MAIN THREATS
This week: Heat
SUMMARY
Summer-like weather is returning to the plateau and that means heat and humidity levels will be increasing as we go through the week. Only isolated and mainly afternoon/evening t-storms are expected this week. Some afternoons this week may see more activity than others. In other words, this is a very typical July pattern we’ve entered.
Make sure you’re safe during the hot afternoons. Limit your time out in the sun and drink lots of water.
TROPICS
The tropics are a bit active this morning, with two tropical storms spinning out there. The one we’ve been talking about so much, Beryl, weakened a lot last night and is barely even a tropical storm now. Wind shear really wrecked havoc with his structure and it now looks like he’ll perish long before he could have been a concern for the U.S. Never the less, these systems can regenerate under the right conditions, so I’ll keep an eye on him.
‘As of this morning, we now have Tropical Storm Chris off the Carolina Coast. The storm is expected to strengthen into a hurricane but it is also expected to stay offshore. The most dangerous impacts to the U.S. will be dangerous surf and rip tides.
RECORDS
I’m not surprised that I’m starting to see more and more lightning instances in the records show up. This is the time of year when lightning is most prevalent across the country. Just the other day, we had a gentlemen struck and killed in his yard over in Roane County. On this day in 1975 three people were killed and six others were injured in Mayo, Florida by a lightning strike. The nine of them were stringing tobacco under a tin shed when the lightning struck a walnut tree beside the shed.
Just yesterday, the news reported that only about 10% of people struck by lightning die. That is completely wrong. The percentage of people killed by being directly struck is 100%. It is absolutely unsurvivable. But, people often mistake a direct hit with an indirect hit. Think about it. If lightning, as powerful as it is, struck within several yards of you, you’re going to believe you were directly hit. Trust me. That thing would knock you off your feet and probably knock you unconscious. Please be careful around these storms. It only takes one direct strike to either end your life or an indirect strike to seriously injure you.
You folks have a great day and enjoy the second half of your weekend!