Sun, Heat, And Storms

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FAMILIAR RADAR SCREEN: Once again today very strong thunderstorms have formed in scattered pockets across our state this afternoon; the storms in progress are producing very heavy rain, very sharp, frequent, and dangerous lightning, and temporary cooling. Birmingham and Tuscaloosa had reached 99 degrees at 2:00… but temperatures cooled into the upper 70s around the thunderstorms. Lauderdale County in Northwest Alabama is under a flash flood warning until 5:15 this afternoon for slow moving storms up in the northwest corner of the state. Most of the storms today are moving to the south at 5 to 10 mph.

REST OF THE WEEK: The heat levels won’t change much tomorrow, but they should begin to back down slowly Thursday and Friday as the heat bubble begins to break down a bit and move to the west. The high will be back down in the low to mid 90s by Friday with a marked increase in the number of showers and storms thanks to an approaching front from the north.

AIR QUALITY ALERT: A code orange air quality alert remains in effect for the Birmingham metro area tomorrow (Jefferson and Shelby Counties) due to the potential for ground level ozone.

WEEKEND PEEK: For now it looks like fairly routine August weather Saturday and Sunday… hot humid days with scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and storms. Highs will be in the mid 90s.

COLIN NO THREAT TO THE GULF: Tropical Storm Colin is about 800 miles east of the Leeward Islands, packing sustained winds of 40 mph. Still doesn’t look very organized, and it will be moving into a region of upper shear in coming days, and it is not expected to reach hurricane strength in the short term. Colin will pass north of the islands, with a northward turn this weekend. It should be in a position between the Bahamas and Bermuda by Sunday; from there it has the option of recurving harmlessly into the open Atlantic, or turning westward toward the East Coast of the U.S. It remains to be seen which track this one will take, but it is no threat to the Gulf of Mexico. See the Weather Xtreme video for more details.

Another wave is showing up in the Caribbean, not far from the coast of South America. This one might make it through the Caribbean, with a potential move across the Yucatan and into the far Southwest Gulf of Mexico.

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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here tomorrow… Brian Peters will handle the videos each day through the rest of the week; I will be taking off a few days to recharge. I will be back at my post on Monday!