Warm, Mostly Dry Weather Continues Through Tomorrow

QUIET PATTERN: We aren’t expecting much change in Alabama’s weather through tomorrow; mostly sunny warm days and fair pleasant nights. Highs will be in the 87-90 degree range; the average high for Birmingham on September 8 is 88. Morning lows will remain mostly in the 60s. Any afternoon showers will be confined to the southern quarter of the state, and even there they will be pretty isolated.

Moisture levels creep up Thursday and Friday, and we will bring in the chance of scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers or thunderstorms both days. Nothing too heavy or widespread, however, and highs will be in the mid to upper 80s… right at seasonal averages.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Look for a mix of sun and clouds Saturday and Sunday, and once again we will have scattered showers and storms around both days. No “wash-out”, and most of the showers will come from noon to midnight. Odds of any one spot getting wet both days will be in the 50/60 percent range. Highs over the weekend will be in the mid 80s.

NEXT WEEK: No major changes are expected at this point. Partly sunny days, with the usual risk of scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs will remain in the 80s… See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.

SEPTEMBER SNOW: Winter storm warnings are in effect today for parts of Wyoming, Colorado, and far northern New Mexico as a major early season winter storm unfolds. Snow amounts will exceed one foot across higher terrain. Denver is expecting 3 to 6 inches of snow; most of the accumulating snow there will come tonight. Unfortunately the cold air won’t make it to Alabama.

TROPICS: We have two tropical storms and a tropical wave to discuss this morning. The wave, Invest 94L, is located about 250 miles west-southwest of Bermuda, and is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Some gradual development of this system is possible during the next few days while the low moves slowly westward to west-northwestward toward the North Carolina coast.

Out in the central and eastern Atlantic, we have tropical storms Paulette and Rene. The lead system, Paulette, is expected to remain below hurricane strength over the next five days; it begins to gain latitude by Friday and the weekend and most likely curves back into the Atlantic without impacting the U.S.

Tropical Storm Rene is expected to briefly become a hurricane in a few days, before weakening again this weekend. It will turn sharply north, and will not threaten the U.S. or the Lesser Antilles.

We also note another tropical wave is forecast to emerge off the west coast of Africa late tomorrow or Thursday. Gradual development is anticipated once the system moves over water, and a tropical depression could form late this week or over the weekend while the system moves generally westward across the eastern tropical Atlantic. Too early to know if this will impact any land mass.

Despite all of this action, the Gulf of Mexico will remain quiet this week.

ON THIS DATE IN 1900: The Great Galveston hurricane made landfall at category four strength. It remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history and the fourth-deadliest Atlantic hurricane overall. The hurricane left between 6,000 and 12,000 fatalities in the United States; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000. Most of these deaths occurred in and near Galveston, Texas, after storm surge inundated the coastline with 8 to 12 ft of water. In addition to the number killed, the storm destroyed about 7,000 buildings of all uses in Galveston, which included 3,636 demolished homes; every dwelling in the city suffered some degree of damage. The hurricane left approximately 10,000 people in the city homeless, out of a total population of nearly 38,000. The disaster ended the Golden Era of Galveston, as the hurricane alarmed potential investors, who turned to Houston instead. In response to the storm, three engineers designed and oversaw plans to raise the Gulf of Mexico shoreline of Galveston island by 17 feet and erect a 10 mile seawall.

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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon… enjoy the day!

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