James Spann: Scattered showers, storms for Alabama today
James Spann has the midweek forecast for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
QUIET MORNING: All of the rain associated with the remnant circulation of Ida is now well to the north and east of Birmingham, and we have a clean sweep on radar this morning. Look for a mix of sun and clouds today with a high in the mid 80s, but we will mention the potential for scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and early tonight as a surface boundary drops into the state from the north. Odds of any one spot getting wet are 40-50%, and most of the showers will come from about 3 until 10 p.m.
A very dry air mass drops into the state late tonight, setting the stage for dry weather Thursday and Friday with sunny days; clear, pleasant nights, and lower humidity levels. Highs will be in the mid 80s Thursday, followed by upper 80s Friday. Lows will be mostly in the 60s, but cooler spots across north Alabama will dip into the cool 50s early Friday morning for a nice touch of fall.
LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Saturday will be another dry day as the weekend begins; look for a partly to mostly sunny sky with a high between 86 and 90 degrees. But we will need to amend our forecast on Sunday to include a chance of showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening as another disturbance rides down the northwest flow aloft. The best chance of a shower or storm Sunday comes between 4 p.m. and midnight; otherwise the day will feature a mix of sun and clouds with a high in the mid to upper 80s.
Monday looks dry with a partly sunny sky; highs hold in the 85- to 89-degree range.
REST OF NEXT WEEK: For now the weather looks mostly rain-free Tuesday through Friday with highs mostly in the upper 80s and lows around 70 degrees.
WELCOME TO METEOROLOGICAL FALL: Meteorologists recognize today as the first day of meteorological fall, which is based on annual temperature cycles and the Gregorian calendar to make a clear transition between the seasons and make for easier record comparisons. However, in terms of astronomy, the new season begins later, at 2:20 p.m. Sept. 22, when the sun is directly over the equator and we have approximately 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.
TROPICS: Kate remains a junk, disorganized, sheared tropical depression over the middle of the Atlantic. It will dissipate over the next day or two far from land. In the eastern Atlantic, Tropical Storm Larry has formed. It is forecast to become a major hurricane by Saturday, but it will turn north and then recurve back into the open water well east of the U.S.
A wave in the southern Caribbean has a 20% chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm over the next five days. It is moving toward Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula; we will keep an eye on it. There are no tropical systems threatening the central Gulf Coast through the middle of next week.
ON THIS DATE IN 1974: Lt. Judy Neuffer became the first woman to fly a Hurricane Hunter aircraft through the eye of a hurricane.
ON THIS DATE IN 2017: The temperature at downtown San Francisco reached 106 degrees, setting its all-time record high. The previous record was 103 degrees on June 14, 2000.
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