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How often do you get an afternoon high of 74 in Birmingham, AL, in July? Well, as it turns out, a check of weather data for Birmingham all the way back to 1895 showed that only on 27 occurrences had the high been 75 degrees or cooler. Clouds and rain off and on much of the day gave us a very nice rain plus a cool day, albeit humid. Storm total precipitation estimates from National Weather Service radars showed that western Alabama got more rain than eastern Alabama, but the great news was that just about all of the area got some rain. You can scroll down in the Blog for more detail on rainfall reports.
Radar this morning showed a few patches of rain in Central and East Alabama, but nothing quite as nice as the rain we got yesterday. Dew points are drying out from the northwest today with lower 70 dew points in Southeast Alabama and mid 60 dew points in Northwest Alabama. I think the greatest threat for showers today will come along and east of Interstate 59.
As we head into next week, the pattern returns to a diurnal one with scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. And with a strong upper ridge building back across Florida and the East Gulf, we should see highs climb back into the lower and mid 90s.
Once again, the GFS is promoting another July front around Thursday. The east coast trough fades back a bit early in the upcoming week as the upper ridge gets stronger, but another strong impulse slides down the west side of the trough sharpening it and digging it into the Southeast. This could mean another front in our area Thursday with a nice short wave on Saturday and some additional rain. I know it’s hard to see rain coming on a Saturday, but we need it so much, I think we won’t mind too much for another soggy Saturday.
The GFS is remaining consistent with an east coast trough well out into voodoo land. The westerlies pull back north around the 18th, but another trough deepens in the East on the 20th promising the approach of another front. The trough weakens again around the 23rd. I guess the really good news is that there does not appear to be any significant sign of really hot weather.
James Spann should be back in the saddle Monday morning with the next Weather Xtreme Video. I hope that you have a great Sunday and enjoy the opportunity to spend some time with your family.
-Brian-
