Labor Day Is Heating Up, Especially In The Tropics: It’s Your Midday Nowcast For Central Alabama

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Conditions At 12:00 PM Across Central Alabama
Skies are mostly clear to partly cloudy throughout the area as we have made it to the lunchtime hour. Temperatures are currently in the 80s throughout the area. A few isolated showers have started dotting the radar over the extreme southern portions of the area, and they should continue to build mainly over that part of the area through the afternoon hours.

Weather For The Rest Of Your Labor Day
It will be another hot and humid day across Central Alabama with mostly sunny skies. Much of the northern half of the area will remain dry while the chance of isolated to scattered afternoon showers thunderstorms build as you move south of a line from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham to Anniston, around 20-50%. Afternoon highs will top out in the upper 80s to the lower 90s. While an isolated shower may linger after sunset in the southern parts of the area, all of the activity should dissipate. Skies will become mostly clear to clear, with lows in the upper 60s to the lower 70s.

Say Hello To Tropical Storm Gordon
Tropical Storm Gordon formed earlier this morning over the upper Florida Keys with maximum sustained winds topping out at 45 MPH. Gordon will bring heavy rainfall and tropical storm conditions to portions of South Florida and the Florida Keys today. Tropical Storm Warnings have been posted: Golden Beach, FL to Bonita Beach, FL. / Florida Keys: Craig Key to Ocean Reef. / Morgan City, LA to the AL/FL state line. The good news is that Gordon should not grow stronger into a hurricane, but maximum sustained tropical storm force winds could top out at 60 MPH prior to landfall.

Tropical storm conditions are expected along the Louisiana, Mississippi, & Alabama Gulf Coast beginning late Tuesday. The primary threats will be from very heavy tropical rainfall, flooding, and deadly rip currents along the coast. A few isolated waterspouts or spin-up tornadoes are possible as Gordon gets closer to the coast, but the overall threat is low, and the Storm Prediction Center does not have a defined severe risk in their outlooks at this point. Heavy rainfall from Gordon will affect portions of the Central Gulf Coast over the next few days, including areas that have already received heavy rainfall from a different weather system. Rain amounts of 2-4 inches are likely, with localized heavier amounts possible. Tropical rainfall will start on Tuesday afternoon.

Only A Slight Increase In Rain Chances On Tuesday
With Gordon moving across the northern Gulf of Mexico, rain chances will be a little higher than normal with this typical summertime pattern. Tuesday will see much of the area north of a line from Aliceville to Montevallo to Roanoke stay relatively dry with only a small chance of an isolated shower or two, while south of that line will have more scattered to numerous tropical showers and storms. Rain chances will be around 30-60% south of that line, while around 20% to the north. Afternoon highs will be in the mid-80s to the lower 90s.

How About Tropical Storm Florence
Florence continues to be a strong tropical storm but continues to only be a threat to the fish in the open Atlantic Ocean. She is projected to make more of a northwestern turn starting late Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. While Florence is expected to recurve back out and away from the US mainland, the usually reliable European model has a blocking high developing to the north and pushing her towards the east coast. If that turns out to be the case, Florence could start affecting the coast within 9-10 days.

Tropical Wave Southeast Of The Cabo Verde Islands
A tropical wave is located more than 400 miles southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands. Some slow development is possible during the next several days while it moves westward to west-northwestward across the eastern tropical Atlantic. Formation chance through the next 5 days is low, around 30%.

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