Brian Peters has the weekend forecast for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
THE WEEKEND: There are some high cirrus clouds across the Alabama sky this morning, but we’re looking at another summer-like day as highs climb into the lower 90s with just the possibility of isolated showers and thunderstorms.
The remnants of Gordon will move from Missouri into the Ohio River Valley Sunday, dragging a frontal boundary into the Southeast and the Lower Mississippi River Valley. This will bring an uptick to the chances for showers and thunderstorms Sunday evening. With increased cloud cover, highs Sunday should reach the upper 80s for most of us.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Alabama hosts Arkansas State today in Tuscaloosa at Bryant-Denny Stadium (2:30 p.m. kickoff); the sky will be partly to mostly sunny with just a small risk of a shower during the game. It remains hot and humid, with a kickoff temperature close to 90 degrees, falling back into the 80s by the fourth quarter.
Auburn will host Alabama State this evening at Jordan-Hare Stadium (6:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly fair with only a slight risk of a shower during the first half. Temperatures will fall from near 86 at kickoff into the upper 70s by the final whistle.
UAB travels to Conway, South Carolina, to take on Coastal Carolina this evening (6 p.m. kickoff). A shower or storm is possible during the first half of the game; otherwise it will be warm and humid, with temperatures falling through the 80s during the game.
NEXT WEEK: Look for somewhat unsettled weather for the first half of the week with scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms late Sunday through Wednesday as the surface front stalls out near the Tennessee border. Highs will be in the low to mid 80s with only a limited amount of sun. Showers should thin out Thursday and Friday and temperatures warm back toward the 90-degree mark for the latter part of the week.
Rainfall will vary across the state from the northwest corner to the southeast corner. In the northwest corner amounts could reach 3 to 2.5 inches while the southeast corner sees lesser amounts of around three-quarters of an inch.
TROPICS: We are closing in on the climatological peak of the hurricane season, and there is lots of action. In the far eastern Atlantic, a well-organized wave became Tropical Storm Helene. The wave near 35W could become a hurricane threatening the Leeward Islands in four to five days. It’s way too early to know if this one will get into the Gulf or threaten the U.S. There is an area of disturbed weather just southwest of Bermuda, but conditions do not appear favorable for development.
The one to watch right now is Tropical Storm Florence. Florence for now has winds of 65 mph, but conditions favor strengthening in coming days, and the National Hurricane Center forecasts the system to be a major hurricane off the Southeast U.S. coast by the middle of next week.
While there is an increasing hurricane threat to the U.S. East Coast next week, there is no skill in forecasting the exact track or intensity beyond five days. Those from Jacksonville to Cape Hatteras to southern New England need to monitor the progress of Florence through the weekend and ensure they have their hurricane plans in place.
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