James Spann: Mostly dry weather for Alabama through Wednesday
James Spann forecasts dry weather for Alabama until Thursday from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
HOT AFTERNOONS: Mostly sunny weather continues across Alabama today and Wednesday with highs in the low 90s for most communities. We will bring in a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms Thursday as a weak surface front approaches from the north; the Storm Prediction Center has placed parts of north and west Alabama in a low-end marginal risk (level 1 out of 5) of severe thunderstorms for the potential of hail and strong, gusty winds.
The rain Thursday won’t be especially widespread, and some spots won’t see any rain at all. With a mix of sun and clouds, the high will be in the upper 80s.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: A surge of drier air enters the state Thursday night, and that will bring rain-free weather to Alabama Friday and over the weekend. Friday will be very pleasant; the high will be in the mid 80s with lower humidity. Many places will drop into the 50s early Saturday morning with a clear sky. Expect a good supply of sunshine Saturday and Sunday with highs between 86 and 90 degrees.
NEXT WEEK: Most of the week looks dry, but we will mention some risk of scattered showers or storms Wednesday as another weak front approaches. Highs through the week will be pretty close to 90 degrees.
TROPICS: The remnants of former eastern Pacific Hurricane Agatha will move into the southern Gulf of Mexico over the next 48 hours, and the National Hurricane Center is now giving it a 60% chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm again. The system will likely bring lots of rain to parts of south Florida (the peninsula, not the panhandle) over the weekend; the name will be Alex if it reaches tropical storm strength.
The system will remain far south of Alabama and the central Gulf Coast (Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach), but it could bring an increased threat of rip currents late this week. The rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet; the hurricane season officially begins Wednesday.
ON THIS DATE IN 2013: A large, violent tornado occurred over rural areas of central Oklahoma near the town of El Reno. This rain-wrapped, multiple-vortex tornado was the widest ever recorded and was part of a larger weather system that produced dozens of tornadoes over the preceding days. Remaining over mostly open terrain, the tornado did not affect many structures. However, measurements from mobile weather radars revealed extreme winds up to 302 mph within the vortex, the highest-observed wind speeds on Earth. As it crossed U.S. 81, it had grown to a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles.
The tornado killed four storm chasers, the first known deaths in the history of storm chasing. Although it remained over mostly open terrain, dozens of storm chasers unaware of its immense size and erratic movement were caught off-guard. Near U.S. 81, Twistex scientist and engineer Tim Samaras, along with his son Paul and research partner Carl Young, died in the tornado. Local resident Richard Henderson, who had decided to follow the storm, lost his life in that same area. He snapped a picture of the tornado from his cellular phone before it struck him.
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