Archive for July 14th, 2012
A Few Heavy Storms
Showers and storms are most prevalent over the western half of the area on this Saturday afternoon, in an area where the deeper moisture resides.
An arc of storms extends from northern Pickens County north of Carrollton into southern Lamar, southern Fayette, southern Walker and extreme southwestern Jefferson Counties. The heaviest cells were near and just southeast of Berry.
Even stronger storms are over northwestern Winston and southwestern Lawrence Counties.
Plenty of lightning, heavy rain and gusty winds with the heavier storms. Dale Robinson, the Skywatcher in southern Lamar County reported a peak wind gust of 53 mph. His temperature dropped to 78F.
The temperature at Tuscaloosa Airport dropped to 79F after a heavy shower. Ron Hughes in nearby Coker reports 76F while Richard Viola in Lake View reports 77F after a brief shower that only dropped 0.05″ on his place.
Storms Heaviest in West Alabama
Showers and storms are scattered across mainly North and West Alabama this afternoon.
The heaviest storms are over Greene and Hale Counties, from near Eutaw to Moundville. They are producing lots of lightning and impressive rainfall amounts.
Other storms are producing brief heavy rain, lightning and gusty winds.
Elsewhere, it is a typically hot and humid summer day across Central Alabama. It was back up to 85F at the Birmingham Airport after a shower briefly cooled it to 81F. 0.28 inches of rain fell at the Airport. Tusacaloosa had gotten to 91F before a shower moved over the airport in the past few minutes. Showers are growing to the south of Coaling and Vance and will cross I-59 as they strive to grow into storms.
Everything is moving north northwest.
Anniston was at 90F.
Metro Showers Getting Heavier
Showers in the Birmingham Metro area are growing and getting heavier. There already is some heavy rain. A Skywatcher in Vestavia reported 1.5 inches of rain a short while ago from one of the heavier showers.
This image shows the base reflectivity on the left, and the composite reflectivity on the right. The composite echoes are heavier because the radar is adding the reflectivities from the various tilts, showing the precipitation building aloft.
Tops are approaching 40,000 feet near the Birminagham Airport. Lightning just showed up in this cell near Downtown.
The cells are moving to the north northwest.
Elsewhere, developing storms are scattered across the area. The heaviest are over Noxubee County MS and western Pickens County in West Alabama.
Scattered Storms Forming
Scattered storms are starting to form across North Central Alabama late this morning. You can see a nice cumulus field across the area on visible satellite photos. Temperatures are in the middle and upper 80s already, warm enough to trigger the storm development.
Showers and thunderstorms are likely across Central Alabama this afternoon and evening thanks to deep moisture that will provide the fuel and summertime heating that will provide the speak.
The chance of any severe weather is small from these pulse storms. Generally they will just produce brief heavy rain, deadly lightning and wind gusts to about 40 mph.
A couple of them may briefly become severe, so you might see a warning or two issued.
The 1980 Heat Wave: July 14th
On this date in 1980, heat wave deaths were soaring nationally and in Alabama as a powerful heat wave held much of the country in its grips. Birmingham’s Mayor Richard Arrington called for emergency relief and declared a state of emergency in Birmingham.
Volunteer organizations called for people to donate electric fans. Emergency shelters were opened.
Fifteen fatalities had been discovered in Birmingham, and it was suspected that heat had played a role in another twenty seven. Across Alabama, officially 21 heat related deaths had been reported. The apartments of the Central City housing project were like ovens. The national death toll stood at 495.
It was 103F at the Birmingham Airport on Monday, July 14th and the forecast called for 105F on Tuesday. The 103F on the 14th marked the fifth consecutive day that Birmingham had seen temperatures of 100F or higher. Eventually, the mercury would soar to 100F or higher on eight straight days, a record that would stand until 2007.
Forecasters warned that no relief was in sight.
