THE TROPICS COME ALIVE... NO RAIN IN SIGHT FOR HAMPTON ROADS... TEMPERATURES SHOULD REMAIN COMFORTABLE FOR THE WEEKEND, BUT WARMER WEATHER SEEMS LIKEL

There are two named storms in the Atlantic Basin and another area that will probably be named in the no-to-distant future. Hurricane Danielle is churning northward and should pass east of the island of Bermuda this weekend. Winds at the time of this writing are sustained at 110 MPH. Tropical Storm Earl is heading west in the Central North Atlantic and its track is going to have to be watched very closely. Winds are clocked at 60 MPH. Earl will most likely come much closer to the U.S. but how close is the question. Right now, forecast models have it moving between Bermuda and the east coast of the U.S. That could change so please stay tuned. As I stated last week, I would make sure that you have all of your hurricane preparedness plans in place, including the supplies that you will need and your plans to evacuate. There is another area of disturbed weather further east in the Atlantic that could become a tropical storm this weekend. This may be the storm that can come all the way west to the U.S. mainland but it is way too soon to make that call... Meanwhile, as far as our local weather is concerned, there really aren't any weather related concerns this weekend EXCEPT if you are going to the beach. There will be a high risk for rip tides due to the increasing swells coming in from Hurricane Danielle. Temperatures will be seasonal with moderate levels of humidity. Things heat up a bit as we head towards Monday. I'll have an udpate on Sunday morning.