An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes…
Dewpoints are running between 71 and 76 at most Alabama locations this afternoon, meaning we pretty much have a pure, tropical airmass in place. The PW (precipitable water) value from the 12Z sounding at the Shelby County Airport remains very high at 2.16″. So, some neighborhoods will get another big soaking this afternoon and tonight as the summer soakers continue to develop.
TO THE NORTH: The leading edge of much drier air runs from around Cleveland, Ohio to Fort Smith, Arkansas. I still have very good reason to believe this front/dryline hangs up near the Tennessee border, and the dry air never really moves far into Alabama. The weather might be a little drier over the Tennessee Valley of extreme north Alabama tomorrow and Saturday, but I just don’t think our weather along the I-20/59 corridor will change much through the Labor Day weekend.
Each day will be like today; intervals of sunshine, and scattered showers and storms mainly during the afternoon and evening hours. The primary window for showers and storms will be from about noon to midnight, but late night or morning showers can’t be ruled out in this kind of airmass due to mesoscale boundaries. Afternoon highs for the next five days will generally be in the 86 to 91 degree range.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Jason Simpson is on his way to Starkville for tonight’s Mississippi State/LSU game. I would not be shocked if a storm was close to Scott Field at some point in that game tonight, if not right over the stadium. See the Game Day webcam in Starkville here.
Bring the rain gear if you will be attending a high school game tonight or tomorrow night. Same thing for both the Auburn and the Alabama games Saturday evening. It won’t rain everywhere, but the storms at that hour of the day can pack a punch with lightning involved. Kickoff temperatures for all of these games will be generally in the 80 to 85 degree range with very high humidity levels.
TROPICS: Getting active out there….
*The wave in the Atlantic, about 550 mile east of the Windward Islands, has the potential to become a tropical depression tonight or tomorrow. Models bring it on through the Caribbean over the weekend; it could behave like Dean and move into Mexico’s Yucatan peninsule or Belize, but remember the heat ridge across the Deep South is weaker, and this thing might be a candidate to enter the Gulf of Mexico. We will be watching.
*We have two circulation centers in the disturbed weather off the east coast of the U.S. The models sweep both of them out to sea in a few days thanks to an approaching upper trough and cold front, so they should not be an impact player for the U.S. mainland.
*Another good looking system shows up over the Bay of Campeche… that will move into Mexico before having a chance to really get its act together. The GFS continues to show this one redeveloping in the Pacific, then moving north toward Baja California and the Southwest U.S. during the latter half of next week.
*Waves in the eastern Atlantic are having a hard time due to cooler SSTs, but we will keep an eye on them.
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.
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.
Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here
