A Few Showers Over West and South Alabama; Mostly Dry Elsewhere This Week
RADAR CHECK: We have a few spotty showers over West and Southwest Alabama this afternoon, otherwise we have a mix of sun and clouds with temperatures mostly in the 80s. Showers will fade this evening, and tonight will be mostly fair with a low in the 60s.
Most of Alabama will be dry tomorrow through Friday, although we will continue to mention a chance of showers for the southern counties tomorrow and Wednesday. Highs will be in the 80s, lows mostly in the 60s.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: At this point we see a totally dry weekend for Alabama with mostly sunny warm days and fair pleasant nights. Highs hold in the 80s, with lows in the 60s.
And, much of next week is looking rain-free as well with highs in the 80s. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.
TROPICS: Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 is about 60 miles south/southwest of Cape Fear, NC this afternoon with sustained winds of 40 mph. While it is not a true tropical cyclone (more of a hybrid), a tropical storm warning is in effect from South Santee River, SC to Ocracoke Inlet, NC. This low will move inland late this afternoon, and continues to bring lots of rain and flooding to parts of the North Carolina.
And, in the middle of the Atlantic Tropical Depression Gordon is still hanging on with winds of 35 mph. If the system can survive, it will turn north into the open Atlantic and will remain far from land.
The rest of the Atlantic basin is very quiet.
ON THIS DATE IN 2004: At 51 minutes after midnight on 16 September 2004, the northern eyewall of powerful Hurricane Ivan moved onto land near Gulf Shores as an upper end Category 3 hurricane.
Bringing with it 130 mph surface winds and a 12 foot storm surge, estimates show that the magnitude and extent of the damage and destruction over Baldwin County and Escambia and Santa Rosa counties of Northwest Florida likely exceeded that of both Hurricane Frederic (September 1979) and Hurricane Opal (October 1995). Additionally, Hurricane Ivan was very close to the magnitude of damage and destruction caused by the Hurricane of 1926 which ravaged the aforementioned counties east of Mobile Bay.
Ivan produced estimated maximum winds of 60 to 80 mph generally southwest of line from Prattville to Livingston. A few spots may have reached 90 mph in this area. Most other locations across central Alabama had estimated maximum wind speeds of 50 to 60 mph, with a few isolated spots reaching 75 mph. Damage was severe well inland… some of the hardest hit communities included Atmore, Brewton, Evergreen, Monroeville, Camden, and Demopolis.
Hurricane Ivan caused $18.82 billion in Alabama, which is the costliest ever recorded in the state. However, despite 56 people dying in the United States, none of them were in Alabama. It was the last storm to make landfall in Alabama until Hurricane Sally. Hurricane Ivan was also the strongest hurricane to hit Alabama since Hurricane Frederic in 1979, which was a category 4.
ON THIS DATE IN 2020: Hurricane Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores as a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Sally produced widespread wind, storm surge, and freshwater flooding across coastal Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle. Flood and wind damage also extended well inland into inland southwest Alabama and south central Alabama.
Sally was an extremely slow moving hurricane, which prolonged and exacerbated the local impacts. The storm was moving at less than 5 mph at the time of landfall, resulting in a long duration of tropical storm and hurricane force winds, storm surge, and torrential rainfall.
There were 3 direct fatalities as a result of Sally. One fatality occurred in the Wolf Bay area (Baldwin County AL.) Two men were riding the storm out on their boat and at some point during the storm attempted to swim to shore. One of the men made it to a pier and was rescued and hospitalised; the other man drowned.
The second fatality occurred on Innerarity Point, FL (Escambia County FL) where a 45 year old woman drowned when the vehicle she was driving was overtaken by the incoming storm surge. The third fatality occurred in Perdido Key, FL (Escambia County FL) when a 27 year old man drowned trying to retrieve a boat that was swept away by the surge and high surf.
Look for the next video update here by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow…
Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos
About the Author (Author Profile)
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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