Hot and hazy weekend continues, monitoring the tropics in the eastern gulf

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Dry air and high pressure will give us a hazy, hot, and rain free weekend! Meanwhile, we're keeping an eye on the eastern gulf for potential tropical development through early next week.

Temperatures Saturday night will fall into the mid-upper 70s by Sunday morning. Sunday will be another hot and hazy day with plenty of sunshine overhead. Highs will make it into the mid-upper 90s with an afternoon heat index near 105. A cloud of Saharan dust will be overhead the entire weekend as well, giving us a hazy sky.

What should we know about the area of interest in the eastern gulf?

Satellite imagery shows a swirling area of showers and storms in the eastern gulf is starting to take shape as a broad area of low pressure. Currently the National Hurricane Center is giving this area a 40% chance of forming into something tropical through Monday, slightly higher odds into Tuesday at 50%. For now, impacts to Texas are unlikely but not fully impossible. Heavy rain is expected to fall over Florida and eventually Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Hurricane hunters will be flying through the region Sunday for the first time.

So what's the outlook for the Houston area next week?

It's a tale of two stories across the Gulf Coast. The western gulf will stay hot and dry thanks to a heat dome settling in over the state this weekend. That continues throughout next week and we're expecting this next week to be the hottest stretch of summer so far. Morning lows will consistently be in the mid-upper 70s with afternoon highs in the mid-upper 90s. High temperatures Wednesday through Friday of next week could even get close to the triple digits. And no matter what, we'll have a triple digit head index in the afternoon. Remember to stay hydrate, wear sunscreen and take breaks in the A/C to help prevent heat related illness next week.

Any rain in the near future?

Besides the stray pop-up shower, this forecast is hot and dry with this next heat dome. There's the chance that some of the tropical moisture from the eastern gulf could disperse across the Gulf Coast later next week, but at this time rain chances from that only sit at about 20%.

What else are you tracking in the tropics?

The area in the eastern gulf is the only story in the Atlantic. Over in the Pacific there's Tropical Storm Elida and two other area to monitor for potential tropical development. Visit our Tropical Update page for a more in-depth tropical weather discussion and forecast.

13 ALERT RADAR MAPS:
Southeast Texas
Houston
Harris County
Galveston County
Montgomery/Walker/San Jacinto/Polk/Grimes Counties
Fort Bend/Wharton/Colorado Counties
Brazoria/Matagorda Counties

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