Archive for July 25th, 2012
Gorgeous Shelf Cloud from Orange Beach
Please click image to enlarge
Strong thunderstorms formed this afternoon to the northeast of Orange Beach and quickly became strong will lots of heavy rain and intense lightning. As one of the storms collapsed, it pushed out an outflow that approached our location from the east.
We had already fled the beach thinking the storms would propagate further west and reach us, as such storms are not to be trifled with. We enjoyed the spectacle from our hotel balcony as the rain never reached us. But the sky show was impressive.
The image above is of the shelf cloud along the leading edge of the outflow. Click on it to see the large size which better captures the magnificence of the cloud feature.
Better Shower Chances By Friday
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.
HOT JULY AFTERNOON: Temperatures are generally in the mid 90s at 3:00 p.m…. about where we expected them to be. Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Anniston all report 95 with a partly to mostly sunny sky. Lower dewpoints have mixed down to the surface, and heat index values aren’t too bad; the Birmingham heat index at 3:00 was 99.
The radar remains quiet; only a handful of showers are on radar at mid-afternoon, mostly to the south of here. There is one big storm near Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, that produced this shelf cloud… via @ac_clark
The weather won’t change very much tomorrow with a good supply of sunshine, only isolated showers, and a high in the mid 90s.
FRIDAY: No doubt this will be the day with the best coverage of showers and storms. Can’t promise rain for everybody, but most communities stand a good chance of getting wet a time or two. Rain amounts will vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood… the heavier storms could drop 1/2 to 1 inch of rain, but other places might miss out. Just the nature of storms on a summer day in Alabama.
THE WEEKEND: We have good consistency in the idea of drier air working into North Alabama Saturday; looks like the best chance of showers and storms will be over the southern half of the state Saturday, and then all of Alabama will be in dry air Sunday. Highs will remain in the 90s, but the humidity should be lower by Sunday.
NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: The 12Z GFS confirms the idea of generally dry weather Monday and Tuesday, followed by an increase in rain opportunities on Wednesday as the ridge weakens again and an upper trough forms over the eastern third of the nation. And, the good news is that we see no sign of any triple digit heat here for at least the next 15 days. See the Weather Xtreme video for the details and graphics.
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…
Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow….
Hot And Mostly Dry Again Today
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.
LATE JULY IN ALABAMA: Almost guaranteed to be hot and humid, and that pretty much sums up our forecast today and tomorrow. Warm air aloft associated with the upper ridge will also prevent showers from forming on a widespread basis; the chance of any one neighborhood getting wet this afternoon is only about one in ten. The chance of a shower is only slightly better tomorrow, and the high both days will be in the 95 to 98 degree range in most places. High dew points will push the heat index over 100 degrees.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: We will have a change on Friday as the heat ridge is beat down by a developing upper trough north of Alabama over the Great Lakes. This, along with a surface front dropping down from the north, will bring a much better chance of showers and thunderstorms on Friday. Can’t promise rain for everybody, but most communities have a decent chance of getting wet a time or two. And, temperatures will trend downward thanks to the clouds and rain.
On Saturday, drier air will begin to move into North Alabama, and the best chance of scattered showers and storms will come over the southern half of the state. Watch the Weather Xtreme video and you will see the 00Z GFS hints the best chance of rain comes along and south of U.S. 80 (Demopolis to Selma to Montgomery to Opelika). Then, on Sunday, just about all of the state should be in the drier, continental air. Highs over the weekend should be in the low to mid 90s, but the humidity levels will be lower on Sunday.
NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: The weather looks generally dry Monday and Tuesday, but the 00Z GFS hints at a much better chance of rain beginning Wednesday. And, the good news is that global models suggest the most intense heat will be well to the west of Alabama through the first 10 days of August with a mean upper trough over the eastern U.S. Again, see the Weather Xtreme video for details and all of the graphics.
TROPICS: A non-tropical low northeast of Bermuda is being monitored… I am not a big fan of giving these systems names since they are really hybrid systems in the North Atlantic… it is moving northeast and won’t impact any land area. The rest of the Atlantic basin remains very quiet.
AT THE BEACH: Very typical summer weather is likely from Panama City west to Gulf Shores through the weekend. About 5 to 7 hours of sunshine daily, with the risk of scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs along the immediate coast will remain in the 87 to 90 degree range, and the sea water temperature at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab this morning is 87 degrees (F).
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…
Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!
