James Spann has the Alabama forecast for the work week from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
MUST BE JUNE IN ALABAMA: This is the time of the year when the daily weather forecast doesn’t change much: hot, humid days with morning sun and random, scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. See my essay on the summer season here.
This is the idea each day this week through Friday. Afternoon highs will be in the 85- to 90-degree range, and the chance of any one spot getting wet is in the 40 to 50 percent category. Most of the sun will come during the morning and early afternoon hours, and most of the storms will form between 1 and 11 p.m.
Like recent days, storms won’t move quickly, and some isolated flooding will be possible. Some storms could produce a “wet microburst,” local areas of strong winds that are high enough to bring down trees and power lines. But the biggest issue with afternoon and evening storms in summer is lightning; when you hear thunder, get inside. I am hearing many reports of people coordinating outdoor/sporting events who don’t respect lightning. It is simply not worth the risk. Five people have died across the country from lightning so far this year; we don’t want any lightning deaths in Alabama.
There were two lightning injuries in Baldwin County yesterday.
The photo below is from Josh Putman, taken last night from Red Mountain over Birmingham.
There is no way of knowing exactly when and where summer storms will form far in advance. That “future radar” feature on your phone weather app won’t help you.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: No real change. Moist, unstable air will cover Alabama, and we will see a mix of sun and clouds Saturday and Sunday with scattered showers and storms during the afternoon and evening hours. Highs for the weekend will be in the 88- to 91-degree range.
NEXT WEEK: We will roll with a persistence forecast — partly sunny, hot, humid days with more random, scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and storms, and highs not far from 90 degrees.
TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet, but in the eastern Pacific Hurricane Bud is churning off the west coast of Mexico with sustained winds of 105 mph. It will approach the southern tip of Baja, California, around Cabo San Lucas late this week as a weakening system; rain will be the main issue then.
BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.
WEATHER BRAINS: You can listen to our weekly 90-minute netcast any time on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including meteorologists at ABC 33/40. We will produce this week’s show tonight at 8:30. You can watch it live here.
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For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.