Hurricane Erin weakens as it nears East Coast

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Hurricane Erin has weakened since yesterday and is no longer a major hurricane.  While it will remain over the Atlantic, it will come close enough to cause issues for the North Carolina coast. Here at home, scattered storms will increase on Wednesday. 

Erin NHC outlook: The map above shows the current status of Erin, including its location, movement, and strength.  As of this writing, Erin is a Category 2 hurricane and is much weaker than it was this weekend when it had maximum winds of 160 mph.  It could strengthen a little as it passes by the North Carolina coast in the next few days and then weaken again as it moves toward the northeast. 

A second disturbance over the Eastern Atlantic could slowly develop this week and could take a course very similar to Erin’s.  The National Hurricane Center now indicates that there is a 60% chance that a tropical depression will develop.  Some models indicate that we could see this system eventually become Tropical Storm Fernand. NHC also indicates that there is a low chance that a second disturbance closer to the coast of Africa could develop.  Both could take a course across the Atlantic similar to the path that Erin has taken. 

ArkLaTex worries:  We will see one more day of excessive heat in the ArkLaTex on Wednesday as temperatures soar to near 100 degrees.  At the same time, thunderstorms will be more numerous.  While a few of the storms could produce some strong winds, we won’t see a widespread threat of severe weather.  The heat could briefly increase again this weekend and then give way to another chance of storms during the middle of next week.

We could see some decent rain next week. The Blend of Models shows that most of the area could receive more than 1″ of rain from now through next Friday.

Weather Worry Index for the next 10 days:  2 out of 10: Today’s WWI for the next ten days will remain at 2 out of 10. It appears that the strongest storms that we will see during this period could be next week.  Time will tell if our severe weather threat will increase.  Stay tuned!