James Spann: Scattered strong storms for Alabama later today
James Spann forecasts some storms for Alabama today from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
FRONT ON THE WAY: A surface front will bring scattered showers and thunderstorms to the northern half of Alabama later today and tonight. It won’t rain everywhere, but where storms do form they could pack a punch. The Storm Prediction Center continues a marginal risk (level 1 out of 5) of severe thunderstorms for Alabama north of a line from Grove Hill to Prattville to Roanoke.
Heavier thunderstorms this afternoon and early tonight could produce hail and strong, gusty winds. Otherwise, expect a mix of sun and clouds today with a high between 87 and 91 degrees.
Drier air rolls into the northern half of the state Friday. It will be a very comfortable June day with a partly sunny sky, lower humidity and a high in the low 80s. Scattered storms will form again Friday over south Alabama ahead of the front; the SPC has defined a marginal risk (level 1) for areas south of a line from Grove Hill to Greenville to Eufaula. Hail and strong winds remain the threats.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will be a sunny, pleasant day. Cooler spots will start the day in the 50s, followed by a high in the mid to upper 80s. On Sunday moisture levels will rise and a few isolated showers could pop up, but most places will stay dry with a partly sunny sky. The high will be in the upper 80s.
NEXT WEEK: The overall pattern continues to look quiet. We could see a few spotty showers on a day or two; otherwise expect partly sunny days, fair nights and highs around 90 degrees.
TROPICS: A broad area of low pressure near the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula (the ghost of former eastern Pacific Hurricane Agatha) continues to produce a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and Yucatan Peninsula. Despite strong upper-level winds, this system is likely to become a tropical depression or tropical storm while it moves slowly northeastward over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and
southeastern Gulf of Mexico during the next day or two. Interests in western Cuba, the Florida Keys and the Florida Peninsula should monitor the progress of this system, and tropical storm watches or warnings could be required for some of these areas later today.
Regardless of development, areas of heavy rainfall are likely across portions of the Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba during the next day or so, spreading across southern and central Florida and the Florida Keys Friday and Friday night, and the northwestern Bahamas on Saturday. These heavy rains could cause scattered to numerous flash floods across south Florida and the Florida Keys. Amounts of 6-10 inches are possible over the southern tip of Florida. This system will remain well south of the central Gulf Coast (Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach).
In the Atlantic, a weak surface trough about 150 miles northeast of the northwestern Bahamas is producing disorganized showers and a few thunderstorms. Upper-level winds appear too strong for significant development of this system while it moves northeastward at 5 to 10 mph over the southwestern Atlantic during the next couple of days.
The rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet.
ON THIS DATE IN 1998: Frostburg, Maryland, at 9:45 p.m. was part of a killer outbreak of tornadoes that moved southeast from Pennsylvania. The storm entered Garrett County, Maryland, striking the town of Finzel. It then moved up and over Big Savage Mountain in Allegany County and ripped through the northern portion of Frostburg. It reached its peak strength as it crossed the ridge. Winds were estimated between 210 and 250 mph (F4 on the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale). This was the first tornado to officially be rated an F4 in Maryland.
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