KATC StormTeam 3 Weather BLOG

A typical July weekend is forecast with hazy, hot and humid conditions likely along with just a few afternoon storms through Monday. The tropics remain busy with Bertha back to hurricane status, a disturbance of the SE U.S. Coast and a vigorous tropical disturbance in the Caribbean. Hurricane Hunters once again failed to find a closed circulation typical of a tropical depression with the system near Jamaica but it still looks like we’ll see a change in the pattern as this impulse traverses the Yucatan this weekend and heads for the Southern Gulf early next week. Whether this system develops or not I would expect a healthy surge of tropical moisture to add to our rain chances mid-next week. This system could still become a depression this weekend before crossing the Yucatan and if not possibly in the Southwestern Gulf so we’ll remain vigilant. The hurricane/tropical models are less aggressive than they were yesterday with this system while the broader global models take the entire impulse into Texas or Mexico by next Wednesday/Thursday. In the near term this evening, the International Space Station should be visible this evening at 8:44pm in the south-southwestern sky heading to the east-northeast about 29 degrees above the horizon. Haze and some high clouds may limit our viewing tonight but if your check the link we’ll have a few pre-dawn and evening views possible. Have a great weekend.