Happy Fourth of July! The long holiday weekend is here but unfortunately the weather won’t be picture perfect for your outdoor, holiday plans. With that said, there won’t be any washouts in the forecast this weekend but rounds of showers and storms are still expected.
During the day this Friday, expect passing showers and embedded downpours and thunderstorms. The highest rain chances will be from late-morning through the mid-afternoon before tapering off somewhat by the evening.
Otherwise, it will be very warm and humid with highs in the upper 80s. Skies will be generally cloudy but there will still be some pockets of sunshine, especially early in the day.
Now to the all-important fireworks forecast for this evening: it’s unlikely it will be completely dry for everyone. With that said, many areas should be dry with only isolated, passing showers across the area. Given this, some fireworks shows could be impacted but for many areas it should be fine.
For the rest of the holiday weekend, we will notice some gradual changes to our weather pattern. The amount of sunshine we see will gradually increase, meaning more blue skies are forecast by Sunday. This also means more dry time and fewer showers and storms are expected.
It won’t be totally dry Saturday and Sunday, however, with both days featuring scattered showers and storms, especially midday. Highs will be hotter, generally reaching the low 90s.
As far as rainfall totals are concerned, a widespread 0.5-1.5 inches is forecast with isolated higher amounts.
By next week, the typical summertime pattern will return with a few morning showers followed by afternoon, inland storms. Overall, it will be hotter, drier and brighter during this time frame.
Tropical update
The National Hurricane Center continues to watch an area off the Southeast U.S. coast for potential tropical or subtropical development.
A weak area of low pressure has now formed off the coast of Jacksonville and is forecast to meander over the region over the next day or two before moving onshore and over the Carolinas by the end of the weekend.
There is a 60% chance that a tropical depression develops, but regardless of development bands of heavy rain and gusty winds are forecast for parts of the Southeast.
