Archive for July 16th, 2012
Scattered Summer Storms
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.
RADAR CHECK: A classic case of scattered storms on a summer afternoon in Alabama. Some of the heavier ones at mid-afternoon were just west of Birmingham, and near Collinsville. They are drifting slowly to the southwest, and the heavier storms are producing heavy rain and lots of lighting. It is very a much a hit and miss proposition, and the storms are quite random in their formation today. Scattered showers and storms will fade away once the sun goes down later this evening.
Temperatures are all over the board; the Shelby County Airport was at 81 degrees, while Montgomery was the hot spot with 96.
REST OF THE WEEK: Overall we still expect fairly typical mid-July weather through Friday, but we also expect a slow increase in the coverage of showers and storms over the latter half of the week as the air aloft will be a bit colder thanks to an upper trough developing over the eastern third of then nation. A surface front will also approach from the north and stall out over Tennessee. For now it looks like the two days with the best coverage of showers and storms will be on Thursday and Friday. Temperatures will trend down a bit, and some places won’t get out of the 80s Thursday and Friday, mainly where the storms form early in the day.
We also note a TUTT type feature just off the Georgia/North Florida coast in the Atlantic; this is drifting westward and could also help in the formation of showers and storms later this week.
WEEKEND PREVIEW: The front to the north will wash out, and heights will rise a bit, so we expect fairly routine weather continues with partly sunny days and the risk of scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and storms Saturday and Sunday. The high will be in the low 90s both days.
GULF COAST WEATHER: If you are beach bound this week, nothing really out of the ordinary is expected on the coast from Panama City west to Gulf Shores. About 5 to 7 hours of sun each day with the usual summer chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs along the immediate coast will remain in the upper 80s, and the sea water temperatures remain in the mid 80s.
TROPICS: Tropical storm formation is not expected through the week across the Atlantic basin. Nice and quiet.
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. We will record this week’s show tonight at 8:30 p.m… watch it live via Google Hangout here. Cliff Mass is our guest.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
I enjoyed seeing all of the men at the Jimmie Hale Mission this afternoon… hospitality was excellent as always. Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow…
The 1980 Heat Wave: July 16th
On this date in 1980, the death toll across the Alabama from an extended heat wave reached 77 and it was rising. Thirty seven of those fatalities were reported in Birmingham.
The Magic City was in its 7th straight day of 100F+ degree heat. The high at the Birmingham Airport reached 105F, a record for the date.
Other hot highs from the 16th included: 103F at Huntsville and 104F at Pinson; Jasper, Cullman and Scottsboro reached 105F. The string would extend one more day before being broken.
At the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Birmingham, meteorologist Harold Quattlebaum said that the forecast was calling for the same thing for the next two days.
Alabama Power Company was buying electricity from other utilities and hospitals across the state were running out of beds.
Before it was all said and done, 120 Alabamians would perish from heat related maladies during the Heat Wave of 1980.
Showers/Storms Growing Again
Storms are forming or have formed across Central Alabama, mainly in areas east of I-65 early this afternoon.
The heaviest ongoing storm was over I-65 near Hanceville.
There was a growing cell between Blountsville and Snead.
Scattered showers were starting to reach the ground in other area a little further south, including St. Clair and Shelby Counties. Look at the Composite Reflectivity on the right side of the above image to see where it is about to come down.
A rapidly developing storm was just east of US-280 along and south of AL-119. Look for more developing storms back through Meadowbrook and Inverness into the Altadena and Hoover areas along I-459.
Sun, Heat, Storms…
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.
SUMMER OF 2012: We have had two “cool” periods so far in meteorological summer, and one really hot spell. On June 10 our high was only 77 degrees, and on July 12 the high was 79 (in the midst of those two cool periods). But, on the other hand, our heat peaked at 104 on July 1 (during the heat wave). Through all of this temperatures are running at or just below average so far with the average high right at 91.5 degrees.
We expect pretty much average summer weather conditions for the first half of this week; highs in the 91-95 degree range with a few scattered showers and storms each afternoon. The chance of any one spot getting wet today and tomorrow is about one in four.
WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY: An upper trough forms over the northeast U.S., and a weak surface front approaches Alabama from the north and becomes stationary over Tennessee. This pattern is favorable for an increased coverage of showers and storms, and we will indicate that in our forecast on these three days along with lower afternoon temperatures due to the clouds. No wash-out, but a pretty decent chance of at least a few showers and storms.
WEEKEND PREVIEW: The front to the north will wash out, leaving us in a very routine summer pattern for Saturday and Sunday. You know the story… partly sunny hot days with the chance of scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 90s.
GULF COAST WEATHER: If you are beach bound this week, nothing really out of the ordinary is expected on the coast from Panama City west to Gulf Shores. About 5 to 7 hours of sun each day with the usual summer chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs along the immediate coast will remain in the upper 80s, and the sea water temperature this morning at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is 84 degrees.
TROPICS: Again the Atlantic basin is very quiet and tropical storm formation is not expected this week. We do note a TUTT (tropical upper tropospheric trough) just off the Southeast U.S. coast, but that is drifting west and is not expected to generate anything surface based over the ocean.
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. Dr. Cliff Mass is our guest on tonight’s show; we begin at 8:30 p.m. CDT, and you can watch live via Google Hangout here.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
I look forward to sharing with the men at the Jimmie Hale Mission today… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon… enjoy the day!
