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HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES: A check of the radar at mid-afternoon shows a number of showers and storms across Alabama, rotating around a broad tropical low (old TD5) around the Mississippi River Delta. The heaviest rain at 3:00 was over parts of Cullman, Jefferson, Shelby, Bibb, Hale, and Greene Counties. Another big cluster of storms was just east of Montgomery. The storms today are moving to the northeast at about 20 mph… the fast motion should prevent any major flooding issues.
REST OF THE WEEK: We note the PW (precipitatble water) on the 12Z sounding from the Shelby County Airport was right at 2 inches (1.98″), and the very moist environment will stay in place through Friday, with scattered to numerous showers and storms on a daily basis. While the bulk of the showers will come during the afternoon and evening hours, we can’t rule out some late night or morning rain as well with the tropical system so close. Some folks between Natchez, MS and Lafayette, LA picked up over 5 inches of rain this morning thanks to a nocturnal blowup around the tropical low.
45 IN A ROW: The Birmingham Airport did touch 90 degrees this hour, so we have now gone 45 consecutive days with a high of 90 or hotter. The streak is the same at Tuscaloosa, but Anniston ended their 90+ streak this past Saturday when the high was only 88.
WEEKEND PREVIEW: Not much change Saturday. Sun at times, moist air sticks around, and we will deal with scattered to numerous shower and thunderstorms. However, drier air begins to slip into North Alabama Sunday, with the deepest moisture over the southern half of the state. Highs creep up into the low to mid 90s.
NEXT WEEK: The GFS is very persistent with the idea of relatively dry air over North Alabama early next week, so we will mention only isolated afternoon showers Monday through Wednesday with highs generally in the low to mid 90s.
TROPICS: A wave in the central Caribbean remains disorganized; the rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet. A strong tropical wave is coming off the coast of Africa… there is some potential for slow development there in coming days. The GFS continues the idea of a tropical storm or hurricane off the East Coast of the U.S. in 7 to 10 days; see the Weather Xtreme video for more on that possibility.
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