James Spann: Cloudy, unsettled weather continues for Alabama through the weekend
RADAR CHECK: We have large areas of mostly light rain across Alabama this afternoon, moving northward. We also note a few thunderstorms near the Gulf Coast, where a Flash Flood Watch remains in effect; the watch includes Mobile, Baldwin, Washington and Escambia counties. Otherwise, the sky is generally cloudy with temperatures between 77 and 81 degrees. The average high for Birmingham on Sept. 16 is 86. Clouds will stay in place tonight with some light rain at times.
FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: A cloudy, unsettled pattern continues. Look for periods of rain each day through Sunday with a rumble of thunder possible — not a washout by any means, but if you have something planned outdoors some rain is likely at times. With only a limited amount of sun, temperatures will remain below average, with highs between 76 and 80 degrees each day.
NEXT WEEK: The weather stays the same Monday through Wednesday with scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms, but we are seeing increasing evidence that a drier air mass will move into the Deep South Thursday and Friday with increasing amounts of sun, lower humidity and cooler nights. Highs through the week will be mostly in the low 80s.
TROPICS: A tropical wave just east of the Carolinas has a high chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm within the next day or two, but it will move northeast, away from the U.S. Another tropical wave in the central Atlantic also has a high chance of development; models show this gaining latitude in four to five days, meaning it will likely recurve into the Atlantic east of the U.S.
Another wave coming off the coast of Africa has only a low chance of development. There are no tropical systems threatening the central Gulf Coast through next week.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school games Friday night, the sky will be mostly cloudy. Showers are very possible, so take the rain gear (but it won’t rain at every stadium). Temperatures will fall slowly through the 70s during the games.
ALABAMA AT FLORIDA (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff): It will be a warm, humid day in Gainesville. A few passing showers and thunderstorms are likely during the game (take the rain gear). Temperatures will fall from near 84 at kickoff into the low 80s by the fourth quarter.
AUBURN AT PENN STATE (6:30 p.m. CT kickoff): A passing shower can’t be ruled out during the game in State College (especially the first half); otherwise it will be mostly fair with temperatures falling from around 80 at kickoff into the low 70s by the final whistle.
UAB AT NORTH TEXAS (6:30 p.m. CT kickoff): The sky will be clear in Denton, Texas, Saturday evening. Temperatures will fall from around 90 degrees at kickoff to near 80 by the fourth quarter.
NORTH ALABAMA AT JACKSONVILLE STATE (6 p.m. kickoff): It will be a warm, humid Saturday night; a shower or storm can’t be ruled out. Temperatures will fall from near 80 at kickoff into the mid 70s by the final whistle.
TROY AT SOUTHERN MISS (6 p.m. kickoff): A few showers are likely during the first half of the game; otherwise it will be a warm, humid night in Hattiesburg, with temperatures falling from the low 80s into the upper 70s.
ON THIS DATE IN 1928: The Okeechobee Hurricane, also known as the San Felipe Segundo Hurricane, was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the Atlantic basin. This hurricane made landfall near West Palm Beach, Florida, as a Category 4 storm during the evening. The storm surge caused water to pour out of the southern edge of Lake Okeechobee, flooding hundreds of square miles as high as 20 feet. This storm killed more than 4,000 people, including 2,500 in Florida.
ON THIS DATE IN 2004: Powerful Hurricane Ivan made landfall just west of Gulf Shores as an upper-end Category 3 hurricane. Ivan packed 120 mph sustained surface winds and a historic storm surge; the magnitude and extent of the damage and destruction over Baldwin County in Alabama and Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in northwest Florida exceeded that of both Hurricane Frederic (September 1979) and Hurricane Opal (October 1995).
Four days later, Ivan’s remnant surface low completed an anticyclonic loop and moved across the Florida peninsula. As it continued westward across the northern Gulf of Mexico, the system reorganized and again took on tropical characteristics on Sept. 22. The National Weather Service determined that the low was in fact a result of the remnants of Ivan and thus named it accordingly. On the evening of Sept. 23, the revived Ivan made another landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, as a tropical depression.
ON THIS DATE IN 2020: Hurricane Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores as a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Sally produced widespread wind, storm surge and freshwater flooding across coastal Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle. Flood and wind damage also extended well inland into southwest Alabama and south central Alabama. Sally was an extremely slow-moving hurricane, which prolonged and exacerbated the local impacts. The storm was moving at less than 5 mph at the time of landfall, resulting in a long duration of tropical storm and hurricane-force winds, storm surge and torrential rainfall.
There were three direct fatalities as a result of Sally. One occurred in the Wolf Bay area (Baldwin County). Two men were riding the storm out on their boat and at some point during the storm attempted to swim to shore. One of the men made it to a pier and was rescued and hospitalized; the other man drowned. The second fatality occurred on Innerarity Point, Florida (Escambia County), where a 45-year-old woman drowned when the vehicle she was driving was overtaken by the incoming storm surge. The third fatality occurred in Perdido Key, Florida (Escambia County), when a 27-year-old man drowned trying to retrieve a boat that was swept away by the surge and high surf.
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