Dry Days Ahead; Very Pleasant Nights

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ON THE MAPS: The cold front is now over South-Central Alabama, and all of North Alabama is in dry air. The “cool” August continues; temperatures are only in the low to mid 80s at 2:00, well below average. The sky is sunny over much of North and West Alabama; clouds linger to the south and east, and a few showers are on radar from Thomasville to Camden to Hayneville. Showers this evening will remain south of U.S. 80.

REST OF THE WEEK: A very simple forecast for us with dry air in place. Look for partly to mostly sunny days and clear nights. Mornings will be fantastic with low 60s likely, but the cooler pockets will reach the 50s early tomorrow and Wednesday morning. Afternoon highs will be in the 87 to 90 degree range. Amazingly pleasant for August.

WEEKEND OUTLOOK: There will be a slow increase in moisture, and we will mention just a few widely scattered showers Saturday and Sunday; nothing widespread. Otherwise, we forecast a mix of sun and clouds Saturday and Sunday with a high in the upper 80s. Looks like there could be a CAD setup just east of here (cold air damming, or the “wedge”)… just something to watch.

BUSY TROPICS: Four systems are on the board this afternoon. Be sure and watch the Weather Xtreme video for all of the graphics and serious details. Let’s break them down…

TROPICAL STORM GORDON: This system is moving east, away from the Azores in the North Atlantic, and will become a post-tropical storm soon over the cooler water. This is nowhere near the U.S.

INVEST 94L: NHC still has this one with an 80 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm within the next 48 hours. It is about 800 miles east of the Leeward Islands, and is moving steadily west. There is a real lack of convection near the center due to all of the dry around around the system, but some slow organization is expected. Lots of speculation on this, but I believe this will turn northward before entering the Gulf of Mexico. It could very well be a threat South Florida and the U.S. East Coast, but it is still way too early to make this call.

INVEST 95L: This is actually the ghost of short lived Tropical Storm Helene… convection is just off the Mexican Gulf Coast well south of Brownsville, Texas. This will probably sit there for a few days before drifting westward into Mexico. It could become a tropical storm before it gets back over land, but odds are this won’t impact our part of the world.

INVEST 96L: This is a wave in the far East Atlantic; it is a higher latitude system and it seems like this one, if it happens to develop, will recurve over the open Atlantic and not impact the U.S.

Again, take a few minutes to watch the Weather Xtreme video for deeper details on tropical weather.

GULF COAST WEATHER: Today has not been a Chamber of Commerce today with clouds and rain. The weather will be brighter on the Gulf Coast tomorrow with increasing amounts of sunshine and fewer showers. Over the latter half of the week and the weekend, look for partly sunny days… about 5 to 8 hours of sun each day with just a few scattered storms. Highs on the immediate coast will be in the upper 80s, and the sea water temperature this afternoon at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is 82 degrees.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. The Alabama state climatologist, Dr. John Christy, will join us tonight for this week’s episode. You can watch live at 8:30 p.m. CDT here.

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Tags: dry

Category: Alabama's Weather