TROPICAL STORM WATCH ISSUED FOR SOUTH FLORIDA AHEAD OF ISAIAS… Tropical Storm Isaias is surviving its impact today with the rugged terrain of Hispaniola, meaning the system will likely strengthen over the next few days as it moves over The Bahamas. The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center now calls for Isaias to become a hurricane this weekend as it moves near or perhaps just east of the Florida Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. The latest forecast calls for potential impacts in South Carolina and North Carolina early next week when Isaias will probably be a strong tropical storm or a hurricane. Confidence continues to grow and is now overall very high that no impacts from Isaias will happen in Alabama or northwest Florida. This will very likely be an “East Coast system.” A few Thursday evening forecast notes are below…
NEW TROPICAL STORM WATCH… The National Hurricane Center has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the east (Atlantic) coast of Florida from Ocean Reef to Sebastian Inlet. That basically is from Vero Beach southward to Homestead, including Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, and surrounding areas.
TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE BAHAMAS… All of the islands in The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos are now under a Tropical Storm Warning. All of the coastline of the Dominican Republic and the northern coastline of Haiti are also under a Tropical Storm Warning.
SURVIVING HISPANIOLA MIGHT SIGNAL A STRONGER SYSTEM SOON… The fact that Tropical Storm Isaias has been able to basically survive and be in tact with a new center of circulation likely forming on the northern side of Hispaniola in the southern Atlantic might indicate that the system is a bit more robust and steady than previously realized. There is a good chance that the system will strengthen over the next 2-3 days and I wouldn’t be shocked to see the official intensity forecast from NHC be revised slightly higher soon. Southwesterly shear may help to mitigate rapid strengthening in 2-3 days, but overall, there is now a high chance that Isaias will be a hurricane as it approaches the southern part of Florida. A Hurricane Watch will likely be needed tomorrow for South Florida and eventually for parts of the South Carolina and North Carolina coast as Isaias approaches.
LOCALLY, WE’RE DRY AND HOT… Pop-up thunderstorms have not materialized today locally as expected. We knew that rain coverage would be less than previous days but so far, storms have not happened. There is a 20-30% chance over the next few hours that some areas across south Alabama and northwest Florida will have a few showers and storms, but we may have to knock that chance down to zero soon depending on radar trends. I’ll have updates as needed in the RedZone Weather app. Tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday are expected to be dry and hot with high temperatures in the mid-90s with plenty of sunshine.
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.
Have a great Thursday evening!