Sunny, Dry, And Hot Locally; Dorian Turns Toward The Southeast Coast
Lots of sunshine welcomed us to the short work-week this morning. Expect abundant sunshine this afternoon, with highs in the mid 90s. It’s going to be a relatively dry heat, so heat index temperatures won’t be oppressive this afternoon. This evening remains warm since we won’t see any rain today. Expect temperatures in the upper 80s at 7PM, mid 80s at 9PM, and near 80° at 11PM. Overnight lows fall to around 70° under a clear sky.
Wednesday could be a touch hotter with highs in the upper 90s for a few locations, and mid 90s elsewhere. Still, humidity won’t be overly oppressive. Wednesday night remains clear with lows in the low 70s.
Hurricane Dorian is down to Category 2 strength, but the category is only determined by maximum winds. Significant impacts like storms surge and flooding rains are still a major hazard. The winds are nothing to scoff at either, with max sustained winds still near 110 mph and gusts up to 125 mph. Fortunately for the island of Grand Bahama, Dorian started moving again this morning. The current motion is still a crawl to the northwest at 2 mph, but the forward speed should increase a bit over the next few days. A direct landfall is not expected along the Florida east coast. Dorian is going to be close enough that tropical storm or hurricane force winds impact the east Florida peninsula, in addition to storm surge and heavy rain.
Dorian is not forecast to lose much (if any) intensity through Wednesday evening, by which time it should be about parallel (though still well east of) Jacksonville, FL. After that, Dorian takes aim at Georgia and the Carolinas, but a direct landfall is not expected along the coasts. The outer banks of North Carolina could be a close call, with Dorian’s most likely track very close to the shoreline. On Saturday, Dorian finally turns away from the United States.
In central and south Alabama, temperatures take a dip on Thursday and Friday thanks to a cold front sweeping through the state. We won’t see any rain ahead of the front, with mostly sunny skies and lower humidity on Thursday and Friday. Temperatures reach the low 90s both days.
The weekend and early next week could trend hotter. Models try to bring mid and upper 90 degree heat back to the area Saturday through next Tuesday. Spotty showers appear possible Saturday and Sunday, but the rain chance is still very low. There’s also only an isolated chance for shower or storm next Monday and Tuesday.
