Afternoon storms expected Saturday; Tropics heating up

The Weather Authority expects typical August weather for your weekend, with a mix of sun and clouds, highs in the low-90s, and a chance of storms in the afternoon.

Saturday will start off nice with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

By the afternoon hours, temperatures will soar into the low-90s, with the heat index back into the triple digits area-wide.

The heat will be enough to spark scattered storms in the afternoon and evening.

Looking ahead to the workweek, expect daily storm chances across Southwest Florida. Otherwise, temperatures aren’t expected to budge much, with highs in the low to mid-90s and lows in the upper-70s.

In the tropics, we’re watching 4 disturbances.

The first is a tropical wave in the central Caribbean, which is expected to move towards the west over the next several days. By early next week, conditions will be favorable enough for a depression to form as it crosses the Yucatan, and into the southwest Gulf of Mexico away from Florida. The National Hurricane Center currently gives it a low 20% chance of development.

The second is a large tropical disturbance over the central Tropical Atlantic, which bears watching as it moves westward over the next week or so toward the Lesser Antilles, and potentially near the Greater Antilles beyond that. Conditions are favorable for gradual organization, and the National Hurricane Center calls for a medium 50% chance of development over the next five days. Expect those odds to increase in the coming days.

The other 2 tropical waves we’ll continue to monitor over the next many days.

The next two names on the list are Danielle and Earl.