Archive for May 16th, 2012
Warm With Only Isolated Showers
An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.
CALM WEATHER: A peek at radar around 3:00 this afternoon showers few showers over the northern half of the state; it is raining over parts of Tuscaloosa and Pickens Counties in West Alabama, but even there the showers are small and isolated. Otherwise, we have a partly sunny afternoon with temperatures generally in the 80 to 85 degree range. Muscle Shoals is the warmest spot as I write this with 86 degrees.
TOMORROW AND FRIDAY: Both the NAM and the GFS are printing a high of 87 tomorrow for Birmingham, with little if any chance of rain. No serious change on Friday; the high will be in the mid 80s with only isolated afternoon showers.
WARM WEEKEND: Highs stay in the 80s over the weekend with partly sunny days and fair nights. We will probably see a few isolated showers both afternoons, but most neighborhoods will stay dry thanks to an upper ridge overhead.
The weather looks pretty benign through the end of May with no serious severe weather or heavy rain issues showing up in medium range guidance.
AT THE BEACH: Expect mostly sunny warm days and fair nights in the area from Panama City west to Gulf Shores through the weekend. An isolated shower might pop up in a few spots, but mostly dry weather is the story with daily highs in the low 80s. Very nice for the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores this weekend. The sea water temperature at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab this afternoon is 81 degrees.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
I enjoyed being at Alabama Power Company’s corporate HQ in downtown Birmingham this morning… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow….
Warm And Mostly Dry
An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.
CALM WEATHER: A rather benign weather pattern will continue across Alabama and the Deep South through the rest of the week and the weekend. The air is a little drier this morning, and we see no showers on radar as the sun is coming up. The sky will be partly to mostly sunny today with a high in the mid 80s, and I honestly don’t think we will see anything on radar this afternoon thanks to the drying.
TOMORROW AND FRIDAY: No real change… expect mid to upper 80s both days with a decent amount of sunshine. Any afternoon showers will be few and far between due to drier air and warm air aloft.
OUR WEEKEND: Persistence is the best forecast here… warm days, fair nights, and only isolated afternoon showers. The sky will be partly sunny Saturday and Sunday with a high in the low to mid 80s. The primary storm track remains well to the north of Alabama keeping our weather pattern nice and calm.
STICK A FORK IN IT: I think it is safe to say our spring tornado season is just about over, as the medium range computer models show no significant severe weather setup for Alabama through the end of May. This is the time of the year when we make the transition from tornado threats, to afternoon storms on hot summer days with potential for wet microbursts, or local areas of damaging straight line winds. Tornadoes in Alabama are very rare during June, July, and August unless a tropical storm or hurricane gets involved.
TROPICAL NOTE: The formation of Tropical Storm Aletta yesterday in the eastern Pacific ends a 41-day streak without a tropical storm anywhere in the world. According to the U.K. Met Office, the 41-day period is the longest span without a tropical storm in at least 70 years. The last time there were as many as 38 consecutive storm-less days was in 1944. Prior to Aletta, the last tropical storm on the planet was Tropical Storm Daphne in the South Pacific, which dissipated April 3, 2012. (April is usually is the quietest month globally for tropical cyclones.)
The Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico hurricane season kicks off on June 1, the first named storm this year will be called “Alberto”.
AT THE BEACH: Expect mostly sunny warm days and fair nights in the area from Panama City west to Gulf Shores through the weekend. An isolated shower might pop up in a few spots, but mostly dry weather is the story with daily highs in the low 80s. Very nice for the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores this weekend. The sea water temperature this morning at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is 80 degrees.
See the Weather Xtreme video for graphics and details.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
I will be at Alabama Power this morning doing a severe weather safety program… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!
