Watching a chance of storms and the tropics
Late June continues to bring the heat, as we’ve got yet another warm day in progress here in Charleston with temperatures expected to be around 95. With the heat, though, comes the chance of a few thunderstorms.
Slight risk of severe weather today
Afternoon thunderstorms are also pretty much a given any day during a Charleston summer; today’s no exception. However, an extra pocket of energy is pushing southward which could make these storms stronger or even severe. Thus, the Storm Prediction Center has placed our area in a slight risk of severe weather, with damaging winds as the primary concern. Not sure yet if this will mean a watch later on today; we’ll keep an eye on it and tweet if in fact a watch comes to pass.
What’s that in the Gulf?
Invest 93 model plot and satellite.
I’ve started keeping an eye on a tropical wave identified as Invest 93, which NHC gives a decent shot of getting together as a tropical depression sometime in the next couple days as it slides northward into the Gulf and meets up with more conditions better favoring tropical development. The circulation is ragged and hasn’t completely materialized at the surface just yet, but that should change going into tomorrow.
Obviously, it’s far too early to tell what impacts it will have on us here in coastal South Carolina. While I’ve seen a couple scenarios that take 93 across the Florida coast and potentially giving coastal SC a little bit of a brush of rain midweek as it accelerates out into the Atlantic, it’s just too early to say if anything even close to that will pan out. If 93 develops, it will be the second Atlantic tropical depression this year. If it reaches tropical storm strength, it’d be our first named storm, Ana.