Showers To Increase On Saturday

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RIGHT NOW: All is quiet across the Alabama countryside this afternoon. Very few showers are on radar, and temperatures are hanging around 90 in most places. The showers we do find at 3:00 are up around the Shoals area of Northwest Alabama, and over East Alabama around Lafayette and Hurtsboro. Looks like most places are going to be dry tonight.

TOMORROW: Not much change in the weather; partly sunny with a high in the low 90s and the chance of widely scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms.

THE WEEKEND: We are still expecting a general increase in coverage of scattered showers and thunderstorms on Saturday ahead of a cold front. The rain won’t be widespread, but any one spot stands about a 50/50 chance of getting wet, especially during the afternoon and evening hours. Some showers could linger into Saturday night due to the low level forcing associated with the surface boundary.

The 12Z GFS is back on the idea of drier moving down into North Alabama on Sunday, with lower humidity values. For now it looks like most of the showers and storms across our state Sunday will over the southern counties.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Tonight over in Starkville, Auburn will play the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The weather will be very warm and very humid, with temperatures in the 80s during the game. The radar is very quiet for now, and it looks like only a slight risk of a shower during the game. Pretty much the same story for high school football games in Alabama tonight; warm and humid with only a small risk of a shower, with temperatures falling from around 85 at kickoff to 80 by the final whistle.

For tomorrow night’s high school games, a shower could be close to a few high school stadiums at kick-off time, so I would bring the rain gear just in case. Otherwise, warm and muggy weather is the story again with temperatures falling from the mid 80s at kickoff to near 80 by the final whistle.

Saturday night Penn State visits Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium. There is a chance of a passing shower or thunderstorm during the game, and the temperature will fall from near 83 at kickoff to 75 by the final whistle. The chance of rain during the game is about one in three, if you like the numbers game (most football fans do). UAB will be in Dallas to play SMU Saturday night (an F2 tornado passed very close to their campus last night)… another warm and humid setting with a small risk of a shower or thunderstorm during the game. Temperatures will hover in the 80s. And, let’s not forget Jacksonville State (how can we forget after last week’s big win over Ole Miss)… they host Chattanooga Saturday evening at 7:00. A shower is possible during the game, with temperatures falling from the mid 80s at kickoff into the upper 70s by the fourth quarter.

NEXT WEEK: Drier and slightly cooler air settles into the state for much of next week. Looks like our weather will be generally dry, with highs around 90 and lows in the 60s. The normally cooler spots have a great chance of reaching the 50s early Monday and Tuesday morning.

TROPICS: Tropical Storm Igor in the far eastern Atlantic has the potential to become a powerful hurricane in coming days, but the GFS and the ECMWF recurve the system into the westerlies before reaching the U.S. East Coast next week. It doesn’t seem like a threat to even get close to the Gulf of Mexico. On the other hand, we will need to watch the tropical wave near the Windward Islands; that one could become a hurricane in 3 to 5 days, with some potential to enter the southern Gulf. We will be watching closely.

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I had a great time today visiting with a huge crowd at the Ladiga Manor Assisted Living Home in Jacksonville… thanks to everyone for their hospitality. Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m tomorrow….

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