Midday Nowcast: Front Slowly Sinking South

Drier air is slipping into the state today and tomorrow. Highs these two days are in the mid to upper 80s under a mix of sun and clouds, and most shower activity is confined to central and southern portions of the state.

FRIDAY & THE WEEKEND: On Friday, the chance of showers will increase statewide as a surface trough develops over the region. It won’t rain all day or every where, but a scattered showers and possibly some thunderstorms are a good bet Friday and Saturday. Rain chances Friday and Saturday are in the 40-60% range. Highs will remain in the low 80s for North Alabama, with mid to upper 80s to the south. As the trough moves east late Sunday, drier air is expected to settle into the state next week and Sunday look to be the best day of weather this weekend.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: For the high school games Friday night, scattered showers are possible with a mostly cloudy sky… some thunder can’t be ruled out. Temperatures will fall through the 70s.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Saturday, Alabama travels to Tampa to take on South Florida (2:30p CT kickoff)… the day will be hot and humid with a kickoff temperature around 90 degrees. A passing shower or thunderstorm is possible during the game.

Auburn hosts Samford Saturday evening at Jordan-Hare Stadium (6:00p CT kickoff)… the sky will be mostly cloudy with some rain possible at times. Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 70s.

And, UAB will host Louisiana Saturday evening in downtown Birmingham at Protective Stadium (6:00p CT kickoff)… much like Auburn, a few periods of rain are possible during the game. Mostly cloudy conditions with temperatures falling from near 80 at kickoff, to mid 70s by the fourth quarter.

NEXT WEEK: It still looks like most of the week will be rain-free with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s, right at seasonal averages. We are slowly seeing the transition from summer to fall across the Deep South, just be patient.

IN THE TROPICS: We have Hurricane Lee, Hurricane Margot, and at some point of the next week, Nigel. Invest 97L is a broad area of low pressure over the eastern tropical Atlantic continues to produce some disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Gradual development of this system is expected over the next few days while the system moves west-northwestward to northwestward at 10 to 15 mph, and a tropical depression is likely to form by this weekend over the central tropical Atlantic. Formation chance through 7 days…high…80 percent.

HURRICANE LEE: Lee is moving toward the north-northwest near 9 mph. A turn toward the north is expected by tonight, followed by an increase in speed on Thursday and Friday. On the forecast track, the center of Lee will pass west of Bermuda Thursday and Thursday night and then approach the coast of New England or Atlantic Canada Friday and Saturday.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 115 mph with higher gusts. Lee is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Slow weakening is forecast during the next few days, however, Lee is likely to remain a large and dangerous hurricane into the weekend. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 240 miles. The estimated minimum central pressure is 948 mb (28.00 inches).

HURRICANE MARGOT: Margot is moving toward the north-northwest near 7 mph and this motion with a gradual decrease in forward speed is expected through early Thursday. Then, Margot is likely to stall or meander within weak steering currents into the weekend. Maximum sustained winds are near 90 mph with higher gusts. Some weakening is forecast during the next 72 hours. Satellite data indicated that Margot’s hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles. The estimated minimum central pressure is 970 mb (28.65 inches)

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 120.6F at Omidieh, Iran. The lowest observation was -94.9F Dome A, Antarctica.

CONTIGUOUS TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation was 108F at Tecopa, CA. The lowest observation was 21F at Foxpark, WY.

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