James Spann: Dry air stays in place across Alabama today
James Spann forecasts quiet weather for Labor Day weekend in Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
TOUCH OF FALL: Here are some temperatures across Alabama around daybreak:
- Oneonta — 56
- Cullman — 58
- Haleyville — 59
- Fort Payne — 59
- Meridianville — 59
- Heflin — 61
- Scottsboro — 61
- Hueytown — 62
- Talladega — 62
- Huntsville — 62
- Muscle Shoals — 63
- Bessemer — 63
- Pell City — 63
- Bluff Park — 64
- Northport — 65
- Anniston — 66
- Tuscaloosa — 67
- Birmingham — 70
- Montgomery — 70
- Mobile — 72
Nice to see the 50s across parts of north Alabama; the air is very dry, and we expect another sunny day today with highs mostly in the upper 80s.
LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Mostly sunny weather continues Saturday and Sunday with highs between 87 and 90 degrees; a few isolated showers could show up late Sunday or Sunday night over the northern half of the state, but moisture will be limited and the chance of any one spot getting wet is only 15-20%.
Monday will be partly sunny and warm, and again a few isolated showers or storms could pop up during the day, but most places will stay dry. Monday’s high will be back in the upper 80s.
REST OF NEXT WEEK: Isolated showers remain possible Tuesday, but the coverage of showers and storms should increase Wednesday as a surface front approaches the state from the north. Then, a new surge of dry air drops in here Thursday and Friday. Highs through the week will be mostly in the mid to upper 80s.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Tonight will be a great night for the high school football games; the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from the low 80s at kickoff to the low 70s by the final whistle.
Alabama takes on Miami in Atlanta Saturday (2:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC 33/40). The game will be played at Mercedes Benz Stadium with the roof open; the weather will be great, with a sunny sky and temperatures in the 80s.
Auburn hosts Akron Saturday (6 p.m. kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium); the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from 83 at kickoff into the mid 70s by the final whistle.
TROPICS: Hurricane Larry in the central Atlantic now has winds of 90 mph; it will become a major hurricane later today. It gains latitude over the weekend and will recurve into the Atlantic well east of the U.S. It could be close to the Canadian Maritimes in a week or so, however.
A weak tropical wave over the eastern Atlantic is moving westward, and is not expected to develop through early next week. A surface trough over the Gulf of Honduras and portions of Central America is producing disorganized shower and thunderstorm activity. This system is expected to move west-northwestward across Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula, bringing heavy rains to that area during the next couple of days. The disturbance could then move over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico late this weekend, but unfavorable upper-level winds are likely to limit significant development while the system moves northwestward or northward over the western Gulf of Mexico early next week. For now the National Hurricane Center gives this only a 20% chance of development over the next five days.
There are no tropical systems threatening the central Gulf Coast through the middle of next week.
ON THIS DATE IN 1970: During the early evening, amid a severe hailstorm at Coffeyville, Kansas, a stone 17.5 inches in circumference and weighing nearly two pounds was recovered. Average stone size from the storm was 5 inches in diameter, with another stone reportedly 8 inches in diameter. This hailstone is currently the third-largest hailstone in the U.S.
ON THIS DATE IN 1979: Hurricane David made landfall in south Florida as a Category 2 storm. It caused 15 deaths in the U.S. David was a Category 5 over the Dominican Republic, where more than 2,000 people died.
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