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NEW DAY, OLD FORECAST: Trust me, we are tired of saying the same thing every morning, and I know you are tired of dealing with the heat. We did tie a record high (based on data in Birmingham) yesterday with 101 degrees; that is the first record we have seen during the hot spell that has lasted through much of July. The unusual thing about this heat wave is the duration, not necessarily the daily degree of the heat. We have had many summers over the years that featured spells of heat much more intense that this, but the last time we had a day with a high under 90 was back on July 4, so today will be the 29th consecutive day with a high at 90 or higher.
GETTING SOFT? I loved this comment from one of our Skywatchers on our IM chat this morning…
“Man, we’re getting soft. I grew up along the Miss River with no air conditioning and one fan for the whole house…chopped cotton 10 hours a day in the heat”
I feel the same way to some degree… I remember heat like this back in the 60s as a child and we didn’t think much about it… everybody went about their business, and we played outside all day long. But, maybe folks are different today, and the NWS continues the “heat advisories” for the hot weather through tomorrow. You know the drill… just take it easy.
TODAY AND TOMORROW: Not much change; the high will be near 100 degrees, and heat advisories remain in effect. The heat levels are actually more intense west of the state; hottest spot yesterday under the ridge was Monroe, LA with 105 degrees. During the peak of the heat, intense thunderstorms will form, but they will be widely spaced, much like yesterday. We noted some parts of Cullman County had 4 inches of rain yesterday, and there was scattered wind damage in Shelby County from a severe thunderstorm that rolled down U.S. 280. The chance of any one spot getting wet today and tomorrow is about one in five.
LATER IN THE WEEK: The heat ridge will be beat down by a strong short wave moving north of us, meaning heat levels should back down a bit by Thursday and Friday, with a better coverage of afternoon showers and thunderstorms.
WEEKEND PEEK: Watch the Weather Xtreme video and you will see the 00Z GFS actually tries to push a surface boundary down into Deep South Alabama by Saturday morning, putting drier air (not necessarily cooler) over North Alabama for the weekend. If this happens to be correct, the weekend here will be dry with lower humidity values, and highs in the low to mid 90s.
TROPICS: A strong disturbance about halfway between the coast of Africa and the Lesser Antilles has a good chance of becoming Tropical Storm Colin in coming days as it moves to the west/northwest. Most dynamic models take this one north of the islands late this week, to a point where it could recurve over the open Atlantic harmlessly, or turn back to the left, threatening the East Coast of the U.S. Way too early to call right now… see the Weather Xtreme video for more. But, at this point it certainly does not look like a Gulf of Mexico storm.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. You can even listen here on the blog; look for the player on the top left. We are going back to a Monday night production schedule, so we will have tonight’s show live at 8:30 p.m. CDT on uStream, and the show will be posted to iTunes and the web late tonight.
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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so today… enjoy the day!
