Scattered Light Rain Today; Dry, Cool Weekend Ahead
RADAR CHECK: We have scattered areas of light rain across Alabama early this morning… otherwise the sky is cloudy with temperatures in the 66-72 degree range. Periods of light rain are possible through early tonight; this won’t be an especially beneficial rain event with most communities seeing only one-tenth of an inch or less. Some places won’t see enough rain to measure. The high today will be in the 70s over North Alabama, with low 80s to the south.
Light rain ends this evening, and the sky clears late tonight as the coolest air so far this season blows into the state.
COOL WEEKEND: Tomorrow will be a sunny, breezy, very cool day with a high in the 60s over the northern half of the state. A brisk north wind of 10-20 mph will make it feel cooler. Temperatures reach the low to mid 70s across South Alabama. Sunday morning will feature a low in the 40s for most places, and some of the colder spots over the northern counties will see upper 30s for the first time since April. Sunday will be another sunny day with highs in the 60s and 70s.
NEXT WEEK: Dry weather continues for the first half of the week with a warming trend. Temperatures will be in the 40s early Monday for much of the state, but by Wednesday afternoon the high will be near 80. Global models continue to suggest potential for a good rain event on Thursday and Friday as moisture from the Gulf of Mexico surges northward… the latest data shows 1-2 inches for South Alabama, and 1/2 to 1 inch for the northern counties. Then, another surge of cool, dry air arrives for the following weekend (October 14-15). See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school games tonight, a few widely scattered showers are possible across East and South Alabama. Otherwise mostly cloudy with temperatures falling through the 60s with a fairly stiff north breeze.
Tomorrow, Alabama will be in College Station to take on Texas A&M (2:30p CT kickoff). About 72 degrees at kickoff with a mostly sunny sky. It will be a very pleasant afternoon.
UAB will host USF Saturday at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (3:00p CT kickoff). The sky will be sunny with temperatures falling from near 67 at kickoff, into low 60s by the final whistle. The afternoon will be breezy with a north wind of 10-20 mph.
Troy will host Arkansas State (3p CT kickoff)… expect sunshine in full supply with a kickoff temperature near 72 degrees.
TROPICS: Tropical Storm Philippe, with winds of 50 mph, will pass over Bermuda today. It becomes post-tropical tonight, and the broad circulation will move into Maine Sunday morning with the impact of a strong nor’easter.
Elsewhere, a low-latitude tropical wave is expected to move off the west coast of Africa in the next day or so. Thereafter, environmental conditions appear generally conducive for gradual development of the system. A tropical depression could form by the early to middle part of next week as the system moves westward to west-northwestward across the eastern tropical Atlantic. NHC gives the system a 50 percent chance of development.
ON THIS DATE IN 2010: A significant severe weather event struck northern Arizona with at least eight confirmed tornadoes. This event will go down in history as the most tornadoes to hit Arizona in a single day. An EF2 tornado was on the ground for 34 miles, ranking as the longest-tracked tornado in Arizona history.
ON THIS DATE IN 2016: The center of Category 4 Hurricane Matthew passed within 100 miles of Miami. The storm then paralleled the coast of the southeastern United States over the next 36 hours, gradually weakening while remaining just offshore before making its fourth and final landfall over the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge near McClellanville, South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane on the morning of October 8.
Just one video briefing today; I will be live at Piedmont High School this evening on ABC 33/40 for Friday Night Rivals. I will post new forecast notes here by 3:00 this afternoon… enjoy the day!
Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos
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James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.Subscribe
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