Dixie In The Frying Pan

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HOT SUMMER DAYS: Gotta love late July and early August in Alabama… this is the hottest part of the summer, and you will know it in coming days with the heat ridge firmly over our state. Birmingham is at 97 degrees at 3:00, with a dewpoint of 68, relative humidity of 38 percent, and and a heat index of 102. Tuscaloosa is at 97, while Anniston reports 94, and Gadsden is at 93. A few isolated storms have formed; the stronger ones are over Cherokee and Cleburne Counties, near the Georgia border.

TOMORROW AND THE WEEKEND: Unfortunately the heat ridge just doesn’t want to go away, and the hot weather stays in place through Saturday. We will be back in the upper 90s tomorrow and Saturday (a few spots could very well touch 100), with temperatures backing down a few degrees by Sunday and Monday as moisture levels increase and temperatures aloft cool ever so slightly. It still looks like developing Tropical Storm Bonnie will remain well to the south of here with the heat ridge not offering much of a weakness for any potential north turn.

TD3: The third tropical depression of the season has formed over the southern Bahamas, and it forecast to become a tropical storm within the next 24 hours. The system should move over the Florida Straights, and into the Gulf of Mexico by tomorrow night. The official NHC track has the landfall point near the Texas/Louisiana border on Sunday, but we do note the 18Z models have shifted a bit to the right, suggesting more of a Louisiana threat.

The good news is that Bonnie is not expected to become a hurricane, and the main threat will be from heavy rain, especially along and to the right of the landfall center on the Gulf Coast. The heat ridge over Alabama, most likely, will keep the deepest tropical moisture well to the west, although we will see some general increase in moisture levels early next week. I don’t think it will have much of an impact on the oil slick in the Gulf; if anything it will drive it farther from Alabama, and help in the dispersion process.

OTHER TROPICAL NOTES: A strong tropical wave in the Southwest Gulf of Mexico has potential to become a tropical depression or storm tonight, but it is about to move into the Mexican coast. The rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet.

NEXT WEEK: The ole 5940 meter 500 mb ridge just hangs around, so next week looks hot with some risk of an afternoon shower or storm each day. But, nothing widespread. Highs will stay up in the 90s.

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I had a great time seeing the kids in the summer program at Shades Mountain Baptist Church this morning; be looking for them on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News. The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow…

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