James Spann: Warm days, pleasant nights and isolated showers for Alabama
MOSTLY DRY TODAY: Alabama’s weather won’t change much today; we expect a good supply of sunshine with a high in the mid 80s this afternoon; the average high for Birmingham on Sept. 28 is 83. A shower could pop over Mobile and Baldwin counties, but the rest of the state will be dry.
REST OF THE WEEK: Moisture levels will rise a bit, and we will bring in a chance of isolated showers, mainly over the western counties of the state, Wednesday through Friday. Odds of any one spot getting wet each day are 20-30% west of I-65 and 10% east of I-65. Otherwise, look for partly sunny days with highs holding in the mid 80s.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Most of Alabama will be dry on Saturday, although we will hang on to the chance of isolated showers over the Tennessee Valley. On Sunday a few isolated showers are possible statewide, but again the odds of any one community seeing rain remain low, in the 20-30% range. The high will be in the mid 80s Saturday, followed by low 80s Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: The weather won’t change much. A few isolated showers are possible pretty much daily. Otherwise, look for partly sunny days with highs back into the 77- to 81-degree range.
RACE WEEKEND: Saturday will be partly to mostly sunny and warm in Talladega, with a high in the mid 80s. On Sunday expect a partly sunny sky with just a small risk of a shower; the high will be in the low 80s.
TROPICS: Hurricane Sam this morning is about 600 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands in the Atlantic with winds of 130 mph. Sam will turn northward by the end of the week and will pass east of Bermuda Saturday on the journey to the North Atlantic. It remains well east of the U.S.
Two tropical waves in the eastern Atlantic have a high chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm over the next five days, but both of these are expected to turn north and seem to be no threat to land. 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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