Tropical Storm Dexter limps out to sea as more systems try to form

Folks along or near the coast should start paying attention to the tropics as forecasters monitor several areas for potential development over the next week.

Tropical Storm Dexter formed between North Carolina and Bermuda on Sunday night. This system is what meteorologists sometimes nickname a "fish storm" because it'll stay out to sea and away from land. Dexter remains weak and it'll likely lose its tropical characteristics in the next day or so as it moves northeast through the open Atlantic.

The National Hurricane Center highlighted two additional areas for potential development over the next five to seven days—one off the southeastern U.S., and another far out in the central Atlantic. 

A low-pressure system is likely to form offshore from the southeastern states later this week. Conditions may be favorable for this system to develop tropical characteristics, and its proximity to the coast will require special attention for any potential impacts from rain, wind, storm surge, or rip currents.

Another disturbance in the eastern Atlantic could slowly develop as it heads toward the center of the basin through next weekend. Forecasters give this feature a 50 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression.

While it's far too early to talk about potential intensity, we'll have to watch the strength of high pressure over the northern Atlantic for signs about its future track. A weaker high is more favorable for a recurve out to sea, while a stronger high could allow the system to push west toward land.

Season is progressing a little ahead of average pace

Despite narratives like "sluggish start" and "quiet so far," this year's Atlantic hurricane season is actually tracking a step ahead of normal compared to the progress of an average season in the basin.

So far this year, we've seen Andrea (June 24), Barry (June 28), Chantal (July 4), and Dexter (August 3). We're about a week and a half ahead of the pace of an average Atlantic hurricane season, and we'll jump even farther ahead if one or both of those disturbances organizes into a tropical storm. 

All that is to say—don't fall into a false sense of security because it feels quieter than the busy seasons we've seen in the past few years. It only takes one storm making landfall to turn even the slowest season into a major ordeal.

What's in a name?

This is the first time we've used Dexter as a storm name in the Atlantic basin. The World Meteorological Organization picked Dexter as the replacement for Dorian after that name was retired following the 2019 hurricane season.

If you're curious (of course you are!), I have a whole page devoted to hurricane name history and statistics at my other website. 

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Tampa, Florida, hits 100°F for the first time in 135 years of records

Folks in Tampa, Florida, endured the city's hottest day in weather history on Sunday when the temperature at Tampa International Airport reached 100°F at 3:30 p.m. local time. 

The feat arrived as a long-duration heat event roasted much of the eastern United States—with a strong focus on the southeast. Charlotte, North Carolina, for instance, hit 101°F on Saturday, 102°F on Sunday, and they were well on their way to the triple-digits as of this post on Monday afternoon. 

A multi-day heat event isn't unusual for this part of the country during the heart of summer. But it unusual for folks on the Florida peninsula—especially right on the water—to reach the century mark. 

Tampa's previous all-time record high temperature was 99°F set on both June 26, 2020, and June 5, 1985. Weather records in the city date back to April 1, 1890, threaded across various locations. The main observation station has been at the Tampa International Airport since February 1, 1939, and the station currently sits about 2,800 feet from the waters of Tampa Bay. 

One of the big questions I've seen in the wake of this 135-year-old weather record is "why is the all-time high temperature so low?"

After all, plenty of cities to the north hit 100 degrees at least once or twice per summer. Washington's all-time high temperature is 105°F. Boston hit 103°F back in July 2011. 

It's (almost) all in the humidity. Exceptionally muggy air bathes Florida for most of the year. Air rich with water vapor resists heating up just as it resists cooling down at night. This mugginess moderates how high temperatures can rise on a steamy Florida afternoon, limiting how high the mercury can rise even during a formidable heat wave.

Another major factor at play on Sunday was the wind direction. Tampa Bay is west of the airport's weather station. Winds on Sunday afternoon were blowing out of the north and northeast—so instead of a cooling sea breeze, they were feeling light winds travelling over land instead of the cooler waters nearby. 

