Locally and nationally there are some changes taking place which could have a pretty big impact.  For folks in the east the big story is the cold front that is on the way.  Yesterday we had widespread 90s with even a couple of 100s inland:

High Temps Yesterday

 My weather watcher (Don) in Toano also had 100 degrees yesterday.  We did have a couple of isolated pop-up storms yesterday.  Today, we’ll have a higher chance for rain and over a wider area.  Before the rain forms though, the temperatures will get back up to the mid 90s.  A few cities inland will be back in the upper 90s, but I think it will be 2-4 degrees less-hot than yesterday’s highs due to more clouds.  Later this afternoon we could even see some strong storms and heavy rain as there will be plenty of instability in the region.  Isolated severe storms are not out of the question.  Plus the strong high pressure that we’ve had for a couple of days is breaking down and moving farther offshore. So that is also aiding in causing showers. 

Today's Weather Forecast

 The cold front will not arrive until late in the evening.  We’ll see some more showers and storms along the front.  Then tomorrow the front will push into North Carolina.  We’ll see a few early showers, but then we’ll clear out in the afternoon.  It should be a nice weekend after that.  Highs both Saturday and Sunday will be in the upper 80s.  We could see a few isolated showers and storms redevelop by Sunday night, but the higher chance for rain sits on Monday with scattered storms expected.  That will be a second cold front that will drop the highs to near 80 by the middle of next week. 

Another hot topic (ohhh… I’ll be here all week) is the tropics.  Tropical storm Chris has finally weakened again after briefly becoming a hurricane yesterday afternoon.  It was the first hurricane of the Atlantic season albeit brief.  It was over 1,600 miles east of Norfolk and is moving over cool waters.  It is expected to either dissipate or become post-tropical in the next day or two.  However, there is another area that is more concerning; and it hasn’t even formed yet.  (As of early this morning).  There is a cluster of storms in the Gulf of Mexico that a lot of the computer models turn into a tropical depression or storm in the next day or two. 

Chris And A Tropical Disturbance

A couple of the models also suggest that this will become a hurricane or at least a strong tropical storm.  If it becomes a hurricane, then it would be the first one to directly affect the United States since Irene.  It could potentially be the first one to make landfall over the Gulf Coast since hurricane Ike in 2008.  Stay tuned as this could become a big national story in the next few days.  It’s also possible that it would move northeast and bring us some rain next week, but that’s too far out to call. 

I haven’t had any reports of smoke in the region today, but there may be some around North Carolina this afternoon.  With the other hot topics, I pushed that one towards the background.  Have a good weekend.

Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler