Home News Morning Showers and Storms, Watching Danny

Morning Showers and Storms, Watching Danny

By Donna Thomas, SouthFloridaReporter.com Meteorologist, Aug 21, 2015 –  Some morning showers and a few storms are in the forecast for South Florida on Friday. After a muggy start, look for mid to late morning showers (with a maybe a storm in spots), highs in the sticky low 90s, and a few inland storms that could push back into the western suburbs.

Saturday and Sunday will feature afternoon storms and highs in the low 90s, with some higher readings in spots. Back to school time will feel like summertime, with afternoon storms and highs in the low 90s on Monday and through midweek.

Hurricane Danny strengthened slightly overnight, and some further strengthening is possible before it runs into serious obstacles. As of 5 am Friday, Danny was located near image213.7 North, 47.4 West, moving west-northwest at 10 miles per hour. Maximum sustained winds were 85 miles per hour, but this is a very small storm with a tiny area of hurricane force winds. Danny will eventually move more to the west and will encounter dry air and wind shear, which should weaken it to a tropical storm before it reaches the Leeward Islands on Monday. Danny is likely to pass over or near Puerto Rico on Tuesday and interact with the mountains of Hispaniola on Wednesday, likely disrupting its circulation severely. We’ll be watching Danny (or its remnants) closely to see any possible effects on our area next week.

Elsewhere in the tropics, the area of disturbed weather a few hundred miles south-

X marks disturbance
X marks disturbance

southwest of Bermuda is moving north slowly and has a medium chance of developing tropical or subtropical characteristics over the next 5 days, according to the National Hurricane Center. And the wave just off the African coast is moving slowly westward and has a low chance of developing over the next few days.

Donna Thomas has studied hurricanes for two decades. She holds a PhD in history when her experience with Hurricane Andrew ultimately led her to earn a degree in broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State University. Donna spent 15 years at WFOR-TV (CBS4 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale), where she worked as a weather producer with hurricane experts Bryan Norcross and David Bernard. She also produced hurricane specials and weather-related features and news coverage, as well as serving as pool TV producer at the National Hurricane Center during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Donna also served as a researcher on NOAA's Atlantic Hurricane Database Reanalysis Project. Donna specializes in Florida's hurricane history.