Posted: 2008-08-16 07:16:48

TROPICAL STORM FAY’S INTERACTION WITH LAND INTERFERES WITH THE STORM’S STRENGTHENING… SHOWERS AND STORMS BRING SOME MUCH NEED RAINFALL TO SOME AREAS ON FRIDAY

Tropical Storm Fay’s center is now over the island of Haiti so despite having ideal atmospheric conditions for strengthening, it is struggling to maintain its intensity. However, forecasters are saying that once it moves back over the very warm tropical waters, intensification may be quite rapid. It all depends on how close the center is to the island of Cuba. If the center moves right over Cuba, the storm will weaken again. The islands of Hispaniola and Cuba are mountainous, so they definitely interfere significantly with the tropical cyclone’s structure. Now, what happens once the storm moves past the islands? Does it continue west into the Gulf of Mexico? Or, does it turn more NW or even North in response to a weakness in the high pressure ridge to the north? The computer models are offering different solutions so please stay tuned. The state of Florida needs to pay close attention to the track of this storm as this would be the first state affected based on the current projected track.

What about our local weather here in Hampton Roads? Yesterday, showers and thunderstorms move through and I picked up 0.70 inches of rain in my backyard. Wind gusts over Norfolk and Northern VA Beach were very strong, reaching severe thunderstorm criteria. Saturday should be a typical summer day with just a chance of an isolated thunderstorm in spots. The frontal boundary is to our south and will eventually dissipate. Sunday will be another nice day with less of a chance of rain. I’ll have an update on Sunday.