Pinpoint Weather: Less humid and cooler weather on the way, latest on the tropics

Posted: Sep 14, 2020 / 02:41 PM EDT / Updated: Sep 14, 2020 / 10:31 PM EDT

Cooler fall-like weather is in the forecast for the next several days.

Skies will become mostly clear for the evening hours and overnight lows will fall into the cool 50s.

An area of high pressure will build in behind the front, giving Southwest and Central Virginia a period of fair weather. For Tuesday, skies will be mostly sunny and afternoon temperatures will warm up into the autumn-like 70s. You may notice a smoky haze in the sky for Tuesday. This is due to the wildfires in the western United States. The jet stream will carry some of the smoke from these wildfire over our region. This smoke will stay aloft, so we won’t see much when it comes to air quality impacts. However, the smokey tinge may add some color to our sunsets.

The quiet and cool weather will continue into Wednesday, but clouds will gradually increase later in the day. Our next chance for rain is slated for Thursday as we could see some moisture from Sally.

Tracking the Tropics

We’re almost through the names for the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Teddy and Vicki became tropical storm Monday morning. At this time, both storms are forecast to stay out to sea for the next several days. The last name on the list is Wilfred, and then storms will be named using the Greek alphabet.

There is three more named storms in the Atlantic Basin as of Monday afternoon. Tropical Depression Rene will also stay out in the Atlantic Ocean and is not forecast to strengthen. Hurricane Paulette is impacting Bermuda. The island can expect strong winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surge in Monday evening.

Sally became a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico Monday and will impact the Central Gulf Coast into Wednesday. The main concerns with this particular storm is extremely dangerous storm surge and life-threatening flash flooding. Strong winds will also impact this area. While Sally is currently a Category 1 storm, it could strengthen into a Category 2 storm before making landfall Tuesday. Southwest and Central Virginia may see some moisture from this storm on Thursday and Friday, unless Sally moves too far south.