DELMARVA FORECAST
Tuesday night: Cloudy with scattered showers. Breezy. Lows in the low 60s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Wednesday: Cloudy with scattered showers. Gusty northeast breeze. Highs in the mid to upper 60s. Chance of rain 60 percent.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Showers at the coast. Breezy. Highs in the mid to upper 60s. Chance of rain 30 percent, but higher at the coast.
Friday: Partly cloudy and breezy. Highs in the upper 60s.
Saturday: Partly cloudy with some coastal showers. Breezy. Highs in the low 70s.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 70s.
Monday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the low to mid 70s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 78°F. Normal low: 59°F.
A nearby cold front and developing area of low pressure are putting a bit of a damper on Delmarva weather this week.
We're expecting scattered shower activity Tuesday night through early on Thursday. High pressure to the north is supporting a gusty east to northeast wind that is setting up a "cold air damming" situation. This situation keeps our temperatures cool, and also keeps our atmosphere stable, so no thunderstorms are expected.
However, as your head south toward the Hampton Roads/Outer Banks area, thunderstorms producing flooding rainfall will be more likely.
Back here on Delmarva, the rain is not expected to be a huge problem, but the winds will be, especially at the coast.
Northeasterly winds could gust in the 30 to 50 mph range at times at the coast, leading to high surf and beach erosion. The winds, coupled with astronomically high tides from the upcoming full moon on Saturday will also cause some coastal flooding. Coastal Flood Advisories and Coastal Flood Watches are up through at least Thursday. Be prepared for 1 to 2 feet of inundation in low-lying areas near tidal waterways during high tide cycles.
There is some uncertainty regarding how far offshore the low pressure will be as we look ahead to the weekend.
I'm leaning toward the low being far enough off shore that rain chances will pretty much end by midday Thursday, with low-end shower chances lingering at the coast through the weekend.
Winds will stay gusty, though, from the northeast, which will keep high surf and beach erosion a concern through the weekend.
In the long range, temperatures are expected to be above normal, and precipitation near normal for Sep 29 - Oct 5.
In the Tropics: Tropical Depression "Fay" is located in the central Atlantic. "Fay" is expected to become post-tropical in the next 24 hours as it makes it way west. It is not a threat to the United States at this time.
A tropical wave is expected to to move off the coast of West Africa in the next day or so. It could bring heavy rain and gusty winds to the Cape Verde Islands. It has a low, 30 percent chance of tropical development in the next 7 days.
The Atlantic hurricane season ends on November 30.
