Midday Nowcast: Front Sinking South

A rare August front is dropping south through Alabama today, and as it does, it is producing scattered storms which are producing gusty winds and lots of lightning. A few strong storms are possible later this afternoon, and portions of Southeast Alabama remain in a “marginal risk” (level 1 of 5) of severe storms.

Behind the front, an airmass change is beginning over North Alabama with highs dropping into the mid to upper 80s. South Alabama remains hot and humid with highs in the 90s.

REST OF WEEK: Drier, continental air pushes deep into the state by tomorrow. Humidity levels will be much lower, highs will be under 90° over the northern half of the state, and we start the day with lows in the 60-65 degree range across the northern and central counties. Some spots in North Alabama will see lows in the 50s the next couple of mornings. Due to the dry air we won’t have to deal with summer storms, with the exception of areas near the Gulf Coast.

WEEKEND WEATHER: Dry weather will continue to be the story through the weekend; any scattered storms will be confined to the far southern counties of Alabama. Heat levels rise, and by the weekend all of the state will see highs back in the mid 90s with humidity levels creeping up as well.

INTO NEXT WEEK: Rolling into next week, the upper level ridge intensifies over the Deep South, bringing hot and mostly dry weather to the Alabama. Any showers and storms will remain fairly isolated, rain chances will remain less than 20% daily. Highs will be in the mid to upper 90s. We still have a lot of summer left, and we may not have seen our hottest weather yet…

IN THE TROPICS: A tropical wave is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms a few hundred miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. Development, if any, of this system should be slow to occur while it moves westward to west-northward at about 15 mph across the tropical Atlantic through the end of the week. Formation chance through 7 days…low…10 percent.

Also, a tropical wave is forecast to move off the west coast of Africa tonight or early Wednesday. Some slow development of this system is possible late this week or over the weekend while it moves generally west-northwestward or northwestward across the eastern Atlantic. Environmental conditions are expected to become unfavorable for development by early next week.  Formation chance through 7 days…low…30 percent.

The next few names up are Emily, Franklin, and Gert.

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 visiting.

WORLD TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation outside the U.S. was 124.7F at Khanaqin, Iraq. The lowest observation was -99.8F Vostok, Antarctica.

CONTIGUOUS TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation was 116F at Death Valley, CA. The lowest observation was 28F at Foxpark, WY.

Tags: ANC, featured

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS