DAYS 1-5 (SEPTEMBER 25-29)
The blocking pattern in place stays in place through this forecast period. High pressure at the surface is far enough north that an east to southeast flow off the ocean drives broken marine layer clouds into our region while a trough approaching from the west spreads its high to mid level clouds in. Summation: A generally cloudy day today. Low pressure associated with the approaching upper trough is expected to track just north of the region on Thursday. Its warm front will bring a bout of rain early morning to midday Thursday, and its cold front will likely bring a briefer period of moderate to heavy showers and possible thunderstorms, with a brief break in between. This system will move off to the east southeast Thursday night and early Friday with a clearing trend will take place, and high pressure again builds to the north of the region. With this we see a return of dry weather Friday and over the weekend. Meanwhile, strengthening Tropical Storm Helene, soon to be a hurricane, will track northward through the eastern Gulf of Mexico and its landfall point is most likely on the eastern part of the Florida Panhandle. Big trouble for that region with rain, wind, and coastal storm surge. Thankfully it appears the core of that hurricane will come ashore in a relatively sparsely populated area, lessening the property impact aspect. Often when we see these systems down there, we hear from their remnants eventually. We will, and we won’t. Huh? What does that mean? It means this. Friday night and Saturday the cloud shield will make it into our sky. It remains to be seen how thick it will get in terms of a limiting factor for Saturday sunshine, but I’ll take a look at that as we get closer to it. Blocking high pressure will keep the rainfall from the system far to our south, hence the dry forecast.
TODAY: Mostly cloudy. Highs 62-69. Wind SE up to 10 MPH.
TONIGHT: Cloudy. Rain arrives west to east overnight. Patchy fog forming. Lows 53-60. Wind SE up to 10 MPH.
THURSDAY: Cloudy. Rain likely until mid afternoon, tapering west to east. Patchy fog. Highs 61-68. Wind SE to S 5-15 MPH.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Moderate to heavy showers and possible embedded thunder moving northwest to southeast across the region. Areas of fog. Lows 52-59. Wind S 5-15 MPH shifting to NW.
FRIDAY: Early morning showers exit the South Coast as clouds diminish. Sun and passing clouds mid morning on. Highs 63-70. Wind NW 5-15 MPH.
FRIDAY NIGHT: High clouds increasing south to north. Ground fog patches forming in lower elevations. Lows 46-53. Wind N diminishing to under 10 MPH.
SATURDAY: Filtered / dimmed sun. Highs 62-69. Wind NE 5-15 MPH.
SATURDAY NIGHT: High clouds decrease north to south. Ground fog patches forming in lower elevations. Lows 45-52. Wind NE diminishing to under 10 MPH.
SUNDAY: Filtered to brighter sun. Highs 62-69. Wind NE 5-15 MPH.
DAYS 6-10 (SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 4)
Blocking high pressure is expected to keep tropical moisture to our south early in the period. Some remnants of that moisture combined with a trough from the west will bring a brief period of unsettled weather in the October 1-2 time window before fair weather returns. Temperatures variable, moderating early in the period, cooling late period.
DAYS 11-15 (OCTOBER 5-9)
A early-period unsettled interlude as the pattern shifts from blocking to quasi-zonal (more west to east flow). No temperature extremes expected.