A Few Strong Storms Possible Friday; Laura Forms In The Atlantic
Plenty of sunshine fills the sky at midday, with very little rain in our area. However, showers and storms likely form this afternoon and persist into the evening. They could be fairly widespread at times. A few could be strong to severe, with damaging winds up to 60 mph as the main threat. Expect highs in the upper 80s today. Isolated showers or storms remain possible overnight, but they won’t be as intense. Otherwise, expect a mostly cloudy sky with lows in the low 70s.
Afternoon showers and storms look fairly likely for both Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures look a little warmer each day, with highs in the low 90s.
Next week’s forecast remains highly dependent on the eventual tracks of newly formed Tropical Storm Laura and Tropical Depression 14. Both of these storms could be in the gulf of Mexico simultaneously next Tuesday. However, expect elevated daily rain chances to continue each day, with the greatest rain coverage next Tuesday and Wednesday as the storms approach the gulf coast. High temperatures could still reach the low 90s each day.
Laura has a greater chance to impact central and south Alabama. The National Hurricane Center tracks Laura near Hispaniola and Cuba over the weekend, then into the eastern gulf early next week. The official forecast calls for Laura to become a Category 1 hurricane prior to landfall. However, possible land interaction will play a large role in the system’s eventual intensity.
Meanwhile, T.D. 14 is currently located in the western Caribbean. The storm is forecast to cross the Yucatan of Mexico on Saturday, and emerge into the southern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. It likely continues a northwest track towards the Texas or Louisiana coast. A landfall is possible there on Wednesday. On the current forecast track, direct impacts might be relatively minimal to our area.
