Scattered Showers Return Tomorrow; Warm Afternoons

ANOTHER QUIET DAY AHEAD: We expect few, if any showers over the northern 2/3 of Alabama today… the sky will be partly to mostly sunny with a high in the 87-90 degree range. The average high for Birmingham on September 9 is 88. Isolated showers could form this afternoon over South Alabama, but even there most communities will remain dry.

TOMORROW THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Moisture levels rise, and we will introduce some risk of isolated afternoon showers statewide. Still, most communities will be dry with a partly sunny sky. Then, coverage of afternoon showers and thunderstorms should increase Friday through the weekend. Still, no “wash-out”, but the chance of any one community seeing rain Saturday and Sunday will be in the 60-70 percent range. Most of the showers over the weekend will come from noon to midnight, but we can’t rule out a rogue late night or morning shower in spots. Highs will be in the 85-89 degree range.

NEXT WEEK: No real change; a moist airmass holds. Each day we will have a mix of sun and clouds with scattered showers and thunderstorms around, especially during the afternoon and evening hours. Highs will be in the 80s… See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.

TROPICS: We are at the climatological peak of the hurricane season, and we expected things are busy across the Atlantic basin. Invest 94L is located about 400 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with minimal shower and thunderstorm activity. Gradual development of the low is possible during the next two or three days, and it could become a tropical depression while it continues to move slowly west-northwestward toward the coasts of South and North Carolina. NHC has lowered the chance of development to 30 percent; one way or another the main impact will be rain for the east part of the Carolinas and Virginia late this week.

A tropical wave is forecast to emerge off the west coast of Africa tomorrow. Gradual development is expected once the system moves over water, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this week or over the weekend while the system moves generally westward across the eastern tropical Atlantic. Remains to be seen if this will ultimately impact any land mass; just one to watch now. This feature will most likely get the name “Sally” once it develops in coming days.

TROPICAL STORM PAULETTE: Paulette is a highly sheared tropical storm in the Central Atlantic with winds of 60 mph. It is expected to remain below hurricane strength over the next five days, and it will gain latitude over the weekend. Most global models suggest Paulette will recurve into the Atlantic well east of the U.S.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION RENE: Rene weakened to a depression last night; it is in the far eastern Atlantic, and will remain over the open water far from land through the weekend. It is forecast by NHC to briefly become a hurricane Friday before weakening again over the weekend. It will turn north, and is no threat to the U.S.

The Gulf of Mexico will remain quiet for the next five to seven days.

ON THIE DATE IN 1965: Hurricane Betsy slammed into New Orleans; 110 mph winds and power failures were reported in New Orleans. The eye of the storm passed to the southwest of New Orleans on a northwesterly track. The northern and western eyewalls covered Southeast Louisiana and the New Orleans area from about 8 PM until 4 AM the next morning. In Thibodaux, winds of 130 mph to 140 mph were reported. Hurricane Betsy was the first hurricane to accrue damages over $1 billion, and was thus nicknamed “Billion Dollar Betsy.” Due to the tremendous amount of damage caused, “Betsy” was retired from the hurricane list and replaced with the name “Blanche”.

ON THIS DATE IN 2017: Hurricane Irma was weakening a bit over Cuba after making landfall the night before at category five strength. This made Irma only the second Category 5 hurricane to strike Cuba in recorded history, after the 1924 Cuba hurricane. It was also the third strongest Atlantic hurricane at landfall ever recorded, just behind the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and Hurricane Dorian. The hurricane strengthened back into a Category 4 prior to hitting the Keys. The Florida Keys suffered the worst of the damage in the United States.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute show anytime on your favorite podcast app. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Snapchat: spannwx

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

Tags: ANC, dry, featured

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos