James Spann: Scattered storms end later tonight; warm, humid days ahead for Alabama
RADAR CHECK: Scattered showers and storms continue to increase over west Alabama this afternoon; some of them are strong with frequent lightning, heavy rain and gusty winds. The Storm Prediction Center maintains a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms west of a line from Huntsville to Tuscaloosa to Butler through the evening.
Away from the storms we have a mix of sun and clouds with temperatures between 78 and 84 degrees. Scattered showers and storms will fade away after sunset.
Thursday will be another warm, humid day with some sun and, again, showers and thunderstorms developing in random, scattered spots. The heavier storms will likely be found over northeast Alabama, where the SPC has a marginal risk defined. Like today, heavier storms will produce frequent lightning, heavy rain and gusty winds.
Otherwise, Thursday will be partly sunny with a high in the mid 80s.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Precipitable water values will decrease across Alabama Friday and Saturday, meaning a good supply of sunshine both days with very few showers around. Afternoon highs will be in the upper 80s for most locations. Then, on Sunday, we are forecasting a partly sunny sky with a few scattered afternoon showers or thunderstorms possible; the high will be between 84 and 88 degrees.
NEXT WEEK: The week will feature very routine weather for June in Alabama — partly sunny, warm, humid days with the daily round of random, scattered showers and thunderstorms. Odds of any one spot getting wet each day will be 35-55%, with highs in the 80s.
TROPICS: The Atlantic basin remains quiet, and tropical storm formation is not expected through the weekend.
ON THIS DATE IN 1998: A major tornado outbreak occurred for the east-central United States. This event spawned 47 tornadoes over nine states from New York to South Carolina and caused an estimated $42 million in damage, 80 injuries and two fatalities. The most violent tornado hit Frostburg, Maryland, in Allegany County at 9:43 p.m. ET. Five people were injured and $5 million in property damage was reported. It was the first F4 tornado to have hit the state of Maryland since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1950.
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