James Spann: Summer weather returns to Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
WARM SEPTEMBER WEATHER: A developing upper ridge over the eastern third of the United States will bring warm afternoons in Alabama in coming days; look for highs in the 85- to 89-degree range through the weekend with partly sunny days and fair nights. The northern half of Alabama will be dry today, but moisture levels will rise tomorrow, and we will mention scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. The chance of any one spot getting wet is about 1 in 4, and most of the showers will come from about noon through 8 p.m. Any showers Sunday afternoon should be few and far between.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Looking good for high school games tonight — mostly fair, with temperatures falling from the upper 70s at kickoff into the low 70s by the fourth quarter.
Auburn hosts Mercer Saturday afternoon (3 p.m. kickoff). We project a mix of sun and clouds with the chance of a brief shower or thunderstorm during the game. Temperatures will be near 87 at kickoff, falling into the upper 70s by the final whistle.
UAB also has an afternoon game, hosting Coastal Carolina (noon kickoff) at Birmingham’s Legion Field. The temperature will be near 83 at kickoff, rising to near 88 by the fourth quarter. It will be partly sunny; a brief shower or thunderstorm is possible.
And Alabama hosts the Colorado State Rams at Bryant Denny Stadium Saturday (6 p.m. kickoff). There’s a chance of a brief shower or storm during the evening; otherwise, it will be mostly fair with temperatures falling from the mid 80s at kickoff into the 70s by the second half.
NEXT WEEK: The upper ridge holds, so highs will remain in the 80s. Moisture levels will be higher over the latter half of the week, so scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and storms will be possible then.
TROPICS: We are just past the average climatological peak of the hurricane season, so, as expected, we have some action.
TROPICAL STORM JOSE: Now with sustained winds of 70 mph, Jose is expected to become a hurricane again later today as it begins to turn northward east of the Bahamas. It will pass between the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Bermuda next week, and will be very close to Long Island or Cape Cod toward the end of next week. It’s going to be a close call, but one way or another it will generate rip currents and very rough surf for the U.S. East Coast over the next week or so.
As Jose gets close to the upper Atlantic coast, we should point out it won’t be a “major” hurricane, but either a category 1 or a strong tropical storm. Still, this is one we need to watch closely.
TROPICAL DEPRESSION 14: TD 14 is in the eastern Atlantic and will move steadily west/northwest in coming days. It is expected to become Tropical Storm Lee soon; it remains to be seen if this will be any threat to land, but most model guidance suggests this will gain latitude and has a fair chance to be a recurving storm.
INVEST 96L: This is a wave west of TD 14. It also has a chance of becoming a tropical storm in coming days as it moves west/northwest. Models bring this close to the Leeward Islands toward the middle of next week.
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