August 22: New Tropical Storm Harold To Hit Texas Today While Locally We Turn Cooler

August 22, 2023

Tuesday Morning Update

After hitting a high of 92ºF in Baltimore, we can’t seem to hold the heat this summer. We are now getting a new air mass as temps turn cooler than normal.

Meanwhile, another area that has had extreme heat is getting a tropical storm to try and balance things out. Tropical Storm Harold has formed and is expected to hit South Texas today. Locally heavy rain and flash flooding is expected. Tropical Storm Warnings and Flood Watches are in place. I have added the Texas radar below followed by our local forecast.

Tropical Storm Harold

A new storm has formed in the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Harold has winds of 45 mph and is forecast to track into South Texas. The main areas expected to be impacted are Corpus Christi to Brownsville.

National Hurricane Center Update

4 AM CDT

LOCATION…25.8N 95.1W

ABOUT 155 MI…245 KM ESE OF PORT MANSFIELD TEXAS

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…45 MPH…75 KM/H

PRESENT MOVEMENT…WNW OR 285 DEGREES AT 18 MPH…30 KM/H

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…1004 MB…29.65 INCHES

Live Radar Widget

Rain continues across the desert, even in Arizona this morning.

Use the controls to zoom in and pan the map.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…

• Mouth of Rio Grande to Port O’Connor, Texas

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…

• Port O’Connor to Sargent, Texas

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case within 12 hours.

Morning IR Satellite Loop

Tropical Storm Winds: Extend 115 miles from the center

Rainfall Forecast

This may not be as prolific as Hilary was in California, but over 2 inches in South Texas could lead to problems.

Tropical Storms Update

The switch has been turned to active. In the last day, the formation of Tropical Storm Harold was a trade-off for the demise of Emily. 

Tropical Storm Franklin: Winds of 50mph will affect the Caribbean Islands and then may head up north near Bermuda.

Gert has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression with winds of 30 mph.

While there is more activity, I do not see anything extreme or immediate threat to local weather.

EXPLORE MORE

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LOCAL WEATHER

Morning Surface Weather

A cold front has moved through and switched our winds from the Northwest. You may already notice the drop in humidity this morning and most definitely will feel it this afternoon.

There are high clouds showing up on satellite, while ground stations are reporting ‘clear’. This suggests cirrus clouds that can turn the sky into a mixture of milky white and dim the sun at times.  However, it will still more than likely be sunny throughout the day.

Afternoon Temperatures

Once again we are back to temperatures slightly below average.

CLIMATE DATA: Baltimore

TODAY August 22

Sunrise at 6:26 AM

Sunset at 7:52 PM

Normal Low in Baltimore:  65F

Record 52ºF in 1956

Normal High in Baltimore: 86ºF

Record 99ºF 1983

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Wednesday

Continued COOLER and pleasant.

Most of the region will drop into the 50s. However, it will remain in the 60s in the urban centers and around the Bay.

Morning Temperatures

Afternoon Temperatures

Looking Ahead: Thursday Morning To Friday Evening

This next weather event is looking less impressive. I want to highlight that this model product does not demonstrate afternoon or evening thunderstorms well. With the brief heat and expected cold front, I anticipate more showers and thunderstorms Friday afternoon and night.

7 Day Forecast

We will continue to have mostly quiet weather as this new air mass brings a north wind and temps in the 80s.

Thursday may bring some showers and then Friday brings one hot day with thunderstorms, followed by a pleasant weekend.

Earlier This Month:  Maryland Trek 10 For These Kids

I will have a follow-up and recap on our amazing week shortly.

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Aurora Photos From Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia

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RESTATING MY MESSAGE ABOUT DYSLEXIA

I am aware there are some spelling and grammar typos and occasional other glitches. I take responsibility for my mistakes, and even the computer glitches I may miss. I have made a few public statements over the years, but if you are new here you may have missed it: I have dyslexia, and found out during my second year at Cornell University. It didn’t stop me from getting my meteorology degree and being the first to get the AMS CBM in the Baltimore/Washington region. One of my professors told me that I had made it that far without knowing, and to not let it be a crutch going forward. That was Mark Wysocki and he was absolutely correct! I do miss my mistakes in my own proofreading. The autocorrect spell check on my computer sometimes does an injustice to make it worse. I also can make mistakes in forecasting. No one is perfect at predicting the future. All of the maps and information are accurate. The ‘wordy’ stuff can get sticky.  There has been no editor that can check my work when I needed it and have it ready to send out in a newsworthy timeline. Barbara Werner is a member of the web team that helps me maintain this site. She has taken it upon herself to edit typos when she is available. That could be AFTER you read this. I accept this and perhaps proves what you read is really from me… It’s part of my charm.

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