There’s no shortage of sizzling weather across south Florida. We’ve now had a string of days with heat advisories and, on Wednesday, MIami peaked at 94-degrees which tied the record. What’s even more telling? The Heat Index readings that ranged from 106º in Miami to 113º in Kendale Lakes! The hot weather came courtesy of strong sunshine throughout the afternoon and only some wispy clouds over the city by the evening hours. There’s no relief from the hot air as we look at the Thursday weather forecast. It’s another day with a weak onshore flow and light steamy breeze. With the daytime heat and Sea Breeze development, we will see scattered showers and isolated storms focused on the early afternoon for southeast coast and metro areas. The next weather change isn’t a big one but could include another burst of heavy rain. If it holds, the northern extent of a weak tropical wave could brush over the region late Friday through Saturday morning. It would only bring a brief round of downpours before a veil of Saharan Dust (and drying) arrives. Meanwhile, there’s activity in the tropical Atlantic but far from home. Shown below is a weak Tropical Storm, Cristobal, that’s far from land and heading east-northeast. On Thursday it’s forecast to move into cooler waters (and encounter drier air) which should cause it to fall apart. As Cristobal meets its demise we’ll focus on two other areas over the distant Atlantic (as seen below). These two waves are still disorganized as of this writing and moving west. There’s a high chance for development (1st area, labelled Invest 92L) and a tropical depression, or storm, is possible in the red-shaded area over the next week. The 2nd area, still a tropical wave south of the Cape Verde Islands, has a medium risk of becoming a tropical system in the orange area over 7 days. Both of these would need to remain far enough south to separate from Saharan Dust that might hold it back. The next obstacle? There’s also a good deal of unfavorable winds ahead. Called Wind Shear, it may interfere with the westward-moving disturbances and either “cut them down to size”, curb them back, or simply tear them apart. Of course, the atmosphere is always changing and shear can weaken or strengthen, but current long range forecasts show a potential big hurdle down the road. Stay tuned to Channel 7 for regular updates on the tropics. ...read more read less