ROANOKE, Va. – Hurricane Erin is being guided by synoptic (large scale) flow. A large area of high pressure known as the Bermuda High is steering Erin to the north and east. A decaying front is also assisting in pushing Erin to the north and east through the week.
What does this mean for Southwest Virginia?
As Erin pushes along, there will be indirect impacts felt across the Mid-Atlantic. Tropical moisture will funnel into the region from the east-northeast ahead of the storm and will keep our humidity levels high.
It will feel a bit tropical at times, with peak levels of moisture occurring in the middle of the week.
As a result, cloud cover will be a tad higher for the next couple of days. Notice on Thursday, there is a decline in cloud coverage. That is because the flow will shift later in the day to be more north-westerly as the decaying front working to keep Erin offshore moves south and east.
Temperatures will be cooler than normal for much of the week. Most spots along the mid-Atlantic will be in the low to mid-80s.
Here in Southwest Virginia, temperatures will roughly be 3-5 degrees cooler than average.
While the bulk of the tropical rain and hurricane-force winds will be offshore, coastal areas up the eastern seaboard of the United States will see impacts. Increased wave heights and strong rip currents will be in place for the entire week. Because Hurricane Erin is such a large storm, swells along the coast will be seen for a few days after it passes. A couple bands of tropical rain could impact coastal areas, too
If you are concerned about coastal evacuation zones, check with your local authorities.
Looking beyond Hurricane Erin, there is another area of interest that the National Hurricane Center is monitoring closely, and looks to follow in the wake of Erin.
Odds of development are currently at 50% for the next week. Early indications show this system being more of a threat to the Lesser Antilles and Caribbean early on in its development. Updates will be prompted when needed as this system looks to develop later this week.
*Your Local Weather Authority is not forecasting direct impacts from Hurricane Erin. Large scale influence of moisture, and cloud cover is possible, but any rain we see this week will come from a decaying front pushing across the region.*
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