Increasing heat and humidity will be the main story locally for the next few days. Tropical moisture from the Gulf continues to flow into the region as high temperatures gradually climb higher each afternoon.
Today, expect mostly clear to partly cloudy skies. However, skies may appear hazy or milky due to Saharan dust moving into the Gulf Coast region.
The dust may lead to unhealthy air quality, especially for sensitive groups with respiratory issues, as particulate matter increases.
Even with the haze, sunshine will still heat things up quickly as humidity stays high. Expect high temperatures to top out between 92 and 96 degrees, with the heat index or “feels like temperatures,” between 105 and 110 degrees.
The mid to upper 90s will stick around through the upcoming weekend. When you factor in the humidity, expect afternoon heat index values or “feels like temperatures” to be about 5 to 10 degrees warmer than what the thermometer is showing.
There is a greater chance that rain will help cool things down today than any other. We have a 30 to 40 percent chance for rain to account for pop up showers and a few thunderstorms late in the day. Any storms that develop will be brief, but may have locally heavy rainfall.
In the tropics, the National Hurricane Center is keeping an eye on the southwestern Gulf of Mexico.
The NHC is giving this system a 40% chance of development over the next 5 days. If it becomes a named storm while over the Gulf or Caribbean, the next name on the list is Bonnie.