SAVANNAH, Ga. () — Hot and humid conditions with highs in the lower to middle 90s prevailed again for Wednesday. More hot and humid weather is expected for Thursday.

However, showers and storm chances will begin to increase Thursday and especially for Friday into Saturday.

The long-range forecast will be dependent on what is developing in the tropics and how it interacts with a cold front.

Thursday morning will start out with a mostly sunny sky and warm temperatures in the 70s. Temperatures will quickly climb into the mid and upper 80s before noon. Highs in the afternoon will top out in the lower to middle 90s with hotter heat index values.

Showers and storms will become possible in the later afternoon. Storms will become more numerous in the evening.

A few storms have the potential to become strong and severe. Damaging wind gusts will be the primary concern from any severe storms that develop.

Rain and storm chances look to be a little higher for Friday and Saturday. We can expect periods of heavy rain.

Some storm may be able to produce gusty wind at time, but severe storms are not expected right now.

Temperatures over the weekend will be closer to where they should be in the mid 80s. Sunday and into early next week should be a little drier depending on interaction with a tropical system that may move along the east coast of the U.S. early next week.

TRACKING THE TROPICS

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring multiple systems in the Atlantic basin right now. For the first time of the 2025 season, there are two concurrent named storms that are being tracked: Gabrielle and Humberto.

The main system we need to watch is a tropical wave designated as Invest-94L that is located near Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. This system has a high (80%) chance of developing into a tropical depression or tropical storm over the next 5-7 days.

The broad area of low pressure that is expected to become better organized one it is located over the Turks and Caicos or the Bahamas over the weekend or early next week.

A cold front is forecast to move into the southeast and help to steer this system away from the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry.

However, we may experience some local impacts along our coasts. The magnitude will depend on the size, strength, and path of this system.

This is a forecast that is worth keeping an eye on over the next several days as it may evolve. 

The tropical wave that was designated as Invest-93L became Tropical Storm Humberto as of 5 p.m. Wednesday. It has sustained winds of 40 mph and gusts as high as 50 mph. It is slowly moving northwest at 15 mph.

It is forecast to move toward Bermuda and staying just west of the island over the coming days. Humberto is forecast to become at least a Cat. 2 hurricane by Sunday.

There is no direct threat to the Coastal Empire or Lowcountry from Humberto at this time. 

Hurricane Gabrielle is weakening in the North Atlantic about 1,500 miles west of The Azores. It is forecast to pass over The Azores as a Cat 1. hurricane later this week. It poses no threat to the U.S.