Former Tropical Storm Dolly has weakened, but its remnants could bring rain and thunderstorms to Palm Beach County over Labor Day weekend.
There is no longer a concern that the remnants of Tropical Storm Dolly — which coincidentally formed two days after music icon Dolly Parton’s death — will strengthen again, said Ana Torres-Vazquez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami. The storm weakened when it met wind shear and dry air.
“We're not talking about a tropical event per se, or something that has a chance to develop,” Torres-Vazquez said. “It's more so just the moisture and thunderstorms associated with what used to be Dolly could be generally bringing some additional rain over the area.”
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The National Hurricane Center agreed that "significant development” of the storm’s remnants are no longer expected as it moves west-northwestward at 15 to 20 mph over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.
Dolly’s remnants are bringing showers and thunderstorms to parts of Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas, according to an NHC afternoon update on Monday, Aug. 31. The areas could experience heavy rain and gusty winds over the next couple of days.
Rain and storms expected in Palm Beach County this week
It’s a rainy week in South Florida, too. There is a threat of heavy rainfall and flooding in some areas through the weekend, according to the weather service.
There is a tropical upper-tropospheric trough hanging over the area this week, which is concentrating moisture and helping storms develop. The leftovers of Dolly are expected to bring even more pockets of thunderstorms and rain over the region.
This week, most of the rain is expected to fall later in the afternoon, so a full day of sun beforehand will keep the air hot. The maximum heat index, or “feels-like,” temperatures are forecast between 105 to 110 degrees each afternoon and high temperatures will hang in the low 90s.
“The caveat with this is these could be much lower if rainfall starts developing earlier because that gives us cloudiness, and that helps cool things off by several degrees,” Torres-Vazquez said. “So if we don't get that early enough, that's when we get those higher values.”
What is the Labor Day forecast in Palm Beach County?
There is a 70% to 80% chance of rain in the afternoon on Labor Day, with lower chances of rain in the morning.
“Of course, this is likely to change over the next couple of days, depending on how things evolve,” Torres-Vazquez said. “But it looks like it could be a wet and stormy afternoon across all of the East Coast, so we are talking about all of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County.”
Is South Florida still in a drought?
Yes. But with the rain that has been falling lately, drought improvements could improve this week, according to Torres-Vazquez.
“Just one event won't help, but it's the consistent day-to-day rain that really has an impact,” Torres-Vazquez said. “We are thankfully seeing that lately.”
Maya Washburn is a Trending News Reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tropical Storm Dolly's remnants to bring storms to Palm Beach County
