Sept. 1st Tropical Update

Hurricane Katia continues to churn in the Atlantic with sustained winds of 75 mph. The storm is expected to maintain hurricane strength and further strengthen in the coming days. Katia, however, will not be a threat to land in the next 5-7 days. Beyond that time, of course Katia bears watching.

Of other importance is an area of disturbed weather in the Gulf. An area of disorganized shower activity over the eastern Gulf is expected to get more organized in the next 48 hours and become a tropical depression or tropical storm. While a good consensus in the forecast models has yet to be reached, it appears this wave will bring much needed rainfall to the coastlines of the Deep South, including Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, areas that are all suffering from moderate to exceptional drought. Based off even the most pessimistic intensity models, I believe this storm could strengthen into a tropical storm but not into a hurricane. Of course things can change and we will keep a close eye on this wave, as we in SW FL will see a bit of backwash from this storm with clouds and scattered showers over the weekend.

-KW