Still hot before rain arrives soon

Thursday's Weather Headline: One more day of it being real hot before temps fall and rain chances ramp up! An Alert Day is still in effect today. Read on for more details.

What we're tracking: Upper level high pressure has officially begun its slow exit out of Texas. It will still be quite hot and very humid for many in the Crossroads today, prompting an Alert Day to be issued today. Air temperatures up to 103°-106° alongside heat indices between 110°-117° are possible. Find how hot it will get near you in the "Next 24 hours" section below. However, an upper level low trough in the Northeast Coast has been battering away at our high all week to the point now it is being drawn northward. This will allow an area of weak upper level low pressure to develop along the high's edge and head into the Gulf spinning up some showers and weak tropical thunderstorms that will eventually move into the Crossroads area to start off next week. With clouds increasing and rain in the area, temps begin dropping! Alert Days: Thursday for dangerous heat and humidity.

Tropical Activity: In the Atlantic, I am monitoring two tropical waves. One wave located in the N Caribbean recently flared up with thunderstorm convection and is still slowly tracking WNW in the direction of Florida and the N Gulf. Earlier this week, this wave was showing no sign of redevelopment tracking towards the Caribbean so the wave marker was removed from the graphic, but now it is back as latest computer guidance is very slowly starting to agree on this wave showing signs of invigoration as early as Saturday (Aug 24). The National Hurricane Center ( NHC ) does not think anything of it yet, but I will continue watching it especially considering the Gulf just reported it's all time highest heat content reading in recorded history. Moving onto the second wave in the Atlantic, the second just exited the W Africa coast and will likely continue on a westerly track towards the Caribbean and Gulf, entering sometime NEXT Friday going into the weekend. Again, neither system is being monitored for possible development yet, but we are about to enter the peak months of hurricane season, and the Climate Prediction Center ( CPC ) suggests >60% chance of development over the next 2-3 weeks. Find their latest extended tropical outlook here .

Next 24 hours: It'll be another hot day today for all, but temps drop a little bit going into tomorrow as high pressure pushes off and clouds pick up. Mostly sunny skies with a few clouds today will heat highs between the upper 90s to the mid 100s. Karnes and Gonzales Counties will receive the brunt of the heat reaching between 103°-105° air temps. Air temps in the Dewitt County area will see highs between 102°-104°. Victoria County will see between 99°-101°. Communities south of Highway 59 will likely be in the upper 90s. Heat indices for nearly all will range between 110°-116°. Rain chances at 10% today for perhaps a shower or two in our northwestern counties sometime in the early evening. Chances bump up to 20% for spotty showers possible for some tomorrow.

Extended forecast: Just a couple more days of heat before the temps start dropping, clouds return, and so does the rain! Stay safe and hydrated in the heat until it arrives. See below for your 7 Day Crossroads forecast!

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