James Spann: A few isolated showers for west Alabama Wednesday, Thursday
RADAR CHECK: Alabama is mostly sunny and warm this afternoon with temperatures in the mid 80s, but we note a few showers and storms over the southwest corner of the state. Showers there will fade after sunset; elsewhere the sky will be fair tonight with a low in the 60s.
WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY: Moisture levels will rise a bit and we will bring in a chance of isolated showers or storms over the western half of the state (generally areas west of I-65). Odds of any one spot getting wet across west Alabama both days are 20-30%; otherwise look for a partly sunny sky with a high in the mid 80s. East Alabama will likely stay dry.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: A quiet pattern continues. A few isolated showers are possible Friday across the Tennessee Valley; otherwise the weather looks warm and dry for most of Alabama Friday and Saturday, with highs holding in the mid 80s. On Sunday, we are forecasting a mix of sun and clouds with a chance of scattered showers and storms statewide; the chance of any one spot getting wet Sunday is 30-40%. Sunday’s high will be in the low 80s, right at seasonal averages for early October.
NEXT WEEK: We will maintain the chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms pretty much daily through the week, but still nothing especially widespread or heavy. Otherwise, look for partly sunny days with highs between 77 and 82 degrees.
RACE WEEKEND: Saturday will be warm and dry at the Talladega Superspeedway, with a high in the mid 80s. On Sunday, we will mention the risk of a brief passing shower or storm, but most of the day will be dry with a mix of sun and clouds and a high near 81 degrees.
TROPICS: Hurricane Sam remains a powerful Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic about 575 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands. It will gain latitude over the next few days, passing east of Bermuda over the weekend and staying well east of the U.S.
A tropical wave in the far eastern Atlantic, Invest 90L, has a high chance of becoming a tropical storm over the next 48 hours, but it will turn north and most likely will remain far from land. Another well-organized wave in the eastern Atlantic, Invest 91L, is also likely to become a tropical storm soon. Global model ensemble members are split on this system; some show it turning north over the open Atlantic, while other members push it westward toward the Windward Islands. We will keep an eye on it.
The Gulf of Mexico is quiet and is expected to stay quiet through next week.
ON THIS DATE IN 1837: The first recorded hurricane to rake the entire Texas coast was Racer’s Storm, named for a British sloop of war that encountered the system in the extreme northwestern Caribbean. It is remembered as one of the most destructive storms of the 19th century due to its extreme duration and 2,000-mile path of destruction.
ON THIS DATE IN 1998: Hurricane Georges made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, with maximum winds of 110 mph and a minimum pressure of 964 millibars, making it a Category 2 hurricane. After landfall, Georges moved very slowly across southern Mississippi and weakened to a tropical depression by the morning of Sept. 29, when the center was about 30 miles north northeast of Mobile. One fatality was reported in the mainland United States directly related to the hurricane. That lone fatality occurred in Mobile due to freshwater flooding.
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