DELMARVA FORECAST
Wednesday night: Mostly clear and cool. Lows in the mid 40s.
Thursday: Mostly sunny and cooler. Some high cirrus clouds will filter out the sun at times. Breezy. Winds from the north at 10 mph, with gusts to 20 mph at times. Highs in the mid 60s both inland and at the beach.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Breezy. Highs in the upper 60s.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.
Sunday: Mostly sunny and warm. Highs near 80°F.
Monday: Increasing clouds. Chance of a shower late. Highs in the mid to upper 60s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Tuesday: A stray morning shower, then clearing. Otherwise much cooler with highs in the low 60s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 72°F. Normal low: 51°F.
The end of the work week will be "refreshing" on Delmarva.
A strong, but dry cold front will swing across Delmarva Wednesday night. It will usher in cool high pressure into the Mid-Atlantic region, along with a northerly breeze. Despite mainly sunny skies, the cooler air mass and northerly breeze will keep afternoon highs on Thursday in the mid 60s, both inland and at the beach. We'll notice some high cirrus clouds overspreading Delmarva during the day, especially on the Lower Eastern Shore and Eastern Shore of Virginia. This cloud cover will be associated with the extreme northern periphery of Hurricane "Milton" as it makes its way across Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.
The aforementioned cold front and high pressure will keep "Milton" suppressed to the south, and aside from high surf and rip currents this weekend, Delmarva will not experience any effects from "Milton."
High pressure remains in charge through the weekend as winds shift to the west, and then south, with warmer temperatures rising into the mid 70s both Saturday and Sunday. Some locations could even make a run at 80°F on Sunday!
Our next chance of rain could come with a stronger cold front Monday into Tuesday, however our longer-range guidance is again suggesting that moisture will be in short supply, and that we'll again mainly just see a reinforcing shot of refreshingly cool air, although at this point I don't want to rule out a few showers late Monday.
We could see the coolest air of the season so far by the middle of next week.
The long-term 8-14 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center has temperatures averaging below normal and precipitation below normal for October 16 - October 21.
In the Tropics:
Hurricane "Milton" is making its approach to the Florida Gulf Coast, and will make a landfall very early Thursday morning, likely between Tampa and Fort Myers (bad news for Fort Myers, which was devastated by Hurricane "Ian" just two years ago). Already, much of Florida is experiencing heavy rain, gusty winds, and several tornado warnings. After raking Florida, "Milton" will then head out into the Atlantic Ocean and slowly weaken and decay by early-mid of next week.
Hurricane "Leslie" is forecast to stay well out to sea and is not a direct threat to the U.S. East coast.
A disturbance near Bermuda has a low, 30 percent chance of becoming an organized tropical system in the coming week. It is not an immediate threat to Delmarva at this time.
A tropical wave near the Cape Verde islands has a low, 10 percent chance of becoming an organized system in the coming week. It is not an immediate threat to Delmarva at this time.
The Atlantic hurricane season ends on November 30.
