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FORECAST: No break in the heat this weekend, tracking Hurricane Ida
Locally, the hot and humid weather continues with little-to-no rain. In the tropics, Hurricane Ida expected to make a beeline for coastal Louisiana.
WCNC Staff, Brad Panovich, Chris Mulcahy, Brittany Van Voorhees (WCNC), KJ Jacobs, Larry Sprinkle
12:41 PM EST March 6, 2019
2:11 PM EDT August 27, 2021
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Today:
Hot and humid from today into the weekend. Highs will be in the low-mid 90s. with only a stray thunderstorm. The best chance for rain will be in the Mountains and Foothills and that’s around twenty percent.
This Weekend:
Look for even hotter weather this weekend. Highs will make it into the mid-90s and Heat Indices will surpass the triple-digits in spots. The low rain chance continues with limited accumulation expected. Sunday there’s a slight chance of showers and a thunderstorm.
Next Week:
Rain chances will finally increase Tuesday and through the end of next week. Although we’ll see a few more showers, the heat continues with highs above average. This will be much heavier to our west and this is directly influenced by Ida.
In The Tropics:
The WCNC Weather Team continues to monitor Hurricane Ida. Ida rapidly intensified to a Category 1 hurricane just after 1 p.m. Friday. Shortly after, the storm made landfall on the Isle of Youth, the second-largest Cuban island.
A sustained wind of 44 mph and a gust of 60 mph were reported on Cayo Largo, Cuba.
Ida will pass near western Cuba today and tonight. Due to minimal time over land, the terrain will not be enough to weaken Ida substantially. This weekend, the storm will emerge into the southeastern and central Gulf of Mexico. Then, it is forecast to approach the U.S. northern Gulf Coast on Sunday.
The latest track from the National Hurricane Center suggests a Category 3 major hurricane will make landfall along the Louisiana coast by Sunday afternoon. The intensity forecast is still subject to change due to the potential for rapid intensification. This is defined as a wind increase of 35 mph within a 24-hour period.
Development potential has lowered slightly for Invest 97-L over the past 24 hours. Conditions are marginally favorable for development late this week and this weekend, so a tropical depression could form as it drifts slowly eastward.
The National Hurricane Center is giving it a 60% chance of formation.
An area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms continues to churn in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Moderate development is possible within the next few days, however, unfavorable conditions are expected this weekend.
The National Hurricane Center is giving it an 80% chance of formation. This disturbance has the best chance to become our next named storm, which is Julian.
This is a new area to monitor in the Atlantic Basin. A tropical wave is expected to emerge off the African coast by mid-next week. Conditions will be marginally conducive for development.
It’s much too early to know what could happen with this disturbance. Stay tuned for updates!