QUIET LOCAL WEATHER; ETA EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO GULF NEXT WEEK… Our local weather will be nice with increasing temperatures over the next few days but our focus is now on Eta, currently a tropical depression centered over Honduras this morning. Eta is expected to continue to move northwest today before an abrupt right turn to the northeast tomorrow (Friday). The storm will likely strengthen into a tropical storm this weekend over the warm waters of the northwestern Caribbean Sea before approaching Cuba. The cone of uncertainty for Eta continues to suggest movement of the storm into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico by early next week. Beyond that, it truly is anyone’s guess where the storm ends up. As I’ve indicated for several days in my videos and text discussion, I do not believe we will have a firm grasp of where Eta will likely end up until Saturday when the storm emerges over water again. Let’s talk about what we know on this Thursday.
MOSTLY SUNNY & MILD TODAY… Unlike what is happening with Eta, there is high confidence in our local forecast. Mostly sunny skies are expected this morning ahead of a few clouds being possible later today. High temperatures will be in the mid-70s. Overnight lows on Thursday morning will be around 58° in most spots.
WARMER TEMPS THIS WEEKEND; A FEW SHOWERS POSSIBLE… We will have somewhat of a warming trend in terms of local temperatures this weekend. Highs will rise into the upper-70s by Sunday with overnight lows expected to be in the mid-60s. While I cannot completely rule out a few showers happening on Saturday, I think vast majority of us will remain dry.
ETA EXPECTED TO BE A TROPICAL STORM IN OR NEAR S.E. GULF BY MONDAY… There is increasing confidence today, unfortunately, that Eta will be a tropical storm in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico by the time we get into early next week. The latest cone of uncertainty from the National Hurricane Center continues to move into the Gulf, in line with recent model trends. Beyond the 5 day mark (and the cone), we simply do not have enough data to know exactly where Eta will end up. Eta could be an issue for Alabama and northwest Florida OR it may never be an issue. Again, I expect confidence to increase in the forecast this weekend.
LOCAL IMPACTS REMAIN UNCERTAIN… Let me vehemently stress and emphasize to you that we, unfortunately, do not know just yet if local impacts from Eta will be a likelihood in south Alabama and northwest Florida. Could impacts happen? Yes. Is it likely at this point? No, but we all know that likelihood can and will change based on the updates to the projected path in the days ahead. Eta is definitely a storm we all should be watching in the days ahead.
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See all the details in your Thursday #rzw forecast video. Have a great Thursday!
