Dry Pattern Holds

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EAST COAST SHAKER: A magnitude 5.8 earthquake was centered south of Washington, DC this afternoon at 12:51 p.m. CDT. The quake was felt in parts of Alabama… we had reports of the quake being felt in places like Jacksonville, Inverness, and Montgomery. No damage, of course, around here, and there seems to be little damage closer to the epicenter.

DRY DAYS: The air is much drier across Alabama this afternoon. Birmingham was reporting 94 degrees at 2:00… but the dew point was 61 degrees, making the relative humidity only 33 percent. No rain is showing up on radar this afternoon.

The weather looks generally dry for the next 5 to 7 days; we will mention some risk of isolated showers or storms Thursday afternoon with the approach of a weak front, but the chance of any one spot getting wet is only about one in eight. Highs stay in the 90s, with lows mostly in the upper 60s and lower 70s.

OUR WEEKEND: Not much change. Sunny days, fair nights. Hurricane Irene will pass well to the east, and the northerly flow on the west side of the system should actually bring down slightly cooler air into the state Saturday and Sunday, with highs closer to 90. The humidity over the weekend should be low. And, dry weather should continue into the first half of next week.

EYES ON IRENE: Hurricane Irene is packing sustained winds of 100 mph, making it a category two hurricane. The center is just north of Hispaniola, and the hurricane is expected to move through the Bahamas during the next 48 hours as a major, category three system. We note tropical models continue to shift to the east (to the right), and there is a very real chance that Irene might not make landfall on the U.S. coast. One way or another, it will be a very close call.

The official forecast track from the National Hurricane Center takes Irene into the North Carolina coast, near Morehead City, Saturday night. Then, the system will move up the northern half of the East Coast, bringing in lots of rain and wind to big cities like Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston over the weekend and into early next week. Irene will have no impact on Alabama.

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I had a great time today visiting with a very large crowd at First United Methodist Church in Weaver… be looking for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow….

Tags: dry

Category: Alabama's Weather