James Spann: Quiet afternoon; higher coverage of storms Friday over southwest Alabama
RADAR CHECK: Most of Alabama is dry this afternoon; we note a band of strong thunderstorms approaching the Gulf Coast from the north. A few isolated showers could form this evening, but most places will be rain-free through tonight. Temperatures this afternoon are mostly in the mid to upper 80s with a mix of sun and clouds.
FRIDAY: The higher coverage of showers and storms Friday will most likely be over southwest Alabama, where the Storm Prediction Center has defined a slight risk (level 2 out of 5) of severe thunderstorms due to the potential for hail and strong winds. Activity will be more scattered over the rest of the state during the afternoon and evening.
Otherwise, look for a partly sunny sky with a high in the mid to upper 80s.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: We are looking at some pretty routine summer weather over the weekend — partly sunny, humid days with random, scattered showers and storms mostly during the afternoons and evenings (2-10 p.m.). The chance of any one spot getting wet both days is 20-30%, and you can expect highs in the upper 80s Saturday and close to 90 Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: It looks like the hottest week so far this year, with highs in the low to mid 90s each day. There is always the risk of a pop-up storm during the heat of the day, but they should be few and far between.
TROPICS: All remains very quiet across the Atlantic basin, and tropical storm formation is not expected through the weekend.
RAIN TOTALS: Here are some rain totals Wednesday from the team of ABC 33/40 Skywatchers:
- Dunnavant Valley Road (between Shoal Creek and Dunnavant) — 7.37 inches
- Mountain Brook — 5.82
- Grayson Valley — 5.72
- Birmingham (Oxmoor Valley) — 5.53
- Chelsea — 4.89
- Margaret (St Clair County) — 4.8
- Bessemer — 4.61
- Carbon Hill — 4.33
- Morris — 4.27
- Lay Lake — 4.26
- Crestwood — 3.74
- Pell City — 3.7
- Moody — 3.69
- Jemison — 3.64
- Alabaster — 3.58
- Helena — 3.37
- Cropwell — 2.76
- Bibbville — 2.36
- West Blocton — 1.3
- Heflin — 1.07
- Egypt (Etowah County) — 1.03
- Weaver — 1.01
- Coker — 0.08
ON THIS DATE IN 1966: Hurricane Alma made landfall over the eastern Florida panhandle, becoming the earliest hurricane to make landfall on the United States mainland.
BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.
WEATHER BRAINS: You can listen to our weekly show all about weather any time on your favorite podcast app. James Spann and a team of meteorologists from around the nation bring on interesting guests; it’s a great podcast for weather geeks.
CONNECT: You can find me on the major social networks:
For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.
