James Spann: Sunny Tuesday ahead for Alabama
RADAR CHECK: Showers are pretty much out of the state this afternoon; we are seeing just a few patches of drizzle over east Alabama. The sky is clearing over the northwest counties, and all of the state will be clear tonight. We expect a low in the upper 40s for most places early Tuesday morning.
Tuesday will be a picture-perfect autumn day, with sunshine in full supply and a high around 70 degrees.
RAIN RETURNS: Clouds will increase during the day Wednesday ahead of a dynamic weather system that will bring widespread rain to the state late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The most significant rain will likely fall from about midnight Wednesday night until noon Thursday, although light rain will continue at times through Thursday night.
The Storm Prediction Center maintains a slight risk (level 2 out of 5) of severe thunderstorms for much of Mobile County and the eastern shore of Mobile Bay for Wednesday night, with a marginal risk (level 1 of 5) as far north as Butler, Monroeville and Brewton. A few storms over far southwest Alabama could produce gusty winds, and an isolated tornado can’t be ruled out.
But for most of the state there won’t be any surface-based instability and no threat of severe storms. Rain amounts Wednesday night into Thursday morning will be generally one-half to three-quarters of an inch.
The high will be in the low 70s Wednesday, but temperatures will hover in the low 60s all day Thursday with clouds and rain.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: A deep upper low just northeast of Alabama Friday will keep clouds over much of the state, with a few periods of light rain likely. It will feel more like winter Friday with temperatures holding in the 50s all day. On Saturday we will forecast gradual clearing. The day should be mostly sunny for south Alabama, but clouds could linger over the northern counties much of the day. Sunday will feature a sun-filled sky as dry air takes over. The high will be in the low 60s Saturday, followed by a high near 70 Sunday afternoon.
NEXT WEEK: For now the week looks dry with temperatures below average — highs mostly in the 60s and lows in the 40s.
TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet this afternoon. A deep, non-tropical low (a nor’easter) will form by midweek off the upper Atlantic Coast. There is some chance it acquires some tropical characteristics as it moves eastward over the open water of the North Atlantic, but it won’t be a threat to land.
RAIN UPDATE: Here are rain totals for the year so far and the departure from average:
- Mobile — 74.31 inches (18.15 inches above average)
- Birmingham — 63.12 (16.39 above average)
- Tuscaloosa — 61.27 (18.18 above average)
- Huntsville — 57.41 (14.05 above average)
- Dothan — 54.98 (10.41 above average)
- Muscle Shoals — 54.95 (11.14 above average)
- Montgomery — 49.18 (7.5 above average)
- Anniston — 41.45 (0.71 below average)
ON THIS DATE IN 1921: A devastating Category 3 hurricane struck near Tarpon Springs, Florida. The storm caused eight fatalities and is the latest in the calendar year a Category 3 hurricane or stronger made landfall in the United States.
ON THIS DATE IN 2017: The high temperatures in Denver, Colorado, was 84 degrees. By the morning of Oct. 27, the temperature fell to 13 degrees, a 71-degree change.
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