Hurricane Humberto is moving out to sea, and the circulation on its backside will send a hint of fall to the Southeast.
The change will be most notable in the evening, overnight, and early morning hours thanks to a significant drop in humidity.
Hurricane Humberto intensified Monday as it turned to the northeast and began moving away from the U.S. coastline. The season’s third hurricane might produce tropical storm conditions on the island of Bermuda Wednesday, but is otherwise not expected to affect any other land areas.
Latest on Hurricane Humberto
Large ocean swells, high surf, and dangerous rip currents are still expected at all Atlantic beaches through at least Friday.
The growing counter-clockwise circulation around the departing hurricane will aid in the southward advancement of an air mass typically constrained to northern latitudes this time of year. A ridge of high pressure moving into the Ohio Valley, which produces a clockwise motion of wind, is likely to force the pocket of dry air into the Sunshine State by midweek. In addition, a weak front sliding down the east side of the ridge may reinforce the pattern and prolong its influence into the weekend.
The lower moisture levels will not only take the edge off the heat (by lowering the “feels like” temps), but it will allow the mercury to fall more at night since drier air cools at a faster pace than moist air. The early autumn preview will come in two waves, with the first surging across the northern third of the state Tuesday, followed by a second and much stronger push of air encompassing much of Florida Thursday. Daytime highs may even fall a few degrees by Thursday and Friday due to the moderating affect of sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean that have cooled off recently from up-welling in the wake of hurricanes Dorian and Humberto.
The drier air will almost certainly limit rain chances across much of the state this week, with the only exception being Wednesday when a weak front slides across from east to west. The rainy season doesn’t unofficially end in Florida until October, and the sea breeze showers will likely make another appearance or two before a true fall cold front arrives later in the season.