**No afternoon Weather Xtreme video; I am live today at “Free Friday Flicks” at Veterans Park in Hoover on ABC 33/40**
RADAR CHECK: We have the classic case of random, airmass thunderstorms on a summer afternoon today. Scattered storms across Alabama are moving slowly northwest, and are producing heavy rain, gusty winds, some small hail, and frequent lightning. Away from the storm, the sky is partly sunny with temperatures not too far from 90.
The storms will fade away tonight after the sun goes down.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: No real change. We are forecasting a mix of sun and clouds tomorrow and Sunday with scattered showers and storms around both days. Most of the storms (but not necessarily all of them) will come from about 2:00 until 10:00 p.m., and odds of any one spot getting wet will be in the 40 percent category both days. No way of knowing in advance exactly when and where they pop up. Just watch radar trends closely if you have something going on outdoors.
NEXT WEEK: We will stick with a persistence forecast as the classic summer pattern continues. Partly sunny days with “scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms”. There will be day to day variations in the placement and coverage of the storms, but no way of knowing now since they are determined by small scale boundaries and upper air features that can’t be forecast days in advance. Afternoon highs next week will be generally in the low 90s, just what you expect around the Fourth of July in Alabama.
TROPICS: All remains very quiet in the Atlantic basin, and tropical storm formation is not expected through next week.
ON THIS DATE IN 1975: Lightning strikes Lee Trevino and two other golfers at the Western Open golf tournament in Oak Brook, Illinois.
BEACH FORECAST: See the details on Gulf Coast weather on our beach forecast page here.
I had a great time yesterday seeing the summer students at Skyland Elementary in Tuscaloosa… be looking for them on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 news! My next Weather Xtreme video will be posted here by 7:00 a.m. Monday. Enjoy the weekend!