Graphic courtesy of Climate Central

It's worth pointing out that the low temperature only dipped to about 84°F on Sunday night and Monday morning. As much as humidity limits how hot an afternoon can grow, it also limits how much conditions can cool off at night. (I just recorded a segment for The Weather Network about this!) 

Climate change is making matters worse. Warming temperatures combined with rising humidity have already led to muggier and more uncomfortable nights. The Tampa area has seen nighttime low temperatures rise more than 4 degrees since the 1970s, according to Climate Central.

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It's been a stormy and steamy summer across the U.S. so far in 2025

We're just past the halfway point in meteorological summer—already!—and it's been quite the steamy and stormy season for much of the country.

In fact, it's just been a busy year for active weather in general. 

The year started with a historic snowstorm on the northern Gulf Coast and rolled right into our most tornadic spring since 2011. Severe weather has kept apace heading into this summer, as we've seen multiple flash flood disasters unfold in just the past couple of weeks.

Near-Record Humidity Levels

If you're tired of sweating the moment you walk out the door, don't worry—it's not just you. 

Mugginess is best measured using the dew point, which is the temperature at which the air is fully saturated.

Dew point values below 55°F are generally considered comfortable. You start to notice the humidity once the dew point hits 60°F. It feels sticky when the dew point reaches 65°F, and it's downright tropical when dew point values hit 70°F or higher.

New York's JFK Airport, as well as Greensboro, N.C., have seen a record number of hours with dew points at or above 70°F through July 16. Chicago's year-to-date tropical mugginess ranks second on record there, while this year is in the third spot at Washington, D.C.'s National Airport. 

That's a fair amount of excessive humidity, especially when combined with the heat we've seen this season.

Flash Flooding Abound

An atmosphere rich in moisture is a breeding ground for intense thunderstorms capable of producing torrential rains. 

The above map shows the percent of normal precipitation across the U.S. over the past 30 days. Purple colors indicate above-average precipitation, while oranges represent below-normal precipitation. It's easy to see areas that have been hit extremely hard by heavy rain over the past month. 

Portions of central Texas have seen as much as two feet (feet!) of rain over the past 30 days, which contributed to the devastating flash flooding in Kerr County back over the July 4th weekend. Repeated rounds of storms have also drenched portions of the central Plains, the Upper Midwest, and the Mid-Atlantic states—especially where Tropical Storm Chantal moved through North Carolina and Virginia.

The National Weather Service issued 3,106 flash flood warnings so far in 2025 through 11:20 a.m. on July 16. Many of those flash flood warnings covered areas hit hard by the carousel of tornado outbreaks during the spring months. 

For some context, that's 3,106 flash flood warnings year-to-date. The entire year of 2020 only saw 2,874 flash flood warnings issued across the U.S.

47 of those flash flood warnings were upgraded to flash flood emergencies—much like tornado emergencies, this is enhanced wording deployed when destructive flash flooding is ongoing that poses a significant risk to life and property.

The flash flood emergency for Kerr County, Texas, had particularly chilly warning for folks in the area: "Automated rain gauges indicate a large and deadly flood wave is moving down the Guadalupe River. Flash flooding is already occurring."

The good folks at the Climate Prediction Center don't see too much change over the next two weeks. While folks across Texas may have a chance to dry out, forecasters expect a pattern capable of producing above-average precipitation across the southeastern states and a large swath of the northern U.S.

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Flooding possible as tropical disturbance meanders into the Gulf of Mexico

A tropical disturbance off Florida's Atlantic coast will wander into the northern Gulf of Mexico over the next couple of days, bringing widespread heavy rain to the northern Gulf Coast.

While there's a small chance that the system could develop into a tropical depression or a tropical storm, localized flooding from heavy rainfall is possible regardless of the disturbance's ultimate status. 

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center give it a 30 percent chance of developing into either a tropical depression or tropical storm as it moves west into the Gulf of Mexico toward the second half of the week.

