South Florida will see September showers and storms on Saturday as we watch the tropics — which are too busy, even for September!
Here in South Florida, look for passing showers and storms as plenty of moisture moves in from the south. Clouds and rain will keep Saturday’s highs in the upper 80s. We’re also entering the season of king tides, so flooding is possible in low-lying coastal areas (especially Miami Beach and Marco Island) at high tides this weekend.
Sunday will feature some sun, clouds, and periods of showers and storms, especially in the east coast metro area. Sunday’s highs will be near 90 degrees.
Monday will be a more typical rainy season day, with early showers along the east coast, sun and clouds, and afternoon showers and storms in western parts of South Florida. Monday’s highs will be near 90 degrees.
Showers and storms will form along the sea breezes on Tuesday, with much of the activity well inland. Tuesday’s highs will be near 90 degrees.
Wednesday will bring sun, clouds, and sea breeze showers and storms. Look for an increasing risk of dangerous rip currents at the Atlantic beaches. Highs on Wednesday will be near 90 degrees.
The tropics are so busy that it’s hard to know where to begin. We’ll start with Florence, which is expected to be a threat to the U.S. east coast next week. At 5 am Saturday, Florence was located near 24.5 North, 54.2 West, and was moving west at 9 miles per hour. Maximum sustained winds were 65 miles per hour, but Florence is forecast to become a major hurricane again. Coastal areas from the Carolinas northward will need to watch Florence closely.
The wave we’ve been watching that’s now in the central Atlantic has become Tropical Depression # 9. At 5 am Saturday, it was located near 14.3 North, 35.4 West, and was moving west-northwest at 5 miles per hour. Maximum sustained winds were 35 miles per hour. TD # 9 is expected to become a tropical storm later on Saturday and could strengthen more as it approaches the Lesser Antilles next week. We’ll watch this one closely.
Elsewhere, the wave just off the African coast has quickly morphed from a tropical depression to Tropical Storm Helene. At 5 am Saturday, Helene was located near 13.7 North, 19.6 West, and was moving west at 13 miles per hour. Maximum sustained winds were 45 miles per hour, but Helene is expected to become a hurricane as it moves near the Cape Verde Islands this weekend.
And we have an area of disorganized showers a few hundred miles southwest of Bermuda. That feature has a low chance of developing into a depression during the next 5 days.