James Spann: Rain at times mainly over east Alabama tonight, Tuesday
FRED MAKES LANDFALL: Tropical Storm Fred made landfall around 2:15 this afternoon at Cape San Blas, Florida, with sustained winds of 65 mph. The system will weaken quickly as it moves northeast tonight. However, it will still bring significant weather issues to parts of the Southeast. The remnant circulation will move into northern Georgia Tuesday.
In Alabama, a Flash Flood Watch is in effect for the far eastern part of the state from Randolph and Chambers counties south to near Dothan and Geneva through tonight. Rain amounts of 2-4 inches are possible here, with isolated heavier amounts near the southeast corner of the state. There is also the risk of a few brief, isolated tornadoes tonight across the southeast part of the state; Houston County is under a Tornado Watch until 7 p.m. A low-end marginal risk of severe weather extends as far north as Chambers and southern Randolph counties.
Showers will be much more scattered over the western two-thirds of Alabama tonight and Tuesday. The sky will be mostly cloudy Tuesday with highs in the low to mid 80s.
WEDNESDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Look for routine summer weather Wednesday through Sunday — a mix of sun and clouds each day with scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially from noon to midnight. Odds of any one spot getting wet Wednesday through Friday are 50-60%, dropping to 30-40% over the weekend. Highs will be mostly in the upper 80s through Friday, rising into the low 90s Saturday and Sunday.
The overall pattern won’t change much through next week — partly sunny days with a few scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. Highs will be generally in the low 90s.
GRACE: Tropical Depression Grace is moving away from Hispaniola this afternoon and is forecast to regain tropical storm strength over the next few days as it passes south of Cuba. Grace will likely move into Mexico, well south of Brownsville, Texas, Saturday, perhaps as a hurricane. It will remain south of the U.S.
TD 8: Tropical Depression 8, southeast of Bermuda in the Atlantic, is forecast to become Tropical Storm Henri tonight. It will loop around Bermuda and ultimately move out into the open North Atlantic with no threat to the U.S.
ON THIS DATE IN 1992: One of the most destructive United States hurricanes of record started modestly as a tropical wave that emerged from the west coast of Africa on Aug. 14. The wave spawned a tropical depression on Aug. 16, which became Tropical Storm Andrew the next day.
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