Blanket of Moist Air Hangs Around

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THIS AFTERNOON: The morning batch of storms helped to stabilize the air to some degree this afternoon, and at this point the radar is relatively quiet with a just a few showers and storms over West Alabama. However, even as I write this new showers are forming at random places in other parts of the state, and we will need to maintain the chance of scattered showers and storms for rest of the afternoon and tonight in a very moist environment across Alabama. We note the PW (precipitable water) on the morning sounding from the Shelby County Airport was a whopping 2.40″, about as high as it gets.

TOMORROW AND THE WEEKEND: Not much change. A mix of sun and clouds each day with the ever present chance of scattered showers and storms. The chance of any one spot getting wet all three days will be in the 30 percent range, and due to the slow movement of the storms some spots could see heavy rain, like recent days. And, while the best chance of showers and storms will come during the afternoon and evening hours, we can’t rule out the chance of a few late night or morning showers as well. Highs will be at or just over 90 in most places.

NEXT WEEK: The GFS tries to show a slight increase in shower and thunderstorm coverage Monday and Tuesday, followed by few showers over the latter half of the week. There simply isn’t enough skill to be really specific on the placement or coverage of showers and storms in the summer so far in advance, and it sure seems like a persistence forecast is the best solution for now. Highs will remain mostly in the low 90s.

TROPICAL UPDATE: Tropical Storm Bret will dissipate within the next 36 hours over the Atlantic well east of the U.S. coast, and Tropical Storm Cindy will become extra-tropical over the waters of the North Atlantic soon. Both systems are no threat to land. Elsewhere, a tropical wave is about 800 miles east of the Leeward Islands in the Atlantic, but for now upper winds don’t seem to favor development. See the Weather Xtreme video for more details.

AT THE BEACH: About 6 to 8 hours of sunshine each day through Sunday along the Gulf Coast from Panama City to Gulf Shores with a few scattered showers and thunderstorms around. Highs will be around 90 on the immediate coast, and the sea water temperature this afternoon at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is 87 degrees.

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Tags: humid

Category: Alabama's Weather