James Spann has the Alabama forecast to close out the work week from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: Alabama’s weather won’t change much through the weekend — fairly routine weather for early August. Look for a decent amount of sunshine during the mornings; then slow-moving showers and thunderstorms will form during the afternoon in totally random, scattered places. Most of the showers and thunderstorms will come from noon until 10 p.m., and rain distribution will continue to be very uneven. One neighborhood could see 1 inch of rain with strong winds and small hail, while a mile or so down the road there will be no rain at all.
Odds of any one spot getting wet will be 50/50 today and Saturday, and 60% to 70% Sunday. Temperatures will remain generally below average for this time of the year, with highs between 86 and 89; the average high for Birmingham on Aug. 2 is 91.
NEXT WEEK: No change is expected Monday, but it looks like the weather will trend drier and a little hotter Tuesday through Thursday, when highs will reach the low 90s and showers become isolated.
TROPICS: A tropical wave in the Central Atlantic, about halfway between the Lesser Antilles and the coast of Africa, has a 50 percent chance of development, according to the National Hurricane Center.
It now looks like shear will increase as the system approaches the Leeward Islands in three to five days, and the overall chance of development is lower. If anything happens to form in this region, there is a very good chance it recurves out into the open Atlantic before getting close to the U.S. The rest of the Atlantic basin is very quiet, including the Gulf of Mexico.
LONG TIME SINCE TRIPLE DIGITS: The last time Birmingham reached 100 degrees was June 26, 2016, a total of 1,132 consecutive days below 100 degrees. There’s no sign of any excessive heat for the next 15 days (upper 90s or higher).
ON THIS DATE IN 1985: Delta Air Lines Flight 191, which originated at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, encountered a microburst while on approach to land at Dallas/Fort Worth. The aircraft struck the ground more than a mile short of the runway, struck a car near the airport and then collided with two water tanks and disintegrated. The crash killed 137 people and injured 28 others. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the crash resulted from the flight crew’s decision to fly through a thunderstorm, the lack of procedures or training to avoid or escape microbursts, and the lack of hazard information on wind shear.
BEACH FORECAST CENTER: Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Fort Morgan to Panama City on our Beach Forecast Center page.
WEATHERBRAINS: You can listen to our weekly 90-minute netcast any time on the web at WeatherBrains.com or on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including the meteorologists at ABC 33/40.
For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.