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LOUD MORNING: We begin this day with strong thunderstorms over parts of North and Central Alabama. It is a classic June “northwest flow” situation, with storms moving from northwest to southeast. Often, these kind of storms can pack a punch, and they are generating an early morning wake-up call for many. A few severe thunderstorm warnings were issued earlier, but the storms are now generally below severe limits as I write this. Remember, to be severe, a thunderstorm must have hail one inch in diameter or larger, or winds of 58 mph or greater. Just had a report of dime size hail at Eldridge in Walker County a little after 6:00
The Storm Prediction Center is considering a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of Central and East Alabama, but so far they have not issued one.
THE DAY AHEAD: Morning storms always complicate a forecast to some degree. The morning rain will leave a somewhat stable atmosphere, but with the dynamic support involved there is no doubt we will need to keep a good chance of occasional showers and storms going through this afternoon and tonight with a number of thunderstorm areas upstream. SPC has their standard “slight risk” of severe weather defined for most of North and Central Alabama through tonight. This is not a setup for tornadoes, but the stronger storms could produce hail and strong, gusty winds. Temperatures will peak only in the low to mid 80s today because of the clouds and storms.
TOMORROW: Not much change. A surface front will push into the state, so we will have at least scattered thunderstorms, and once again they could be strong. Won’t rain all day tomorrow, but a passing shower or storm is possible at just about any hour with a high in the mid to upper 80s. I do expect a few intervals of sunshine tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY: Showers and storms move down into the southern half of the state as dry air filters into North Alabama. Most of the storms Wednesday should be south of U.S. 80… places like Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston, and Gadsden should enjoy a mostly sunny day with a high between 85 and 88 degrees. Humidity levels will be a bit lower as well.
THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: At this point the weather looks warm and dry on these four days, with mostly sunny days and fair nights. The high Thursday and Friday should be in the upper 80s, followed by a high at or just over 90 degrees over the weekend.
Moisture begins to return early next week, and a few scattered showers or storms could show up by Monday.
AT THE BEACH: Today will be mostly sunny along the Alabama and Northwest Florida Gulf Coast with a high in the 80s. Then, scattered showers and storms will be possible tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday with about 3 to 6 hours of sunshine each day. The weather looks fine for Friday and the weekend with a good supply of sunshine each day. Highs stay in the 80s, and the sea water temperature this morning at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is 82 degrees.
TROPICS: All is quiet and tropical storm formation is not expected this week.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 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. We will produce this week’s show tonight at 8:30 CDT… legendary severe weather researcher Dr. Harold Brooks will be our guest, and again this week we will be live using video and Google Hangouts for Broadcast. We will have a link to the video stream here on the blog, and of course you can listen via iTunes and the web later as always.
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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day and stay dry…
