DELMARVA FORECAST
Thursday: Cloudy and muggy. A chance for a few light "sprinkly" showers in the afternoon. Winds from the south at 5-10 mph. Highs in the low 80s. Chance of rain 20 percent or less.
Thursday night: Cloudy and muggy. Lows in the upper 60s.
Friday: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Breezy. Highs in the upper 70s. Chance of rain 60 percent.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a few showers. Highs in the low 80s. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Sunday: Partly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs in the mid 70s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Monday: Partly cloudy with scattered showers. Highs in the mid 70s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 70s.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low to mid 70s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 76°F. Normal low: 56°F.
More cloudy skies are in the forecast for Delmarva on what is going to shape up to be a warm and humid Thursday.
A stationary front remains draped to our south, which is generating enough lift to keep a pretty consisten cloud deck over the peninsula. Despite the clouds, southerly winds will usher in warm and humid air, which will push our Thursday afternoon high temperatures into the low 80s on much of Delmarva. Rain chances should be confined to areas west of the Chesapeake Bay today, but I don't want to rule out a "sprinkly" shower Thursday afternoon.
The eyes of the nation are on Hurricane "Helene", which is expected to make a landfall in Florida late Thursday, likely as a major hurricane. The current forecast guidance has the storm passing near Tallahassee, then beginning to decay and travel north, and then get caught up in a low pressure area over the Tennessee Valley, which would keep "Helene" well west of Delmarva, and away from any signficant effects.
As "Helene" transistions from a tropical to an extratropical low on Friday, a warm front will slide up the East Coast and over Delmarva on Friday, bringing a better chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms, although I don't think the day will be a total washout.
The weekend will remain a little unsettled with the remnants of "Helene" several hundred miles to our west, keeping our skies mostly cloudy with low chances for a few showers. However, I do think this weekend will be our next chance to see the sun, as skies will be partly cloudy between any areas of showers.
Scattered remnants of "Helene" will then turn to the east, and bring a few chances for scattered showers and thunderstorms on Monday.
The long-term 8-14 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center has temperatures averaging above normal and precipitation below normal for October 3- October 9.
In the Tropics:
Hurricane "Helene" is forecast to become a major hurricane and bring significant effects to Florida late Thursday.
Tropical Storm "Issac" formed in the deep tropical Atlantic Wednesday evening, but is expected to remain at sea, and maybe bring rain and gusty winds to the Azores this weekend. It is not a threat to Delmarva.
A tropical wave west of the Cape Verde Islands has a high, 80 percent chance of development. It is not an immediate threat to Delmarva, but we'll keep our eyes on it.
The Atlantic hurricane season ends on November 30.
