Meteorologist Kristy Steward's First Warning Forecast
It was a hot and steamy start to Father's Day weekend! A few showers and storms can't be ruled out this evening into tonight across the Eastern Shore and Peninsulas. Those areas are under a Level 1 risk with the threat of strong gusty winds. Most if not all should remain dry in our immediate viewing area though. Tonight remains warm and muggy with lows only dropping into the mid 70s.
Father's Day will be another steamy day with feels-like temperatures in the mid to upper 90s. It should be a mostly dry day, but North Carolina does have a chance at isolated storm development later in the day. Sunday, the southern portion of our viewing area from the Albemarle Sound across to Duck and everything south is under a Level 1 risk. Gusty winds are again the main threat.
On top of that, everything from the Albemarle Sound across to Duck and south, including Dare county, are under a Tropical Storm Watch. That means within the next 48 hours Tropical Storm force winds are possible, up to 57 MPH. What's now Tropical Depression Claudette is going to head toward the Carolinas and is expected to restrengthen into a Tropical Storm while in southern North Carolina before entering the Atlantic. We will mainly see Claudette's impacts Sunday night through Monday afternoon. 1 inch of rain is possible as well as 1-3 foot storm surge and a few spin-up tornadoes. Farther into the Atlantic, about 20-250 nm offshore, rough seas are expected with 9-16 foot waves. Claudette's exact track will determine if Virginia will see any impacts or not. Right now, those impacts look to be mostly contained to North Carolina.
By Monday afternoon, we should be able to catch a drier break until a cold front brings us all more scattered showers and thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning. Following the cold front will be a reprieve from the heat and humidity for a few days. Highs back down to the upper 70s and low 80s.
Meteorologist Kristy Steward
