7:00 AM | Strong solar storm to affect Earth's upper atmosphere; hot and humid weekend with the threat for heavy showers and thunderstorms
Paul Dorian
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly cloudy, very warm, highs in the upper 80’s
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, mild, chance for a few showers and thunderstorms and some of the rain can be heavy, lows in the mid 70’s
Saturday
Mostly cloudy, very warm and more humid, while most of the time will be rain-free there can be a shower or thunderstorm at just about any time and any storm can contain heavy rainfall, upper 80’s
Saturday Night
Mainly cloudy, mild, chance for a few showers and thunderstorms, low 70’s
Sunday
Mostly cloudy, very warm and more humid, while most of the time will be rain-free there can be a shower or thunderstorm at just about any time and any storm can contain heavy rainfall, near 90
Monday
Partly sunny, hot and humid, chance for a few showers and thunderstorms, low 90’s
Tuesday
Mainly sunny, hot and humid, chance for a shower or thunderstorm, low-to-mid 90’s
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, hot and humid, chance for a shower or thunderstorm, low 90's
Discussion
Humongous sunspot AR1520 unleashed an X-class solar flare on Thursday afternoon while directly facing the Earth and a coronal mass ejection (CME) is headed towards the Earth. Forecasters expect the CME to arrive later tonight possibly sparking strong geomagnetic storms. Sky watchers should be on alert for the next few nights for possible "northern lights" throughout the northern part of the US.
Closer to home, weak high pressure will control our weather through today, but then warmer and more humid air will head north and east from the Tennessee Valley for the weekend and this will enhance our chances for thunderstorms. While much of the time will be rain-free this weekend, any storm that does form can contain heavy rainfall as the winds aloft are virtually non-existent and this will result in slow-moving thunderstorm cells. By Monday, high pressure will get established off of the east coast and this will bring us hot and humid weather through mid-week.
Video
httpv://youtu.be/ChPMm-gJiic