Clean up and power restoration in Texas will be the story for the next few days as what is left of Beryl head up the Mississippi valley. As bad as Beryl was, it could have been a lot worse. The storm did not really start intensifying until it was on the Texas coast. If the intensification process started sooner, then the impacts to Texas would have been even more significant. July is typically one of the quieter months of the hurricane season, and it looks like we will have an extended break from any tropical development as a plume of Saharan dust moves across the tropical Atlantic. Tropics usually become much more active by mid to late August.

Harvey will finally moves onshore and head up the Mississippi valley Thursday. The rains will finally end in Texas and Louisiana and the long clean up can begin. Impacts from Harvey will be felt for months, if not years! We will be keeping a close eye on an area of low pressure near the Cabo Verde Islands in the far eastern tropical Atlantic. More than likely, this will develop into “Irma” in a day or two. It is still over 3000 miles away from Florida, so we have plenty of time to watch it for any threats to land, including the United States. On a side note, many models develop a weak area of low pressure in the southwest Gulf of Mexico that could push more moisture and rain into Texas late this week. It is the last thing Texans want to hear!