CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Happy Thursday!
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- A few light showers are possible Friday
- Moderate heat risk over the holiday weekend
- Saharan dust moves into the area
- Increasing risk of rip currents
While it's been a gradual trend, our forecast is looking drier in more ways that one. Not in terms of humidity— that stays plentiful as one might expect for July in South Texas. But rain chances will be quite low over the next couple of days because of dry air in the low to mid-levels of the atmosphere. Still since we are in between weather systems, showers will be possible. Thanks to dry air from Saharan dust and added particulates from fireworks smoke, it's going to be tough for clouds to grow, let alone create heavy rainfall, as some weather models are suggesting.
While the timing of the upper-level trigger for storms looks to be from midnight to sunrise on Saturday morning, I don't think much rain will make it to the ground. Not only will showers have to survive dry air, but Saharan dust and smoke from fireworks will also help to keep rain chances low. The air will be full of little particulates (fancy term: cloud condensation nuclei). When there are lots of them present, it's difficult for water droplet to grow into cloud droplets, eventually raindrops (fancy term: coalesce).
Either way, the heat is on! Expect highs to top out near-average in the low to middle 90s, with 'feels like' temps a hot as 110ºF. This means our heat risk will be moderate and the Fourth of July holiday weekend will likely be very hot, hazy, and humid. Plan to drink plenty of water!
CORPUS CHRISTI FORECAST
Tonight: Increasing clouds
Temperature: Low 78ºF
Winds: SE 10-20 mph
Independence Day: Mostly cloudy and hazy, a stray shower
Temperature: High 94ºF
Winds: SE 10-20 mph
Friday night: Showers possible after midnight
Temperature: Low 79ºF
Winds: SSE 10-20 mph
Have a terrific evening!
