Drier Air In The North, Few Storms Popping In The South: It’s Your Midday Nowcast For Central Alabama

Latest Precipitable Water Analysis as of 11:00 AM.

As we take a look at the conditions in Central Alabama, we can see that there is much drier air located in the northeastern parts of the state, especially north of a line stretching roughly from Florence to Warrior to Roanoke. North of that line, precipitable water values are in the 1.0-1.4 inch range. South of that, the moisture values quickly increase to the 1.5-2.0 inch range.

500mb Chart showing the troughs and ridges.

This chart shows the reason why for the big difference in the available moisture in the air today. We are in between two separate troughs, with the one on the east coast pulling drier air from the north, with the other trough to our west is pulling more moist air up from the Gulf of Mexico. That puts us in a very skinny ridge setup.

This shows up well on the latest visible satellite image, as we are nearly completely cloud free over the drier air, with clouds forming in the more moisture-rich air. Underneath those clouds along the Mississippi/Alabama state line, we have a few very light showers falling at this point that may not even be reaching the ground. We also have a storm that just popped up over portions of Coosa, Tallapoosa, and Lee counties. Temperatures are ranging from the mid to upper 80s, with Birmingham being the only location at 90 degrees.

WEATHER FOR THE REMAINDER OF YOUR TUESDAY: We’ll have mostly clear to partly cloudy skies throughout the area for the rest of your afternoon and into the early evening hours with just a very slight chance of an isolated shower or storm south of a line roughly stretching from Cullman to Warrior to Roanoke. There will be higher chances of scattered showers and storms in the southeastern parts of the area, mainly along and south of the I-85 corridor. Afternoon highs will be in the lower to mid-90s. Much of the activity will die off as we lose the heating of the day, but a stray shower or two may linger around into the nighttime hours in the southeastern parts of the area. Once those diminish around midnight, some patchy fog development is possible. Lows will be in the upper 60s to the mid-70s.

LOOK BEFORE YOU LOCK: Never leave children, disabled or elderly adults, or pets in parked vehicles. Studies have shown that the temperature inside a parked vehicle can rapidly rise to a dangerous level for children, pets, and even adults. Leaving the windows slightly open does not significantly decrease the heating rate. The effects can be more severe on children because their bodies have not developed the ability to efficiently regulate internal temperature. Heat-related deaths are preventable, so look before you lock.

A LOOK AT THE TROPICS: We have a center of low pressure located several hundred miles south of Cape Race, Newfoundland, that could gain subtropical characteristics by Wednesday. NHC is giving it a 40% chance of forming into a subtropical system within the next 2 days but will be no threat to land as it is forecast to move northeastward over colder water. The rest of the Atlantic Basin is relatively quiet.

ON THIS DAY IN WEATHER HISTORY: 1936 – Temperatures across much of eastern Kansas soared above 110 degrees. Kansas City MO hit an all-time record high of 113 degrees. It was one of sixteen consecutive days of 100-degree heat for Kansas City. During that summer there were a record 53 days of 100-degree heat, and during the three summer months, Kansas City received just 1.12 inches of rain.

BEACH FORECAST CENTER: Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Fort Morgan to Panama City on our Beach Forecast Center page. There, you can select the forecast of the region that you are interested in.

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Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS