Isolated Afternoon Storms; Highs Hold In The 90s

RADAR CHECK: Small, isolated showers and thunderstorms are across Alabama this afternoon, but most of the state is dry with temperatures mostly in the mid to upper 90s. Showers will end this evening; tonight will be fair with a low mostly in the low to mid 70s.

Highs will remain in the 90s across Alabama tomorrow and Friday with partly sunny days and fair nights. The chance of any one given spot seeing rain each day is 15-25 percent, and most of the showers will come from 1:00 until 9:00 p.m.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Highs will be in the 90-95 degree over the holiday weekend, and as the upper ridge slowly weakens will mention “scattered, mostly afternoon and evening thunderstorms” all three days. Chance of any location getting wet daily is 30-40 percent… highest coverage should be over the northern third of the state close to a surface front to the north. Very routine late summer weather for the Deep South.

NEXT WEEK: The rest of next week will feature noticeably lower heat levels, with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s for most of the state. We will maintain the chance of mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms in scattered, random places. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.

GETTING DRY: Today is the 21st consecutive day without measurable rain for Birmingham (assuming no showers develop this evening); the last time rain came down at the Shuttlesworth Airport, where the records are kept was on August 7 when the total was 0.16″. The total for the month is 0.45″, and the deficiency for 2004 is now 5.64″

TROPICS: NHC is monitoring two features this afternoon; one a few hundred miles southeast of Bermuda, and the other in the Central Atlantic about halfway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles. The chance of these developing are very low; 0-20 percent. Bottom line is that the Atlantic basin remains very calm today for late August.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: UAB kicks off their season tomorrow night; they take on Alcorn State at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (7:00p CT kickoff)… just a small risk of a shower during the first quarter, otherwise the sky will be mostly fair with temperatures falling through the 80s, reaching the 70s by the fourth quarter. Jacksonville State will host Coastal Carolina tomorrow evening (7:00p CT kickoff); same situation there. Small risk of a shower early in the game, otherwise mostly fair with temperatures falling into the 70s by the fourth quarter.

Alabama hosts Western Kentucky Saturday evening at Bryant-Denny Stadium (6:00p CT kickoff)… a brief shower or storm can’t be ruled out during the first half, otherwise mostly fair with temperatures falling from near 89 degrees at kickoff to the upper 70s by the final whistle. Auburn will host Alabama A&M at Jordan-Hare Stadium (6:30p CT kickoff)… again a shower or storm is possible (but not likely) during the first half, otherwise mostly fair with upper 80s at kickoff, and upper 70s by the fourth quarter.

Troy will host Nevada Saturday evening (6:00p CT kickoff)… an outside risk of a shower or storm during the first half, otherwise fair with temperatures falling from around 90 degrees at kickoff, to near 80 by the final whistle.

ON THIS DATE IN 1973: An F4 tornado touched down near Canaan, New York, and moved to western Massachusetts. Three people were killed in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts when a truck stop was destroyed, and another person died in a ruined house nearby.

ON THIS DATE IN 2005: Hurricane Katrina attained Category 5 status on the morning of August 28 and reached its peak strength, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and a minimum central pressure of 902 mb. Meteorologist Robert Ricks at the NWS Slidell, LA issued the now famous “doomsday statement” that Sunday morning, called “the most dire weather forecast ever issued”. It began by describing Katrina as “a most powerful hurricane with unprecedented strength” that would leave the region “uninhabitable for weeks… perhaps longer”. It listed the expected damage in extensive detail, warning of profound devastation to infrastructure, including widespread building collapses, and said that the storm would launch “household appliances and even light vehicles” into the air as debris, causing “certain death” for anyone struck. The forecast also predicted that following the storm’s passage, “water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards”.

Look for the next video briefing here by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow…

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