DELMARVA FORECAST
Friday night: Mostly cloudy and windy, with a few light showers. Lows in the mid to upper 50s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Saturday: Cloudy with periods of on-and-off rain. Windy. Winds from the north-northwest could gust to 30 mph or more, with gust to 50 mph or more at the coast. Highs in the mid 60s. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Sunday: Cloudy with periods of on-and-off rain. Breezy. Highs in the mid 60s. Chance of rain 60 percent.
Monday: Mostly cloudy. Highs around 70°F.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Highs near 80°F.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs around 80°F
Friday: Partly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs around 80°F. Chance of rain 20 percent.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 77°F. Normal low: 57°F.
We continue to monitor a strengthening nor'easter off the East Coast Friday evening. Strongest effects from the storm will be felt in our coastal communities in the form of strong winds and beach erosion.
Storm Warnings are in effect for the Atlantic Ocean through at least Saturday morning.
Gale Warnings are in effect for the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays.
High Wind Warnings are in effect for coastal communities through Sunday morning.
High Surf Warnings are in effect for coastal communities through Sunday afternoon.
Coastal Flood Warnings are in effect for most of Delmarva (except the Midshore) through Sunday afternoon.
While there are still a few uncertainties regarding the exact track of this storm, confidence is increasing that the storm will track north to just south of New England and stall out by early Saturday. With strong high pressure to the north generating westerly steering currents, the nor'easter is expected to wobble to the west, approaching the coast of New Jersey by late Saturday in to Sunday.
Whether the center of the storm makes it over land over New Jersey of Delaware remains to be seen. However, as the strong high to the north saunters away to the northeast, this will allow westerly currents to start sweeping the storm away from our area by Sunday night with improving conditions early next week.
At the coast, be prepared for continued strong winds gusting to 50 mph or more at times, coupled with tidal flooding during the high tides, which will be made worse by the full moon on Saturday. As winds start to back to the north and northwest, which should reduce the high surf and beach erosion threats by Sunday.
Over interior Delmarva, the storm won't be much more than just gusty rain showers, which will be of the on-and-off variety, although some downpours can't be ruled out. However, wind gusts could be strong enough to bring down some tree limbs and cause some isolated power outages.
On the Chesapeake, tidal flooding will be the main threat, mostly on the bay side of the Lower Eastern Shore and the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Rain showers and gusty winds are expected to continue into Sunday, although by Sunday the storm should begin weakening a bit.
Then much nicer conditions await us next week, with temperatures rising to about 80 degrees by Thursday, under partly to mostly sunny skies.
In the long range, temperatures are expected to be above normal, and precipitation above normal for Oct 2 - Oct 8.
In the Tropics: Tropical Storm "Fay" has re-formed in the central Atlantic as it moves slowly west away from the Azores. Development conditions in this part of the Atlantic are not great for development, and the storm is expected to weaken back to a post-tropical low by this weekend. It is not a threat to the United States at this time.
Tropical Storm "Gonzalo" has been christened off the West Coast of Africa. It is expected to bring gusty winds and heavy rain to the Cape Verde Islands, and high surf to the coasts of Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mauretania. It is expected to weaken to a tropical depression by Sunday. It is not a threat to the United States.
The Atlantic hurricane season ends on November 30.
