Dry Days For North/Central Alabama
An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.
REFRESHING MORNING: One of the cooler spots around Alabama early this morning is Fort Payne with a cool 55 degrees… most of the other “cool spots” across North Alabama are in the upper 50s. Delightful for August in Alabama.
DRY WEEK: Dry, continental air is the story for us for the rest of the week, making for a rather simple forecast. Mostly sunny days, fair nights, with temperatures below average for August. Afternoon highs should be in the 87 to 90 degree range, with morning lows generally in the 60-65 degree range through mid-week. Dewpoints will begin to rise a bit by Friday with warmer nights and higher humidity levels during the day.
WEEKEND PEEK: We will mention a chance of widely scattered showers and thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday due to the increase in low level moisture, but there is no real dynamic forcing, and a pretty good part of the weekend should be rain-free. The GFS is printing a high of 89 degrees for Birmingham both Saturday and Sunday.
Of course, this weekend we will begin to watch the tropics very close as Isaac could very well be close to South Florida.
GULF COAST WEATHER: After several wet days, improving weather headlines our beach forecast this week; we expect about 5 to 7 hours of sunshine each day through Friday with showers and storms becoming fewer in number. Afternoon highs will be mostly in the upper 80s along the immediate coast, and sea water temperatures are generally in the mid 80s.
ACTIVE TROPICAL SCENE: We have three systems to watch in the tropics… including the ninth tropical depression of the season which formed in the Atlantic early this morning. Be sure and watch the Weather Xtreme video for the graphics and details… Let’s take them one at a time…
AL95: This is the disturbance in the Southwest Gulf of Mexico, just off the Mexican coast. This one won’t move much at all over the next 48 hours, and just might become a tropical depression, or even a tropical storm. This is actually a little bit of former Tropical Storm Helene, but if it gets it’s act together it will get a new name. After 48 hours, this should drift into Mexico, and seems to be no threat to our Gulf Coast.
AL96: This is a tropical wave in the East Atlantic… a pretty decent chance this becomes a tropical storm in coming days, but it is a higher latitude system, and seems to be in a position to recurve into the open Atlantic and doesn’t seem to be a threat to the U.S. for now.
T.D. 9: Soon to be Tropical Storm Isaac, this is the one that will bring great weeping and gnashing of teeth in weather offices over the eastern U.S. as the week rolls along. The official NHC forecast track is actually on the southern edge of the guidance envelope; our friends in Miami have this on the southeast coast of Cuba Saturday night.
There is good agreement that a northward turn will begin in 3-5 days due to the persistent weakness in the ridge over the Southeast U.S… the big questions, of course, involve the timing of that turn, and the intensity of the system as it approaches South Florida.
Looks like a decent chance Isaac will interact with Hispaniola, which is a mountainous island that will greatly disrupt the circulation of the system before nearing the southern tip of Florida. More than likely, the greatest strengthening will come as Isaac moves away from Hispaniola, but it all depends on whether the center of circulation interacts with the Florida Peninsula or not. We just don’t know at this point.
The odds of Isaac impacting the Central Gulf (Panama City to Gulf Shores) are low at this point.
One interesting analog I can find to Isaac is Hurricane David in 1979… which was an “East Coast” runner. We will keep an eye on this and keep you posted in coming days.
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. Scroll down for the show notes on the new episode we recorded last night.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon… enjoy the day!
Category: Alabama's Weather
About the Author (Author Profile)
James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
