James Spann: Quiet pattern for Alabama; much cooler next week
COOLER, DRIER: Parts of Alabama are under a bright, sunny sky this afternoon, but a few spots are seeing clouds hanging tough. The lingering clouds will dissipate soon thanks to sinking air motion, and tonight will be clear and cool, with lows in the 40s.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Look for sunshine in full supply both Friday and Saturday; the high will be close to 70 Friday, followed by low to mid 70s Saturday. Sunday will be a partly sunny day; a cold front could bring a few isolated showers to the state by afternoon, but moisture will be extremely limited and most places will stay dry. The high Sunday will be close to 70.
NEXT WEEK: Much cooler air rolls into Alabama Sunday night, and next week will be dry with sunny, cool days and clear, chilly nights. Highs will be mostly in the 60s through the week, with lows in the 30s and 40s. We will see frost on a number of mornings with a clear sky and light wind.
TROPICS: Tropical Storm Eta, with winds of 40 mph, is moving into the Atlantic this afternoon east of Jacksonville, Florida. It will move out to sea in coming days, becoming post-tropical by Friday night as it gains latitude.
Tropical storm Theta continues to move eastward in the eastern Atlantic, well east of the U.S. It becomes post-tropical early next week southwest of Portugal.
Invest 98L in the Caribbean is expected to become Tropical Storm Iota over the weekend; it is headed for Central America in four to five days, most likely as a hurricane.
The 2020 hurricane season ends at the end of this month; we have a total of 29 named storms so far, a record for a single season in the Atlantic basin.
ON THIS DATE IN 1970: The deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded and one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern times occurred in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The Bhola Cyclone formed over the Bay of Bengal on Nov. 8 and traveled north. This cyclone reached peak intensity, Category 3, on Nov. 11 and made landfall on the coast of East Pakistan the following afternoon. The Bhola Cyclone killed an estimated 500,000 people and caused nearly $90 million in damage (in 1970 U.S. dollars).
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