Hurricane Irene Could Land a Punch to the Carolinas

Tennessee Valley Stays Dry and Warm 

Lets go ahead and get the forecast for the Tennessee Valley out of the way first. We will be seeing generally sunny to partly cloudy sky conditions through the remainder of the work week with a possible brief bump on Thursday as a weak cold front arrives. It may bring an isolated t-storm but overall it will be dry for most of the next week and a half. Temperatures will be warm with low to mid 90s likely but the good news is overall it wont be humid and in fact, dew points will be in the 50s and low 60s several times. This will be largely due to the track Hurricane Irene, the season's first hurricane, is expected to take and the residual impact on our weather.

As of the writing of this post, about 7:15 Monday Evening, a hurricane hunter was investigating Irene.  Using satellite information the center remained and will remain north of the Dominican Republic and this will allow Irene to hold her strength and actually intensify over the next couple of days. Latest data just released while typing has Irene's winds now up to 100 mph making her a Category 2 hurricane. Irene is continuing to move west-northwest at 10 mph.

Modeling data seems to have a good handle on her and she will be nearing south Florida by Thursday. At this time, she appears that she will take a course that will keep her to the west of the eastern Florida coast and instead go through the Bahamas.

She will also be intensifying and likely will be a "Major" hurricane with winds in excess of 111 mph during her lifespan. By Saturday, she will be eying a possible landfall near the South Carolina/North Carolina border and this is where the current NHC track takes her.

A note, the 18z models have trended a bit further east and take her into the North Carolina Outerbanks.

Either way, I do anticipate a moderate to high chance that the U.S. will be impacted by Irene.

Tennessee Valley Day-By-Day Forecast

Tonight
Mostly Clear and Comfortable
Low:  65 Wind: NNE Light

Tuesday
Mostly Sunny
Low Humidity
Low: 65 High: 92 Wind NE 5

Wednesday
Partly Cloudy
Low: 67 High: 93 Wind SE-S 5-10

Thursday
Variably Cloudy
Sct’d Showers and Thunderstorms  (20%)
Low: 70  High: 94 Wind: SW-NW 5

Friday
Sunny
Humidity Going Back Down
Low: 69 High: 91 Wind N 5-10

Saturday
Sunny
Low Humidity
Low: 64 High: 88 Wind N 5-15

Sunday
Partly Cloudy
Low: 63 High: 88 Wind N 5-10

Monday
Variably Cloudy and Warmer
Low: 65 High: 91 Wind N 5-10

Tuesday
Partly Cloudy
Low: 67 High: 92 Wind SE-S 5

Wednesday
Partly Cloudy and Warm
Low: 69 High: 93 Wind S-SW 5

Thanks for reading,

“Doppler” Dale