Tropics Heating Up Too!

No change to my thinking from my Dog Days blog of early week as we are in the middle of our second heat wave of the season this weekend. Check it out as my views are down this month and I get paid by the hit! Just kidding.

http://www.wsaz.com/weather/headlines/25489289.html

As of Friday night, the humidity has not been a factor, despite what some think. This is still a desert-like air mass with afternoon humidity levels in the 20 to 30 percent range. Talk muggy to me when afternoon humidities reach at least the 40 to 50 percent range.

This weekend, slowly the humidity will become a factor, so the most uncomfortable feeling of this heat wave is still to come for fair goers at Eleanor and Wellston.

Meanwhile outdoor theater enthusiasts will have a muggier time of it here in Huntington at Ritter Park (Romeo and Juliet) and at Jenny Wiley (Wizard of Oz on Saturday). Evening temperatures will only fall back to 80 degrees for 10 p.m. intermissions.

Chances of cooling thunder are slight this weekend (hit or miss at best) but better next week.

As for the Tropics, Bertha is still alive and kicking in the distant northeastern Atlantic. Far from any land, she is making history of sorts as she vies for the title “longest living July storm ever”. Bertha was christened a bouncing tropical storm on July 3rd and may well still be a healthy storm as she impacts Iceland of all places next week.

Of course Myrtle Beach vacationers want to know about the coastal storm I have been talking about this week. As of press time (9 p.m. Friday), low pressure east of Savannah Georgia was on the verge of a tropical depression (a weak ocean storm) and should gain the name Cristobal (named after Christopher Columbus) sometime this weekend (I rate that a 75 percent chance).

Regardless of when/if the storm is named, choppy surf and occasional gusty rain squalls will impact the Carolina beaches this weekend. There is also a scenario whereby Cristobal is not only baptized a storm, but also coronated a hurricane. I say this because the waters off the Carolina beaches are warm like bath water in the 80s (86 off the Garden City Pier).

Here’s a neat link to the National Hurricane Center for you to bookmark all summer and fall long as we track the hurricanes and tropical storms!

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/