Travel & RV Weather Forecast Sunday 25 September

** Heads Up ** RVers in or traveling to Florida need to stay aware of Tropical Storm Ian, now in the Caribbean Sea and strengthening. There will be significant impacts to infrastructure on parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast from this hurricane-to-be, especially near the coast. See details under the ‘Eastern’ heading of this forecast.

Slight risk of severe thunderstorms this afternoon from southern New England to Mid-Atlantic and Northern Appalachians. A tornado or two are possible.
Excessive heat next week for parts of Southern California.

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Pacific:

— Parts of southern CA: Excessive Heat Warnings through Wednesday. High temperatures 97-110 deg F. Hottest temperatures in the interior deserts, coolest near the coast. I-5, I-8, I-10, I-15, US-101 impacted.

Mountain:

— No significant weather impacts to RV travel today or Monday.

Central:

— Eastern ND; eastern SD; most of MN: Strong wind gusts this afternoon. Gusts 25-35 mph. I-29, I-35, I-90, I-94 impacted.

Eastern:

— Higher elevations of southeast WV: Wind gusts 35-50 mph this afternoon. I-64, US-219 impacted.

— MA; CT; RI; southern NY; eastern and central PA; NJ; MD; DC; DE; northern VA; northeast WV: Strong to locally severe thunderstorms mid to late afternoon. Damaging winds and hair are the primary threats. There is also a threat of a tornado or two along the I-95 corridor from Washington DC to Boston, and over central and eastern PA. I-66, I-68, I-70, I-76, I-78, I-80, I-81, I-83, I-84, I-87, I-91, I-93, I-95, I-99, PA and NJ Turnpikes potentially impacted.

— Tropical Storm Ian is southeast of the western tip of Cuba this morning, moving to the west-northwest and strengthening. Ian will likely became a hurricane by late this evening as it turns to the northwest over the tip of western Cuba and enters the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.

There is still considerable uncertainty on where Ian will make landfall along the Gulf Coast the middle of next week; as of Sunday morning it could be anywhere from Pensacola to Tampa Bay, with the most likely landfall location somewhere between Panama City and Cedar Key. The Lower Keys, and Key West, will still likely see tropical storm force winds starting in the early morning hours of Tuesday, as Ian moves to the west of Key West.

RVers along Florida’s west coast should closely monitor this storm.  If you have plans to travel to the Keys, check with your campground and the Monroe County Emergency Management site to ensure you can still come.
RVers along the Gulf Coast of Florida (north of the Keys):  You can expect Tropical Storm force winds to impact the coast from south to north starting on Tuesday and reaching the Panhandle by Wednesday night.  The greatest risk for hurricane force winds is from the Big Bend southward to Tampa Bay.

All indications are this will be a strong hurricane when Ian makes landfall the latter part of this week.  In addition to winds, flooding and destruction from heavy rains, rivers and storm surge will be significant.  Expect infrastructure along the immediate path of the hurricane, especially along the coast, to be disrupted for days or even weeks.  If you travel to the west coast of Florida this week, you may be required to evacuate on short notice.  If you are already RVing on the coast, have your rig and evacuation plan ready to go, and follow the directions of your local emergency management officials.

Severe Weather and Tropical Watches and Warnings

— See https://rvweather.com/warnings-watches-and-advisories/#NHC_Hurricane_Advisory for the latest WARNINGS and information on Tropical Storm Ian.

— See https://rvweather.com/warnings-watches-and-advisories/#SPC_Tornado_Watch for the latest Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm WATCHES

— See https://rvweather.com/warnings-watches-and-advisories/#NWS_Tornado_Warning for the latest Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm, and Flash Flood WARNINGS.

Chance of destructive windsalong the Florida Coast through Thursday night 29 September
Total expected rainfall through Wednesday evening 28 September
Dots show the forecast location for Hurricane Ian Friday morning 30 September, from various credible weather models. The blue ellipse shows the most likely location of the storm Friday morning