James Spann: Hot, summer-like weather ahead for Alabama
James Spann forecasts Alabama temperatures heading toward the 90s from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
BRING ON THE HEAT: A strong upper high will remain anchored over the eastern third of the nation and will keep Alabama dry through the weekend and most of next week with rising heat levels. Today look for a partly to mostly sunny sky with a high between 83 and 88 degrees. A tight pressure gradient will make for another windy day; southwest winds will gust to 25-30 mph at times.
We are forecasting mostly sunny days and fair nights Friday through the weekend; the high will be in the upper 80s for most places Friday, and temperatures will hit the 90-degree mark Saturday for the first time this year. Sunday’s high will be between 90 and 94 degrees.
NEXT WEEK: Temperatures will be close to record levels Monday through Wednesday, with highs in the mid 90s. Heat levels slowly back down toward the end of the week as the ridge shifts westward; the week will be dry with just some risk of isolated showers on Friday, May 28.
TROPICS: A non-tropical low-pressure system has developed within a broad area of cloudiness and thunderstorms about 600 miles east-southeast of Bermuda. The low is expected to develop gale-force winds later today while it moves generally northward. It’s forecast to move westward and southwestward over warmer waters Friday and will likely become a short-lived subtropical cyclone near and northeast of Bermuda. The system is expected to move toward the north and northeast into a more hostile environment by late Sunday into Monday. It’s no threat to any land area; if this system is designated a subtropical storm, the name will be Ana.
ON THIS DATE IN 1957: A tornado touched down southwest of Kansas City, Missouri, and traveled 71 miles, cutting a swath of near-destruction through the southeastern suburbs of Ruskin Heights and Hickman Mills. The tornado claimed the lives of 45 people and left hundreds homeless. It was the worst weather disaster on record for Kansas City. About all that remained of one house were a small table and a fishbowl atop, with the fish still swimming about inside the bowl. A canceled check from Hickman Hills was found in Ottumwa, Iowa, 165 miles away. Pilots reported debris at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
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