It's not the worst looking tropical disturbance I've ever seen, I'll give it that much. There's plenty of thunderstorm activity and it has "that look" about it if you squint a bit. 

But it's a hazard to the northern Gulf Coast regardless of its development. Disturbance, depression, or storm—it's still going to bring plenty of rain to the region this week.

The Weather Prediction Center expects several inches of rain to fall from the Florida Peninsula west toward southern Louisiana. A setup like this can easily produce 5+ inches of rain in spots, especially if training thunderstorms set up shop.

Flash flooding kills more people in the U.S. than any other storm-related threat.

Please make sure emergency alerts are enabled on your phone. Never try to drive across a flooded roadway. It takes a surprisingly small amount of water (a foot or less!) to make a vehicle float, requiring quick escape or emergency rescue.

We've seen three tropical storms across the Atlantic basin so far this year. The next name on the list is Dexter, a brand new entry after Dorian's retirement back in 2019.

Given relatively warm waters and generally favorable atmospheric conditions, last week's updated outlook from Colorado State University continues to call for an above-average Atlantic hurricane season ahead. 

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July 10, 1926: The day lightning blew up a town in New Jersey

A hot and muggy New Jersey afternoon in July 1926 would produce a thunderstorm that destroyed a military installation.

The culprit wasn’t a tornado, nor was it damaging winds.

A single bolt of lightning caused an explosion so great that it left a crater in the ground.

Note: This is an adaptation of an article I originally wrote for The Vane on July 10, 2014. Since neither Gawker nor The Vane exist anymore (outside of the Internet Archive), I'm reworking and publishing this article by popular request.

A low-pressure system moving over the Great Lakes on July 10, 1926, dragged a warm and humid airmass over the eastern United States.

High instability allowed for thunderstorms to flourish throughout the region.

One of those storms trekked over Rockaway Township, home to the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Storage Depot, which was part of the larger Picatinny Arsenal. This facility was packed to the brim with leftover munitions from the first World War. 

Shortly after 5:00 p.m. local time, a bolt of lightning struck Temporary Magazine Number 8, starting a fire that would spread to other magazines nearby. The blaze then ignited more than 600,000 tons of explosive materials housed within.

A crater left behind by the immense explosion. Photo: U.S. Army/Rutgers University

The tremendous blast destroyed every building within a half-mile radius, killing 19 people and leaving dozens more injured. Folks reported finding debris from the explosion up to 22 miles away.

Shaken by the event and loss of life, the incident fundamentally changed how the U.S. military handled explosives in the years that followed. The explosion at the Picatinny Arsenal prompted Congress to create the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board.

Lightning-sparked fires are unsettlingly common. The National Fire Protection Agency reported that lightning caused an average of 22,600 fires per year between 2007 and 2011—more than one-quarter of those were structure fires.

[Top image courtesy of Unsplash.]

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You need a way to receive severe weather warnings—here are four options

This past holiday weekend saw two separate rounds of devastating flooding across the southern United States—first in Texas on Friday, then in North Carolina on Sunday.

One county in central Texas saw the death toll rise past 80 on Monday as officials continue looking for those swept away by the floodwaters. Several people are reportedly missing in central North Carolina after a tropical storm dropped nearly a foot of rain on the region in a few hours. 

The hours after the disaster saw a glut of opinions, arguments, blame, and grief spill out—a testament to the fraught times we're stewing in right now. But the one message that really matters, the one that can help prevent a repeat in the future, is the one that seems most muted:

You need a way to receive severe weather warnings the moment they're issued. 

There's absolutely no room for doubt when it comes to the forecasts for central Texas leading up Friday's tragic floods. Forecasters with the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for central Texas hours before the Guadalupe River in Kerr County swelled from 3 feet to 34 feet. 

Similarly, forecasters were on top of the evolving flood situation in central North Carolina as Tropical Storm Chantal moved over the region. Drenching tropical downpours produced 10+ inches of rain over Alamance County—between Greensboro and Durham—over the course of a couple of hours. This deluge swelled the Haw River near Burlington to its second-highest crest ever observed.

