James Spann: Very little rain for Alabama through the weekend
QUIET PATTERN: With a sunny sky, temperatures are mostly in the low 80s across Alabama this afternoon, right at average values for May 10. Tonight will be mostly fair with a low between 58 and 63 degrees.
REST OF THE WEEK: Wednesday will be partly to mostly sunny with a high between 86 and 91 degrees. We will mention some risk of isolated showers over north and west Alabama Wednesday night and early Thursday morning as a disturbance passes through, but rain will be very light and spotty. The rest of the day Thursday and Friday will be dry with highs in the mid 80s.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Moisture levels will rise slightly, and we will mention some risk of isolated showers Saturday and Sunday, but the chance of any one spot getting wet is only 10-20%. With a partly sunny sky afternoon temperatures will rise into the mid to upper 80s both days.
NEXT WEEK: The upper ridge holds and the week will remain mostly dry through Thursday, with only isolated showers on a couple of days. We are seeing evidence in medium-range models that rain chances could increase by Friday, May 20, as an upper trough approaches. Highs will be between 88 and 92 degrees. There’s no sign of any severe weather threats for Alabama, and I think it is safe to say we are pretty much done with the 2021-22 severe weather season (it runs from November through May).
HURRICANE SEASON: With the tornado season winding down, now we look ahead to the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Phil Klotzbach and his team at Colorado State released their outlook for the season, and they expect above-average activity with 19 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes. Names this year are Alex, Bonnie, Colin, Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Gaston, Hermine, Ian, Julia, Karl, Lisa, Martin, Nicole, Owen, Paula, Richard, Shary, Tobias, Virginie and Walter.
ON THIS DATE IN 2010: Oklahoma experienced its largest tornado outbreak since May 3, 1999. Fifty-five twisters tore through the state, including two rated EF4. The EF4 storms took three lives and injured 81 people. Both struck Norman, Oklahoma, home of the Storm Prediction Center and the National Severe Storms Laboratory.
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