Sunny and hot today; Hanna approaches tomorrow
Yet another day of sunny, 90-plus September weather today, the third in the first four days of the month. It would be welcome late-season summer weather if it weren't for the fact that Baltimore has recorded only four days of measureable rain since Aug. 1
That's all about to come to a soggy end , however, as Tropical Storm Hanna makes her move on the Southeast Coast of the U.S. We should begin to see high clouds from Hanna slipping in as early as Friday morning, with increasing cloudiness all day. Forecasters out at Sterling are predicting as much as 3 inches of rain for Baltimore as the storm begins to be felt here Friday afternoon or evening.
That's Hanna, east of the Bahamas in the satellite image above. Hurricane Ike, the one with the eye, is drifting into view on the right. Ike is a compact Cat. 4, with top winds of 140 mph. He is likely to weaken some in a few days, but nothing to be trifled with. We may be writing about Ike next week.
The heaviest rains are due Saturday, they say, with 1 to 2 inches predicted during the daytime, and another three-quarters of an inch Saturday night. Showers and thunderstorms could linger into Saturday evening. But then the whole system will have whizzed off to the northeast, leaving us under sunny skies on Sunday, with highs in the lower 80s.
The Eastern Shore and Ocean City would feel the brunt of the storm if the current forecast track holds firm. OC is forecast to see winds of 43 to 46 mph on Saturday, gusting to 60. That's tropical-storm force and twice what Baltimore would see, forecasters say. There is also a risk of isolated tornadoes. Rainfall on the shore doesn't look much different than ours, however - maybe even a bit less. And, there is already a risk of dangerous rip currents as the long-period swells kicked up by the Atlantic storms reach the beaches.
If you're out in the storm Saturday, stay safe. And if you get some pictures of flooding, or wind damage, or waterspouts or anything stormy and cool, send them in and we'll post them.
Way down the road, we're looking for a new cold front early next week, leaving us with highs only in the 70s by mid-week.
