Pleasant Start to the Weekend

Nicole Madden,

AM Headlines:
  • A weak cold front crosses the area today
  • Dry and relatively mild for the weekend
  • Heating up and staying dry next week
  • 4 areas to watch now in the tropics
Discussion:
A weak cold front will cross the region today. Outside of a few showers near the Tennessee border, little to no rain is expected outside of the mountains. Temps will reach near average with dropping dew points (aka drier air) throughout the day. Overnight lows will fall into the mid-60s with highs a few degrees below average for Saturday. It will stay pleasant and dry for the weekend. Sunday, temps will creep back up above average into the low 90s as a ridge of high pressure builds over the Central US. Temps will climb into the upper 90s, but it will feel like the triple digits with some humidity returning – although it won’t be as humid as earlier in the week. Rain chances will remain slim to none. Models are hinting at a slight cool down mid-week with highs still above average in the mid-90s with a weak front backing into the region, but there hasn’t been much consistency with the extended forecast so it will be something to watch.
Tropics Update
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Eastern Tropical Atlantic (AL98) (High Chance of development):
  • Showers and thunderstorms are starting to organize a few hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands.
  • Favorable conditions mean a tropical depression is likely to form over the weekend
  • By early next week, further development isn’t expected due to increasing upper-level winds
Central Tropical Atlantic (AL99) (Medium Chance of development):

  • A trough, located more than 1000 miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms.
  • A tropical depression could form in the next couple of days
  • Afterward, unfavorable upper-level winds are expected, preventing further development.

East-Southeast of the Lesser Antilles (Low Chance):

  • Another area of low pressure could form in a day or so from a trough located several hundred miles to the east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles.
  • Some slow development is possible over the weekend and into early next week

Western Gulf of Mexico (Low Chance):

  • An area of disturbed weather north of Hispaniola is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico, where a broad area of low pressure could form.
  • Some slow development of this system is possible as it approaches the western Gulf of Mexico coastline by mid-next week.