The Tropics ... Quiet

We're still sitting (as of July 11) on no tropical storms, no hurricanes for the season.  We typically don't see the fun and games begin until we get into August and September.  However, we at least see a little bit by this point in the season.  The picture on the left shows that over the last 5 years we've only seen one of 5 years that started this slow.  That was '04, a year that started very slow but really exploded once we hit August.  That explosion may not happen this year, as all signs point to an El Nino setting up, which could hinder storm development this season.  So a slow start plus what looks to potentially be a quieter peak equals what could be a quiet season altogether.  As of this moment there really isn't anything going on.  As I said when showing some maps this morning, the ocean looks blue.  That was really the only thing to describe on the map.  We'll be watching.

Heat Returning

Thursday July 2 we hit 90 degrees for a high, bringing our streak of 90 to 17 days.  It ended the next day on the third.  Since then, it's been a very nice break.  Assuming we miss 90 again today (we're going for 88) that will mean that in the 9 days since the heat wave broke, we've only hit 90 once and not a single day checked in with temps above average.  That will change starting tomorrow.  Highs will be in the 90's probably through the end of the week, with more heat building in by late week.  Each day will probably give way to afternoon pop up thunderstorms as well.  Not a very good chance of storms this week, just your average summer time pattern.  I'll check in again next week with another scan of the tropics.  Have a good weekend.

Steve Milone / FOX 5 Weather

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