DELMARVA FORECAST
Tuesday night: Scattered showers and some thunder. Areas of fog and mist. Lows in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Wednesday: Partly to mostly cloudy with a few showers and thunderstorms. Winds from the east at 5 to 10 mph. Highs in the mid 80s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy and becoming windy, especially at the coast. Isolated gusty showers, mostly east of U.S. Route 13. Winds from the northeast at 15-25 mph, gusting to 35 mph or more at times. Highs in the upper 70s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Breezy. Highs around 80°F.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the low 80s.
Sunday: Scattered showers. Highs in the low to mid 80s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Monday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low to mid 80s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 85°F. Normal low: 66°F.
Hurricane "Erin" has weakened from its maximum intensity, now a Category 2 hurricane. However, the storm's wind field has been increasing in size, so while the storm is expected to only strengthen modestly over the next 12 to 24 hours, tropical storm force winds are reaching areas farther away from the center of the storm.
Today, though, cloudy skies and rain showers that have been heavy at times down on the Eastern Shore of Virginia are not associated with Hurricane "Erin", but with a remnant low from the cold front that dropped down over Delmarva early Monday.
That low will linger over Delmarva Tuesday night, bringing scattered showers and the occasional rumble of thunder. Areas of fog and mist or drizzle are also expected through Wednesday morning.
Wednesday will see a few peeks of sun, but lots of clouds will linger around with an occasional pop-up shower or thunderstorm. Beach conditions, which have been hazardous the past couple of days, will remain hazardous as swells from Hurricane "Erin" reinforce the high surf from the easterly winds caused by the aforementioned cold front.
We'll see effects from "Erin" late Wednesday through late Thursday. For most of Delmarva over land, expect a northeasterly wind that could gust to 35 mph or more at times. Most land effects will be minimal, but difficult driving conditions in light or high profile vehicles is expected. Isolated power outages from downed tree limbs is also a possibility.
Effects from "Erin" will be more significant closer to the coast, with windy conditions expected east of Route 113, and especially along Coastal Highway where gusts over 40 mph are likely. High surf and dangerous rip currents will keep the beaches unsafe through Friday. The northeasterly winds could also cause some significant beach erosion. As "Erin" expands in size, it is also possible that some of the extreme outer rain bands of the storm could bring gusty rain showers, mainly along the coast, but a few showers could make their way inland.
By Friday, "Erin" will be racing out to the North Atlantic. We're expecting some of the nicer days in the forecast on Friday and Saturday, with mostly sunny skies, calming winds, low humidity, and highs around 80 degrees.
A cold front could bring a round of showers and thunderstorms on Sunday.
In the long range, temperatures are expected to average below normal, and precipitation above normal for August 26 - September 1.
In the Tropics: Hurricane "Erin" - see above.
A tropical wave in the central Atlantic has a medium, 60 percent chance of becoming an organized tropical system in the next seven days as it traverses the tropical Atlantic. We need to watch this closely as it will be following a track similar to "Erin" at this same point in its development.
A tropical wave near the Cape Verde islands has a low, 30 percent, chance of development in the next seven days.
The Atlantic hurricane season ends on November 30.