Finally Something Other Than Heat...

Summer offers a challenge to weathercasters since, for the most part, the weather is the same for 4 months.  How many ways can you describe hot & humid? !!!  As we head towards August, tropical activity historically increases peaking around September 10th.  So today we are enjoying less hot temperatures courtesy of a weak tropical wave brining us more cloud cover and some showers.  But (as Lee Zurik says) there's more as a second wave over Haiti has the attention of the National Hurricane Center.

NHC is giving wave # 2 a 20% chance to develop once it gets over the Gulf south of us on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Fortunately, the western extension of the Bermuda High/Atlantic Ridge has shifted to our north (note our higher surface pressures vs last week) and that should keep anything that MIGHT develop far south of us.

Each wave brings us better shower chances with a drier trend between waves.  The core of the western heat wave has spread across the country to the east coast where they are much hotter than us.

This summer is no where near as hot nationally, but there have been stretches of brutal heat for a few days, (Boston 96!)   Today's clouds and showers have kept us mainly in the 80s, but we still could bounce up as the rains leave.

Finally, aside from the weak wave over Haiti/Dominican Republic, the tropical Atlantic remains quiet.  There is some dust coming off of African, but it is less pronounced as the past several weeks.  That's probably a signal that we'll begin to see some activity out there as we get closer to August.  In another 2-3 weeks it'll be PRIME TIME for tropical development.  Stay tuned!