By Jim Stefkovich, Meteorologist, Alabama Emergency Management Agency
CLANTON – Friday, 11:15 am August 25, 2023
Another day of high temperatures and humidity will lead to dangerous heat index values across the northern and western portions of the state. Prolonged exposure can increase your risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water if you must be outdoors and never leave people or pets unattended in vehicles.
There is now a 70% chance that a tropical depression will form in the Gulf of Mexico late this weekend or early next week. An area of low pressure in the northwestern Caribbean Sea will move northward during the next several days. There is still uncertainty on the exact track, but global models indicate landfall somewhere east of Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle or even the Florida Peninsula late Tuesday night or Wednesday.
Right now, it looks like little to no impacts to Alabama outside of rip currents along the beaches beginning early next week. Still, it would be wise to keep up to date with the latest forecasts of where this system is headed.
Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Franklin is forecast to become a hurricane on Saturday or early Sunday as is moves northward across the western Atlantic.
Two areas of low pressure in the central Atlantic are forecast to remain well away from the US coastline.