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RIGHT NOW: As expected, we have a handful of showers and storms on radar this afternoon, but they are widely separated, and mostly over West Alabama in the broad area from Tuscaloosa south to Selma. All of these will fade away once the sun goes down later this evening. Birmingham is reporting 90 degrees at 2:00… Anniston is at 89, Tuscaloosa is at 92.
REST OF THE WEEK: Not much change tomorrow; hot and humid with a few widely scattered afternoon showers or storms. Highs will stay in the low to mid 90s, but the heat ridge breaks down again Thursday, and a deep upper trough (for summer) will form over the eastern U.S. by the weekend. Accordingly, we are forecasting an increase in showers and thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday, with a good chance of one inch of rain during those two days for most of Alabama, with potential for over two inches in spots. A few strong storms are possible, but major severe weather problems are not expected. Afternoon highs will drop back into the upper 80s because of the clouds and showers.
REFRESHING WEEKEND: The 12Z GFS continues to show a really nice surge of drier air moving into Alabama this weekend. In fact, the model pushes the front all the way to Mobile by midday Saturday, and if this is correct the weekend will feature sunny days, clear cooler nights, and low humidity levels. Very comfortable for mid-summer; the GFS MOS is printing a high of only 82 for Birmingham Saturday and Sunday, with lows around 60 both Sunday and Monday morning. This, of course, means the cooler valleys will head for the 50s.
NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: Looks like the weather will stay dry Monday and Tuesday, but humidity levels rise during the latter half of the week, with the chance of scattered showers and storms returning by Thursday and Friday (7/23-24). Still no sign of any serious heat problems through the end of July, and no sign of life in the Atlantic basin. The tropics remain pretty quiet.
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I really enjoyed spending some time today at the Birmingham Museum of Art… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow.
