Much of the South active, tropics to play a role

The Tropical Atlantic is getting more active with one tropical storm to track, and another feature to watch for possible development as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico the next few days. Tropical Storm Florence likely will stay away from North America, but the other feature headed into the Gulf of Mexico will at least cause some soaking rains in Florida and the lower Mississippi Valley. Farther west in Texas and Oklahoma, it looks fairly active as well, especially in West Texas, with the doors open to moisture flowing in out of the tropics and an upper trough over the Four Corners having some influence. One area that looks quieter, though, is the East Coast from the Carolinas north to the Mason-Dixon Line. In that area, an upper-level ridge will keep suppressing the usual afternoon thunderstorms and leading to summery heat and humidity until the ridge weakens later next week. So, there are a lot of different weather regimes to talk about!