The warnings were there. 

It's an old saying that safety regulations are written in blood. Weather safety systems are no different. Every piece of warning technology we have today—from the phone in your hand to the radar in the sky—is a working memorial to those who couldn't see disaster coming in the not-too-distant past. 

It's exceptionally rare for a deadly weather event to come as an honest-to-goodness surprise to those in harm's way. Despite the cuts and upheaval at the National Weather Service over the past six months, there is always a team of experts scanning your skies 24/7 to keep you safe. There is almost always a warning before flash flooding or tornadoes strike.

The problem—the giant, glaring problem—is actually getting those warnings into the hands of those who need them immediately.

Turn on your phone's wireless emergency alerts

All modern smartphones are equipped with wireless emergency alerts that send a push alert to your device the moment a tornado warning or a flash flood warning is issued for your location. Cell phone towers triangulate your location to determine if the alert applies to you. If you get the alert, you're in danger. 

Unfortunately, lots of people switch these alerts off after one too many ill-timed interruptions. Please check your phone's settings and ensure that emergency alerts are turned on for "extreme alerts," which include tornado warnings and urgent flash flood warnings.

The folks who were camping in central Texas during the flash flood emergency may not have gotten the warnings in time because of poor cell reception and the fact that waters began rising while many folks were asleep. It was truly a worst-case scenario.

Invest in a NOAA Weather Radio

NOAA Weather Radios are like smoke detectors for the weather. Programmed correctly, they can sound a loud alarm when your county is placed under a watch or warning. My weather radio has alerted me to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes before my phone ever made a blip.

If you're worried about false alarms, pricier models (like my Midland WR-300 pictured above) allow you to filter out alerts that may not apply to you, ensuring you only receive the watches or warnings of your choosing. 

I'm happy to help you program your weather radio if you need assistance. Please email me and I'll gladly walk you through it. 

Enable alerts from reputable mobile weather apps

(Full disclosure for this section: I contribute to The Weather Network as a digital journalist. I write this in my own capacity, and as an American writing for Americans who live outside TWN's focus markets.)

Reputable weather apps are great for more than just the forecast. Almost every one of them has the ability to send you push notifications the moment an alert is issued for your location. 

I have lots of weather apps on my phone, including:

— The Weather Network

— The Weather Channel

— Wunderground

— Foreca

— WFMY Radar

— Google Weather

I have each one set to deliver me push alerts when a severe weather watch or warning is issued where I live. (Even TWN's app, built for Canadians, sends me alerts almost the instant they're issued here in North Carolina!)

Lemme tell you...the way my cell phone blings like a slot machine whenever a bad storm threatens my town, you'd think I won the jackpot.  But I like that redundancy! Redundancy is key when it comes to staying ahead of severe weather. It's better to be overwarned than not warned at all.

Look into CodeRED alerts for your community

Most municipalities offer lots of ways to receive emergency notifications from local officials, covering everything from road closures to tornado warnings. Both my city and my county use CodeRED to send out notifications when something urgent happens nearby.

See if your area participates in the CodeRED Alerts network. You can receive severe weather alerts, as well as public safety alerts, sent to you via text message, phone call, email, and I think there's even an app. 

No matter how you choose to get warnings, please ensure that you've got a way to receive immediate word of severe weather no matter where you are or what you're doing. We are the first generations in human history to have the knowledge and technology to stay safe from destructive weather. Take advantage of it..

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Sad sack of clouds becomes Atlantic's first named storm of 2025

A center of low pressure over the north-central Atlantic Ocean earned the distinction of becoming the basin's first named tropical system of the year on Tuesday.

After several days of playing "will it, won't it," the system displayed enough thunderstorm activity near the center of the storm to qualify as Tropical Storm Andrea.

