Drier Days Ahead

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RIGHT NOW: Showers and strong storms continue in scattered pockets across our great state this afternoon. At 3:30 some of the heaviest rain was around the Birmingham metro area, near Demopolis, and in East Alabama from Childersburg down to Lafayette. Like recent days, there isn’t much movement, and some spots are getting heavy amounts of rain, along with frequent lightning and gusty winds. There is no rain north of U.S. 278, where drier air is making the journey southward. The dewpoint at Decatur is down to 63, while Birmingham has a dewpoint of 73 (3:00 observations).

TOMORROW THROUGH THE WEEKEND: The 12Z GFS is pretty aggressive in the idea of the dry air getting all the way down to U.S. 80 tomorrow, meaning the northern half of the state should be generally rain-free tomorrow, Friday, and over the holiday weekend. The deepest moisture will be over the southern quarter of the state, where showers and storms are likely, but up this way the chance of a shower Thursday through Sunday will be small. Understand we are not saying there is a zero percent chance of rain, but most communities will enjoy a decent amount of sunshine each day with only a minimal risk of getting wet. Highs will be pretty pleasant for early July, with highs in the 87 to 90 degree range each afternoon.

NEXT WEEK: The dry air holds early next week, with mostly sunny weather likely Monday through Wednesday with any showers being few and far between around here.

HURRICANE ALEX: He has become a larger hurricane and a little stronger this afternoon. The center is moving toward the north coast of Mexico or possibly South Texas. He was about 130 miles SSE of Brownsville, Texas and moving toward the NW at 12 mph. Sustained winds have increased to 85 mph and the central pressure was down to 28.41 inches. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the coast of Texas south of Baffin Bay (Baffin Bay is about 60 miles south of Corpus Christi) to the mouth of the Rio Grande and southward along part of the Mexican coast. A Tropical Storm Warning extends northward along the Texas coast to Port O’Connor. A Tornado Watch was posted this morning for extreme South Texas.

AT THE BEACH: The sky will be generally cloudy along the central Gulf Coast through the weekend with occasional showers and thunderstorms. The storms will thin out a bit by Saturday and Sunday. Only about 2 to 4 hours of sunshine each day, with highs in the upper 80s.

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