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RIGHT NOW: Yet another sweltering summer day for Alabama; Birmingham has reached 100 degrees at 2:00. We have been in triple digits on 6 of the 12 days in August… needless to say, most folks are ready for some kind of break. And, after today, the good news is that temperatures will trend downward.
On the radar, a few small tropical showers have formed over the northern half of the state, but the deeper moisture remains over the southern counties. Seems like a subsidence ring on the periphery of the tropical system is producing downward atmospheric motion that is aiding in the lack of showers and the extreme heat this afternoon. That tropical moisture over the southern counties of Alabama is moving north, and we expect a better chance of showers and storms tomorrow.
ON THE MAPS: A broad surface low of tropical origin is over the Mississippi coast this afternoon (1010 mb), and will drift slowly north up into Central Mississippi during the next 24 hours. This will pull a big mass of pure tropical air up into Alabama, meaning a better chance of showers and storms tomorrow with a high in the 93 to 96 degree range.
THE WEEKEND: Occasional showers and storms are likely Saturday and Sunday with the tropical system hanging around. The rain won’t be continuous, and the sun will be out at times. But, a few tropical downpours are likely with some neighborhoods getting heavy amounts of rain. We figure rain amounts will average 1 to 2 inches tomorrow through Sunday, but some spots could see more.
Temperatures will continue to trend downward. Both the NAM and the GFS are printing a high of only 90 degrees for Birmingham on Saturday; we will see a high only in the 90 to 90 degree range through early next week. The deep tropical moisture is going nowhere, so we will expect scattered to numerous showers and storms through much of next week, which is just what the doctor ordered.
TROPICAL NOTES: Other than the broad, disorganized tropical low moving into the Central Gulf Coast, the rest of the Atlantic basin is relatively quiet, and additional tropical storm formation is not expected through the weekend. We do note the GFS shows tropical action in the medium range; see the Weather Xtreme video for details.
METEOR SHOWER: The annual Perseid meteor shower is underway. Earth is passing through a wide stream of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, and each time a fleck of comet dust hits Earth’s atmosphere–flash!–there is a meteor. Forecasters say the shower will peak on Thursday, August 12th, and Friday, August 13th. You can see Perseids flitting across the sky at any time between about 10 pm on Thursday evening and sunrise on Friday morning. Observers who get away from city lights can expect to count dozens of meteors per hour, especially during the dark hours before dawn.
Tune into https://spaceweather.com for full coverage of the shower, including a live meteor radar, a “fireball cam,” updated meteor counts and pictures from around the world.
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