Published On: 05.16.23 | 

By: James Spann

James Spann: Scattered storms fire up again in Alabama this afternoon

James Spann forecasts another hot day for Alabama before temperatures dip from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

ANOTHER HOT, HUMID DAY: Expect a high between 88 and 92 degrees across most of Alabama this afternoon with a mix of sun and clouds. Random, scattered showers and storms will fire up again during the heat of the day, mostly between 2 and 9 p.m. The chance of any one location seeing rain today is 50-60%, and some of the storms will produce heavy rain, small hail and gusty winds.

Heat levels will come down Wednesday through Friday, with highs closer to 80 degrees over the northern half of the state, and we will need to maintain the daily chance of showers and storms, mostly during the afternoons and evenings. It won’t rain all day, and it won’t rain everywhere. The chance of any one spot getting wet each day will remain 50-60%.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: A surface front will move through the state Saturday, so the risk of a passing shower or storm will stay in the forecast. Otherwise, the sky will be occasionally cloudy with a high close to 80. A drier air mass will drop into the state Sunday with lower humidity and a mostly sunny sky.

NEXT WEEK: Model guidance is now suggesting moist air will try and return Monday, and we will insert the chance of widely scattered showers. The rest of the week looks fairly quiet with a few isolated showers daily and highs in the 80s. There’s no sign of any organized severe weather threat, and it looks like we can pretty much stick a fork in the tornado season.

HOTTEST SO FAR: Birmingham’s high Monday was 93 degrees, making it the hottest day so far this year. It was just 1 degree away from the record high for May 15 — 94, set in 1899. Here is a list of some highs across the state Monday:

  • Troy — 96
  • Mobile — 95
  • Dothan — 94
  • Birmingham — 93
  • Huntsville — 93
  • Tuscaloosa — 93
  • Montgomery — 93
  • Demopolis — 93
  • Muscle Shoals — 90
  • Gadsden — 89
  • Anniston — 88

ON THIS DATE IN 1983: An unyielding spring storm dumped heavy snow across the Front Range in Colorado. High winds of 20 to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph produced blizzard conditions at times. The Foothills received 1 to 2 feet of snow with 4 to 12 inches along the Foothills.

ON THIS DATE IN 1989: Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather in the south-central U.S. Thunderstorms spawned 20 tornadoes, and there were 180 reports of large hail and damaging winds. A tornado in Cleburne, Texas, caused $30 million damage. A violent F-4 tornado touched down near Brackettville, Texas, and a strong F-3 tornado killed one person and injured 28 others at Jarrell, Texas.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.