Sunday Morning Weather Briefing…The Weather in a Word is Hot

…NO VIDEO TODAY…

SUMMERTIME, SUMMERTIME, SUM, SUM, SUMMERTIME: Do you remember that fun song from 1958 from The Jamies?

Well are you comin’ or are you ain’t
You slow poke are my one complaint
Hurry up before I faint
It’s summertime

Saturday was all summer, for sure. High temperatures across North and Central Alabama ranged from 93F in Cullman and Alex City to 98F in several locations including Birmingham, Calera, Montgomery, and Eufaula. Those were the state’s hotspots. The high heat will continue today, Monday, and Tuesday, as a ridge of high pressure in the upper atmosphere and at the surface remains in control of our weather. Take it easy because of the heat. Hydrate frequently. Wear light colored, loose clothing including a hat. Take frequent breaks. Wear sunscreen. And check on family and neighbors, as well as pets.

INTERESTING NOTE FROM THE CLIMATE FILES: From here on out it will take a 100F reading at Birmingham to establish a new record high for any day. And for most days, the mercury will have to register at least 101F. That’s through September 13th. There is only one day from now until September 9th that has a record high that is 99F or less…that’s July 18th. Something to shoot for? No thanks!

THROUGH MIDWEEK: By Wednesday, the eastern end of the ridge will weaken and a northwesterly flow aloft will be in place across Alabama. This will permit a thunderstorm complex or two to swoop down over our area Wednesday or Thursday.

WEEKEND SNEAK PEEK: Saturday and Sunday look like they will feature scattered afternoon and evening showers and storms. Temperatures will be hot, with highs in the middle and upper 90s. A familiar refrain.

FOURTH OF JULY SNEAK PEEK: A stalled front followed by a strong southerly flow may bring higher than normal rain chances on the 2nd and 3rd, with lesser chances on Independence Day. We will hope that works out so the fireworks displays will be ok. Temperatures will be cooler early in the week, with 80s Monday and Tuesday, returning to near 90F by Wednesday and soaring into the middle 90s on July 4th.

VOODOO TERRITORY: Widely scattered showers and storms look like the fare for the weekend of the 5th through the 7th.

BEACHCAST: The big story along the beautiful beaches of Alabama and Northwest Florida has been the rip current risks. Fortunately for beach goers, the seas have diminished and the rip current is back to moderate for the foreseeable future. Only isolated storms today and then rain chances will go up to 30% Sunday, 40% Monday, 60% Tuesday and 40% Wednesday. High temperatures are going to be In the upper 80s. Lows will be in the upper 70s ranging upward to the lower 80s by early next week. Yuck. Water temperatures are so warm, already running in the middle 80s.

Click here to see the Beach Forecast Center page.

IN THE TROPICS: The disturbance that is over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico will move into Mexico tonight. The NHC is still holding out a 40% chance that it might become a tropical cyclone before it does. Elsewhere in the tropics, the ECMWF ensembles predict a tropical depression will form in the southwestern Caribbean and move into Nicaragua around Wednesday. The GFS seems to concur. We will be watching to see if the models are correct.

WEATHERBRAINS: Next week, the panel will entertain meteorologist Cameron Nixon. Check out the show at www.WeatherBrains.com. You can also subscribe on iTunes. You can watch the show live at live.bigbrainsmedia.com or on James’ YouTube Channel You will be able to see the show on the James Spann 24×7 weather channel on cable or directly over the air on the dot 2 feed.

ON THIS DATE IN 1944: An outbreak of violent tornadoes across eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. Thirty people were killed in Shinnston WV, which was leveled. A total of 154 people were killed and 966 were injured. The tornadoes defied previous meteorological thought by crossing mountainous terrain. A family of tornadoes killed thirty people along a 85 mile path from near Wellsburg, WV to near Uniontown, Maryland. As many as four violent tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously during the evening hours. The most devastating tornado of the evening was an F4 monster that carved a sixty mile path from near Pine Grove to near Alpena. One hundred people died in this tornado, including thirty at Shinnston. Follow my weather history tweets on Twitter. I am @wxhistorian at Twitter.com.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Tropical