Bill Murray: Alabama’s severe weather begins to wind down as Atlantic heats up
Last night was another active night across Alabama and the Deep South, but hopefully our extended anomalous period of severe weather is winding down — just in time for the tropical Atlantic to throw us an early-season storm in the main development region, something we don’t usually see until July or August. If it happens, we have never seen a storm like this so early in the season. Especially warm ocean temperatures are to blame.
SUNDAY NIGHT: An approaching upper-level disturbance triggered severe thunderstorms in an unstable environment across Mississippi and Alabama overnight. The storms were aided by an unusual low-level jet for mid-June, but they mostly stayed well behaved. Tornado watches were issued for western Alabama for the evening and overnight, but they generally were not needed. The storms rumbled through without much damage but with heavy rain, lightning and gusty winds.
Damage was reported from around Owens Crossroads in Madison County, where several large trees were uprooted and a porch column was torn off a house. A tree also fell on a vehicle. There were also reports of quarter-sized hail. In west-central Alabama, a large tree was blown down and completely blocked highway 171 at the Tuscaloosa-Fayette county line near Moore’s Bridge around 10 p.m. There was tornado damage in southeastern Mississippi near Bay Springs.
MONDAY: We are starting the day mostly cloudy, warm and humid across north and central Alabama. Some straggling showers are making a run for the Georgia border and will be completely out of our state by 8-9 a.m. Clouds will be breaking up from the west during the day, but it may be late afternoon before sunshine returns for eastern sections. We have an upper low to our north, and that could set off a few showers this afternoon, but coverage will be light and spotty. Tonight will feature some wraparound clouds from the low and a chance of a stray overnight shower, with lows in the 60s after today’s highs in the middle 80s generally.
TUESDAY: The upper low will be spinning away to our north on Tuesday, with wraparound clouds and convective showers that sort of look like a late winter/early spring system. But temperatures will be in the 80s, so no fears about winter flashbacks. There is some discussion about whether we could still have severe weather on Tuesday; if we do, it will be over far south Alabama.
REST OF THE WORK WEEK: Showers and storms will remain in the forecast Wednesday and Thursday with the upper low in the proximity. The severe weather threat should be lessening. Things will be a little cooler Wednesday and Thursday, with highs in the upper 70s in north Alabama and lower 80s across the central part of the state.
WEEKEND OUTLOOK: Rain chances seem to decrease by the weekend, setting the stage for a nice introduction to summer with highs around 90 and lows near 7o, and only widely scattered afternoon and evening storms.
TROPICS: A tropical depression is expected to form today or Tuesday in the Atlantic around 40 West, an unusual place to see a depression in June. There is some uncertainty in its forecast intensity and track. It could recurve to the north or, if it is weaker, it could move toward the northern Antilles.
BEACH FORECAST CENTER: Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Dauphin Island to Panama City Beach, Florida, on our Beach Forecast Center page. There, you can select the forecast of the region you are interested in.
ON THIS DATE IN 1835: A tornado occurred at New Brunswick, New Jersey, killing five people and injuring many more. It is regarded to be the worst tornado in Garden State history. Falling debris was reported as far away as Manhattan. A tornado in the same location today would cause tremendous destruction. The tornado was the first to be widely studied by scientists in the budding discipline of meteorology. Smaller tornadoes were reported at Paterson, New Jersey; Kinderhook, New York, and Pine Plains, New York.
For more weather news and information from James Spann, Bill Murray and other members of the James Spann team, visit AlabamaWx.