CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Upper-air high pressure centered over West Texas will prevent significant rainfall through early next week while keeping afternoons hot and humid, but a pattern shift brings midweek rain chances.
Expect afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s to around 100 degrees, with heat indices between 108 and 115 degrees through early next week. Overnights will linger in the middle to upper 70s.
Although just a few stray showers may appear Sunday, a much more significant opportunity for meaningful rainfall occurs during the middle of the week.
The pattern shift involves the upper-level high pressure migrating well to our southwest, over the eastern North Pacific. That shift allows a series of disturbances to glide out of the Rockies and through South Texas beginning Tuesday.
The result will be a cold front (don't get too excited; this is September) that will focus abundant Gulf moisture to generate isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms.
By Wednesday night, a week from today, more numerous storms could provide significant precipitation. Most folks will receive a half inch to an inch of rain, but we will keep you informed.
Meantime, in the tropics things are getting interesting—just not for the Coastal Bend. Tropical Storm Lee in the Atlantic will undergo rapid intensification as it moves northeast of the Lesser Antilles and become a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane.
Interests in Bermuda will need to be monitoring this storm. Another area of disturbed weather, 96L, will impact Cabo Verde today then move into the open waters of the North Atlantic.
In the Eastern Pacific, Category 2 hurricane Jova also is rapidly intensifying and will be a Category 4 storm by Thursday. However, it is moving northwest, away from North America, and poses a threat only to mariners.