy conditions) will be possible in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the northern Lesser Antilles over the next several days.
TROPICS: 90% CHANCE OF NEW TROPICAL STORM FORMING… The National Hurricane Center continues to indicate there is a high (90%) chance of a new tropical storm forming just to the east of Tropical Storm Philippe in the open waters of the central Atlantic Ocean. From NHC: “Showers and thunderstorms have not become any better organized in association with an area of low pressure located roughly halfway between the Cabo Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles. Environmental conditions are forecast to be conducive for development, and a tropical depression or storm is expected to form in the next day or so while the system moves west-northwestward across the central tropical Atlantic.”
TROPICS: GULF & CARIBBEAN CONTINUE TO BE QUIET… The Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea remain quiet for now. No tropical storms are expected to develop over the next 5-7 days in the Gulf or the Caribbean Sea. Tropical moisture continues to stream northward across the western Caribbean Sea into Cuba and parts of South Florida. This moisture plume remains disorganized and not supportive of further tropical development at this time.
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See all the details in your Thursday morning RedZone Weather forecast video. Have a great day!