The National Hurricane Center wrote in their forecast discussion: "Even though deep convection is now decreasing, due to the persistent convection overnight and pulsing convection over the past 36 hours, the system has met the criteria of being classified as a tropical storm, albeit a marginal one, making Tropical Storm Andrea the first Atlantic storm of the year."

That's meteorologist-ese for "it's a sad sack of clouds." Andrea will remain out to sea and should fall apart by Wednesday morning.

Climatologically speaking, the Atlantic's first named storm usually forms around June 20th, so we're only a few days behind on that front. The heart of the season remains a long way off—activity usually ramps up in August before reaching its peak during the second week of September.

Seasonal outlooks published by both NOAA and Colorado State University call for an above-average season across the Atlantic in the weeks and months ahead. These forecasts are based on warmer-than-usual ocean waters, an uptick in monsoon activity over western Africa, and a lack of El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean.

Make sure you're prepared for hurricane season well before a storm forms—whether you're on the coast or hundreds of miles inland.

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Upcoming heat wave isn't "just summer." Heat is a prolific killer.

The first major heat wave of the season is on the way for a large swath of the eastern United States, with a prolonged stretch of daytime high temperatures in the 90s with heat indices in the 100s likely.

Every time we get a big heat wave, social media lights up with that classic line: "It's called summer."

Always typed with the sneering smugness of a seventh grader, that three-word phrase is a catch-all to wave away any concern about an upcoming spell of dangerously hot temperatures.

Extreme heat is deadly

Heat is deadly. It's always been deadly. Lots and lots of people died "back in the day" during heat waves. Lots and lots of people still die during heat waves. You just don't hear as much about it because their deaths weren't caused by dramatic winds or rushing waters. 

Extreme heat caused nearly half of all weather-related fatalities between 2014 and 2024—often surpassing the tolls exacted by tornado outbreaks, major hurricane landfalls, and devastating flash flood events.

Why extreme heat kills

Heat waves exact large human cost because of humidity, hot nights, and longevity. 

Humidity: Sweat cools off our bodies through evaporative cooling—water absorbs heat when it evaporates from liquid to gas. This process pulls heat from our skin to cool our body temperature on a hot day. Excess moisture in the air interferes with this process by preventing sweat from evaporating efficiently, even when you have fans running. The heat index accounts for the combined stress that heat and humidity place on your body.

Hot nights: People who live without air conditioning rely on cooler nighttime temperatures to provide their bodies relief from a hot day. Hot days and elevated nighttime temperatures—alongside smothering humidity—robs these folks of the ability to cool off at night. 

Longevity: The compounding effects of stifling hot days and steamy nights takes a significant toll on vulnerable people. Those without access to air conditioning, folks working outdoors, and chronically ill individuals are highly susceptible to heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Upcoming heat wave

Image: Tropical Tidbits

A classic summertime heat event will build east of the Rockies heading into this weekend.

We'll see a large and strong upper-level ridge develop and move toward the Ohio Valley on Saturday, lingering over the eastern half of the country well into next week. 

Air sinks beneath ridges, warming up and drying out as it descends toward the ground. Very strong and stubborn ridges of high pressure like this can trigger a feedback cycle that compounds the effects of heat and humidity for days on end. Meteorologists sometimes like to call this a "heat dome." 

As a result, extreme heat is likely to build over a vast swath of the country beginning this weekend. The above graphic shows the National Weather Service's experimental "HeatRisk" product, which conveys the potential danger of predicted heat. Communities in the "major impacts" and "extreme impacts" zones could see conditions that may threaten the health of even physically fit individuals. 

Widespread heat alerts are likely.

It only takes heat index values or air temperatures up around 100°F to trigger heat advisories across much of the northern United States. Remember, the impacts of heat are relative. Folks in the south are more acclimated to muggy heat than folks up north, so lower temperatures can have a higher impact in, say, Toledo than Mobile.

Get ready for a long and dangerously hot stretch of weather heading into next week. Heat is no joke—and don't let the naysayers convince you otherwise.

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