An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes…
Some interesting weather in the days ahead…..
TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY: First off, for most of North-Central Alabama, today will be another generally dry and hot day, with ample sunshine and a high in the low 90s. Most of the showers and storms will be focused to the north of here, over far North Alabama and Tennessee, closer to a cold front. A few isolated showers might show up this afternoon, however, during the heat of the day.
The chance of rain will increase significantly tomorrow as the front pushes more to the south. The NAM prints 0.40″ of rain for Birmingham, but we should note the GFS is considerably drier. Also, the GFS pushes the front to a point near Montgomery tomorrow night, and shuts off our chance of rain on Wednesday. The NAM keeps the front farther to the north, and accordingly means a chance of showers and storms here into Wednesday. For now, we will mostly use the NAM solution since the upper air support for the front will weaken and pass well to the north of here.
THURSDAY/FRIDAY: We will continue to mention a chance of scattered showers and storms on Thursday, but the rain should become more widespread on Friday as a stronger front approaches from the north.
A REFRESHING WEEKEND: The front is expected to push all the way south to the northern Gulf of Mexico by Saturday morning, and our first real taste of fall gets in here just in time for the weekend. Looks like highs in the 80 to 85 degree range on Saturday and Sunday, with lows generally between 60 and 65. The humidity will be low, and Saturday will feature a fresh north breeze. And, it is likely the cooler valleys of North Alabama will drop well down in the 50s both Saturday and Sunday morning. Bring it on!
LONG RANGE: Unfortunately, any cooling this early in the season is temporary, and the primary westerlies across North America shift back to the north next week. No sign of another really cool shot on the GFS beyond this weekend through September 25.
TROPICS: Very active. Gabrielle is being pushed out to sea, and will become extra-tropical in coming days as merges with a cold front in the North Atlantic.
In the southern Gulf of Mexico, a broad low is drifting to the west; upper air winds are hostile now and there is no sign of development.
Out in the Atlantic, the wave looks really good about half way between the coast of Africa the the Lesser Antilles… this could become a tropical depression today. Seems like about a better than 50/50 chance this thing will recurve into the open Atlantic, but that idea is still up for debate.
There is another wave northeast of Puerto Rico that bears watching. See the video for satellite images and model output on all of these tropical features.
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 will record a new episode tonight…
WEATHER PARTY: Get all the latest weather news over on our sister site, WeatherParty.com. Be sure and register while you are there; you can submit stories and vote on them to determine what is published on the front page. This is a great way to find the latest weather-related news stories.
And, be sure and scroll down for Tim Coleman’s excellent discussion on things going on at the “top of the world”. The seasons are a changin’, you know…
I will be speaking to the Shades Valley Rotary Club today… then back into the office where I will produce the afternoon Weather Xtreme video… it should be up by 3:30 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!
