The reminents of Fay will continue to impact the region today through Saturday. Clouds have moved into place and should remain for much of the day. Some breaks of sun are possible, but mainly just an overcast and dreary Friday. The moisture will become entrained into a cold front off to our west overnight tonight and then move through the region tomorrow. The moisture is kind of “stuck” and needs something to kick it out. Luckily the front off to our west will do just that. The precipitation shouldn’t be on the heavy side but a few showers and periods of rain can be expected. The front clears much of the region by tomorrow evening, bringing in cooler and dryer weather for the rest of the holiday weekend. Tomorrow will not be a washout just periods of precipitation. Sunday will be the better day of the weekend and Monday will be even better! A ridge of high pressure builds in for next week which will keep us warm and dry.
If you are planning on heading to the beaches this weekend, well you are going to be in for a real treat. Ocean temperatures along the “Jersey shore” remain mild in the 70s. Temperatures all along the Northeastern shores are in the 60s to 70s. Some isolated cool spots where some upwelling has occurred. Check local beaches for more up-to-date and accurate ocean temperatures for your specific beach location.
GUSTAV…
Gustav has been and will continue to make headline news. Gustav is a relatively strong tropical system with sustained winds of 65 MPH (with higher gusts). The track seems to have shifted a bit westward, but this doesn’t spell any good news for New Orleans and the Gulf coast states. New Orleans, an already fragile city, doesn’t need this…Gustav. The strongest part of a hurricane is usually the Northeast quadrant of the storm – this usually features the strongest winds. This storm will not only dump copious amounts of precipitation but also wind. The exact strength and track of this storm has to be determined and it may take a couple of days before making landfall. Gustav is moving at a very slow pace, which makes this storm even more dangerous. A slow moving storm means that more flooding rains are possible. This doesn’t spell good news for the New Orleans region. Evacuations and numerous states of emergencies have been declared in preparation for Gustav. I will continue to monitor the situation and bring the latest weather information on Gustav.
The 8th tropical system…Hanna
Hanna has developed in the Atlantic and has sustained winds of 50 MPH (with higher gusts). It is likely that Hanna will develop into a hurricane over the next couple of days. Hanna will likely make a loop-de-loop as high pressure builds in across the eastern United States. This should keep Hanna down across the south and have limited impact on the Northeast at this time. The latest track for this storm looks to bring this further down to the south across the Bahamas. We’ll continue to keep an eye on Hanna and where she may track.
STORM CHAOS DOWNTIME…
I will do my best especially during this time of severe weather. I will be moving back into Lyndon State College this weekend so I may not be able to update for a couple of days. I will try and update at some point during the weekend and if not by Monday. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Forecaster: Joe Gullo
