Record Dry Spell To Continue

DROUGHT INTENSIFICATION CONTINUES: The new U.S. Drought Monitor released this morning shows 70 percent of Alabama is now in an “exceptional” or “extreme” drought condition…

This is now the longest period of no measurable rain on record for Birmingham. Today is the 53rd consecutive day with no measurable rain at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport (where the records are kept)… beating the old record of 52 dry days set in 1924.

A drought emergency remains in effect for all 67 Alabama counties. Remember… NO outdoor burning… it is illegal for any person to set fire to any forest, grass, woods, wildlands or marshes; to build a campfire or bonfire; or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest, grass or woods fire. Specifically, the regulation prohibits any prescribed burns, any campfire or bonfire, any trash or debris fires, or any other open burning.

And, conserve water. Birmingham Water Works remains in a “stage four extreme drought emergency”.

The fire below is along I-65 north between Warrior and Blount Springs, and northbound traffic is being diverted off the interstate at Warrior… photo from @kristigranade

Larger wildfires are visible on MODIS satellite imagery this afternoon northeast of our state…

DRY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Sunny pleasant days, clear cold nights. Many places will see temperatures down in the upper 30s again early tomorrow morning with potential for a freeze for colder valleys and protected areas. The high tomorrow will be in the low 70s, then dropping into the 60s over the weekend.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school playoff games tomorrow night, a clear sky with temperatures falling from the low 60s at kickoff into the low 50s by the second half.

Alabama hosts Mississippi State Saturday (11:00a CT kickoff); the sky will be sunny with temperatures rising from near 62 at kickoff, to 68 by the fourth quarter.

Auburn travels to Athens, GA to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (2:30p CT kickoff)… a perfect day for football. About 65 degrees at kickoff, dropping back into the upper 50s by the final whistle.

NEXT WEEK: Still dry for the first half of the week. By next Thursday, November 17, we will have gone 60 consecutive days with no measurable rain. Global models continue to show a cold front arriving Friday night (November 18), or Saturday (November 19) with a chance of showers and storms. Doesn’t look like a big rain event for now, but we will take anything we can get. And, long range ensemble guidance from the European global model still suggests over 6 inches of rain for Birmingham from November 15-December 25.

AT THE BEACH: Sunny days and fair nights from Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach through early next week with highs in the 70s. See a very detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

TROPICS: The Atlantic remains quiet, and tropical storm formation is not expected for the next five days. Hurricane season runs through the end of November.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 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.

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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow..

Tags: ANC, dry

Category: Alabama's Weather