James Spann forecasts a hot, mostly dry work week for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
SEPTEMBER HEAT CONTINUES: A strong upper ridge across the Deep South means temperatures will remain above average across Alabama this week, and prospects of beneficial rain will stay low. We project highs in the mid 90s each day through Friday, about 7-10 degrees above average for mid-September. The sky will be partly to mostly sunny, and while a few showers and storms are possible during the heat of the day, odds of any one place getting wet each afternoon are only in the 15-25% range.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The ridge begins to weaken and shift westward. Still, on Saturday, any showers should be widely spaced with a partly sunny sky and a high in the low 90s. Then, we expect an increase in the number of scattered showers and thunderstorms on Sunday with a high between 87 and 90 and a mix of sun and clouds.
NEXT WEEK: While we still aren’t seeing any sign of a major, widespread rain event, we will have some risk of scattered showers and storms daily with highs holding in the 87- to 90-degree range.
TROPICS: Tropical Storm Gabrielle, in the Atlantic far from land, is accelerating to the northeast and will become post-tropical in the North Atlantic by midweek. A tropical wave in the Atlantic between the coast of Africa and the Lesser Antilles is moving westward and now has only a low chance of development because of strong winds aloft.
Another wave is north of the Leeward Islands, and conditions could become more favorable for development by late this week. This feature is moving in the general direction of the Bahamas; if tropical development does happen here it remains to be seen whether it will affect the U.S.
ON THIS DATE IN 1965: Hurricane Betsy slammed into New Orleans on the evening of Sept. 9, 1965, with reports of 110 mph winds and power failures. The eye of the storm passed southwest of New Orleans on a northwesterly track. The northern and western eyewalls covered southeast Louisiana and the New Orleans area from about 8 p.m. until 4 a.m. In Thibodaux, winds of 130 mph to 140 mph were reported. The Baton Rouge weather bureau operated under auxiliary power, without telephone communication.
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