Franklin has climbed to category 4 “major” hurricane status and will fortunately spend its time in the foreseeable future over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. While it does bring tropical storm conditions to Bermuda early Wednesday, a deep trough moving off the NE US coastline will help to steer it northeastward and out to the open waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, “Idalia” has reached strong tropical storm status today and is knocking on the doorstep of being declared a full-fledged hurricane. Tropical Storm Idalia will spill out over the eastern Gulf of Mexico by early Tuesday, begin an intensification process, and likely reach the Gulf coast region of Florida early Wednesday to the north of the Tampa Bay region.
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A lot is going on in the world of weather highlighted by multiple tropical systems, an intense heat wave with very high humidity levels anchored by very strong upper-level high pressure ridging, and very active weather in the “ring of fire” around the outer perimeter of that same high pressure system. On the tropical scene, Tropical Storm Franklin is pounding away today at Haiti and the Dominican Republic and once it bypasses this high-terrain Caribbean island of Hispaniola into the open waters of the Southwest Atlantic, it will intensify into a hurricane with a decent chance of attaining “major” categorization of 3 or higher. Meanwhile, the moisture associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Harold which pounded southern Texas earlier this week will douse the Four Corner states during the next couple of days. Finally, there is the chance that a tropical systems forms this weekend in Caribbean Sea and it could move north next week and impact portions of the Southeast US.
Elsewhere, very strong ridging of high pressure over the nation’s midsection is anchoring an intense heat wave from the Upper Midwest to the Gulf coast. This heat wave is made worse by very high humidity levels that have featured dew points as high as 80 degrees in some spots. On the outer perimeter of this very strong high pressure ridge is a region that I like to refer to as the “ring of fire”, there is some very active weather that is bringing heavy showers and strong thunderstorms to the eastern Great Lakes. This “ring of fire” activity will spread to the south and east bringing heavy showers and strong thunderstorms to the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast US during the next couple of days.
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Hilary likely reached its peak in strength during the overnight hours as a category 4 “major” hurricane and it is about to enter into a weakening phase as it it crosses over colder waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Despite the upcoming weakening phase, the remnants of Hilary will have a significant impact on California, Nevada and western Arizona from this weekend into early next week. The widespread moisture field associated with Hilary is then likely to continue pushing northward ultimately reaching the states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
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We have entered the second half of August and this is typically when tropical activity ramps up in the Atlantic Basin. Indeed, there are a couple of impressive waves to watch in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean and there may be a threat to deal with in the eastern US/Gulf of Mexico by the last week of August; however, of more immediate concern is the current activity in the eastern Pacific Ocean. There is a growing chance that significant moisture from a tropical system makes its way into the Southwest US by later this weekend and early next week - and this includes a very real threat for excessive rainfall across southern California. In addition, winds may become quite high depending on the ultimate storm track that this developing tropical system undertakes.
Elsewhere, a building ridge of high pressure in the upper part of the atmosphere will result in an intensifying heat wave by this weekend across the central states and it is likely to expand to the Great Lakes and Midwest. While the heat may ultimately expand all the way into the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast US, this would be just a one or two day affair and the overall weather pattern for the northeastern states remains quite favorable for very comfortable air masses to reach this area from central Canada.
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Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms rocked the Mid-Atlantic region last Monday and a somewhat similar overall weather pattern can bring a repeat performance from late today into Tuesday. In a situation like a week ago, several ingredients will come together in the atmosphere that will raise the chance for heavy downpours and severe thunderstorms which can produce damaging wind gusts, hail and even isolated tornadoes. These ingredients include a vigorous upper-level low that is currently pushing eastward across the Upper Mississippi Valley, copious amounts of available moisture, strong jet streaks at multiple levels of the atmosphere, and a strong surface cool front that ultimately crosses the Mid-Atlantic region late Tuesday. The time period for the potential heavy downpours and severe thunderstorms will be from late today into Tuesday night.
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A widespread severe wind event rocked the Mid-Atlantic region this past Monday and a key ingredient was a vigorous wave of low pressure aloft that crossed the Great Lakes on a path towards the northern Mid-Atlantic. Other ingredients included multiple jet streaks in the atmosphere, a strong surface cool front, and an influx of very moist air from the southeastern states on the front side of the front. A similar overall weather pattern may repeat itself from later Monday into Monday night. While still several days away, many of these same factors may indeed come together early next week and the result can be another round of heavy showers and strong-to-severe thunderstorms for the Mid-Atlantic region.
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The weather has been rather tranquil during the past few days in the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US following a very active extended stretch that included numerous heavy rain and strong thunderstorm events. The calm may be just about to wind down for the northeastern quadrant of the nation. A cold front will push through the Northeast US on Friday and it is likely to increase the chances of showers and thunderstorms. Some of the rain later Friday can be heavy at times and some of the storms can reach strong-to-severe levels. An even more impressive system will cross the Great Lakes from late Sunday into late Monday and it could produce another batch of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast US.
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It looks like the month of August will feature multiple cooler-than-normal air masses dropping into the US from Canada which continues a trend that has encompassed much of the summer season so far and impacted large areas of the country. The one areal exception to this pattern has been the Southwest US where intense upper-level ridging has resulted in persistent excessive heat during the past several weeks. These intrusions of cooler-than-normal air this summer has balanced out the excessive heat in the Southwest US leaving the nation with nearly normal temperatures as we begin the month of August.
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A big-time change is coming to the Mid-Atlantic region with much more comfortable conditions for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The transition from the brief stint of high heat and humidity to the cooler temperatures and lower humidity will come with another round of heavy showers and strong thunderstorms. A cool front drops southeast today across the eastern Great Lakes and passes through the Mid-Atlantic in the overnight hours paving the way for those big-time changes.
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The main weather story getting attention this week in the Mid-Atlantic region is the heat that is coming for much of the second half. However, perhaps even more important is the threat of more heavy downpours and possible severe thunderstorms both today and likely again later Thursday. The overall active weather pattern is continuing in this part of the nation as waves of energy continue to rotate through the base of a large-scale upper-level trough.
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