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Start Atlantic hurricane season off right and make sure your tropical weather alerts are switched on!

The Weather & Radar alerts are part of the Storm Alert System which notifies you when your specific location is at risk of intense or severe storms, dangerous winter weather, and now, hurricanes!

The alerts are activated when your particular area is at risk for tropical cyclone impacts, including strong wind gusts, flooding rain, and storm surge if you live near the coast. The alert will appear as a banner on your app (shown in the image below) and include text describing the expected impacts.

The alerts are designed to notify users with up to 48 hours of lead time so that you can get a head-start on protecting yourself and your loved ones from potentially dangerous tropical weather impacts.

In addition to our banners, when a tropical system threatens your area, you should always heed and follow instructions from your local officials.

Temperatures will continue to spike in the afternoons through the end of the week in parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast. A dramatic cool down will impact the Northeast by the weekend as a backdoor cold front pushes into the region.

Intense heat will continue to build in across the Great Lakes, Northeast, and even as far south as the Mid-Atlantic as persistent high pressure remains in place. Low humidity levels will allow temperatures to surge to record or near-record highs.

The TemperatureRadar shows temperatures remaining 10-20 degrees above average across the Midwest and Northeast. Afternoon highs are expected to stay in the 80s and 90s through Friday in Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Ohio, Albany, N.Y., and Washington, D.C.

While highs in the 80s and 90s will linger into the weekend for the Great Lakes and Midwest, cooler temperatures will be in play for the Northeast starting Friday as a backdoor cold front moves in. When cooler air comes in from the northeast rather than the northwest, it is called a backdoor front.

As the backdoor cold front pushes in, it will bring a noticeable change. High temperatures in the 80s to near 90 will be swapped with highs in the 70s and even the 50s and 60s in some locations. Bangor, Maine, will go from near 90 Thursday afternoon to the low 50s Saturday and Sunday.

The cool air will not quite make it into the Midwest. Highs will remain in the 80s and 90s in cities like Chicago and Indianapolis this weekend. If you have outdoor plans this weekend, check the TemperatureRadar before heading outside.

Tropical Depression Two has formed in the Northern Gulf. The storm will likely become a tropical storm later today.

The low pressure system in the northern Gulf has become organized enough to be classified as a tropical depression. It is expected to remain offshore and start to weaken as it moves south. However, there is a small window for this storm to intensify into a tropical storm over the next 12 to 24 hours.

The first name on this year's list is Arlene. Weather & Radar's expert meteorologists will continue to bring you the latest information.

A stuck pattern across the U.S. is resulting in days of severe weather chances for the southern and High Plains. Another round of afternoon and evening storms is headed to western Texas and Oklahoma today and Friday.

Parts of the High and southern Plains are in focus today for severe storms bringing damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes this afternoon and evening, with the strongest storms expected in the Texas Panhandle and east-central New Mexico.

Have you noticed little to no change in the weather recently? This is due to a blocking pattern stretched across the whole country from large upper atmospheric features like a trough in the West, a ridge in the Northeast, and a trough in the South.

The trough in the West is what is causing the daily storm initiation along the eastern side of the Rockies. The counterclockwise rotation is bringing up warm, water-laden air out of the Gulf of Mexico, priming the atmosphere for the stormy weather and adding to the moisture availability for heavy, flooding rainfall.

For the southern Plains, a low pressure will move out of the Southwest carrying a dryline, the dividing line between warm, humid air and cool, dry air. As for the High Plains, another dryline, albeit slightly weaker, is present south of another surface-level low pressure which will also draw energy from the warm, water laden southerly flow.

Already this Thursday morning, the WindRadar is showing the winds streaming directly out of the Gulf of Mexico into West Texas. Residents here will feel temperatures and humidity levels climbing throughout the day, ahead of the storms.

The combination of this southerly flow, the coming dryline, and the outflow boundary present in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles from this morning’s storm activity, as seen on the WeatherRadar, will create the storm initiation environment. The WeatherRadar shows storms beginning to fire around the lunch hour, local time and lasting through the early evening hours.

With a marginal risk in place – a level one out of five – isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are likely this afternoon, with damaging gusts and large hail possible.

On your app, you will see storms also beginning around lunch here and lasting after dark. Make sure you have at least three ways to receive a weather warning and have your app alerts switched on.

By Friday, we shift our focus back to only the southern Plains for a wider region of severe weather. Weather & Radar meteorologists will be providing updates on this situation.

Yesterday, the National Hurricane Center officially labeled the disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico as Invest 91L. Today is the official start of Atlantic Hurricane Season and 91L is starting to show more signs of organization.

The National Hurricane Center has given the low pressure in the Gulf a medium (50 percent) chance of developing in the next 48 hours. Lower wind shear is allowing this system to organize. The most likely scenario is that a short-lived tropical depression or storm will form. If this happens, the first name in this year's list is Arlene.

However, as this low tracks south, wind shear will increase, which will dampen any chances of further development into the weekend. The southward track also means that the center of this low making a Florida landfall is unlikely. However, the Sunshine State will continue to be lashed by tropical moisture through Saturday.

Flash flooding is a concern, especially in South Florida. At least 2-3 inches of rain is anticipated through the weekend, but some areas will see more. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for part of South Florida, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale, through Friday evening.

Weather & Radar's expert meteorologists will be keeping a close eye on the system. Right now, the WeatherRadar indicates that this low pressure will slowly move south through the Gulf into the weekend.

All eyes will be on this system, including those of the Hurricane Hunters. The Hurricane Hunters plan to begin flying into the storm today, with the first mission scheduled to depart at 1:45 p.m. ET. A second mission is scheduled to take off at 6:15 a.m. ET Friday.

Weather & Radar will keep you covered! Check in with us every morning for tropical weather updates.