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Midday Nowcast: Hot, Hazy & Humid with Scattered Storms

| July 22, 2016 @ 12:09 pm

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Skies across Central Alabama are mostly hazy at this moment as we have a cirrus deck left over from storms that formed and moved through much of the area last night. We do have an area of showers that have developed over the northeast corner of Marion and the northwest corner of Winston County. This shower seems to be almost stationary, with maybe a slight drift to the southeast. The rest of Central Alabama is high and dry right now. Showers and thunderstorms are currently located in the southwestern corner of the state, and are pushing off to the south-southwest.

I have noticed that there is a line of storms pushing to the south through western Kentucky at this moment. There may be a possibility for these storms to move into the state later this afternoon. If they hold together, they could move into North Alabama around the 3PM-5PM time frame, about 60-90 minutes later they could reach the northern parts of Central Alabama. We’ll keep an eye on this line to see if we can get a little extra relief from the heat.

HEAT ADVISORY: A Heat Advisory is in effect for much of north and central Alabama. Please use common sense when outside today.

TEMPERATURES AT THIS HOUR: Heat is building as we start to reach the daytime maximum temperatures for the day across the area. Here is a list of temperature observations from across the area:

Birmingham 85
Tuscaloosa 84
Gadsden 84
Anniston 83
Cullman 95
Hamilton 88
Clanton 83
Alexander City 78
Montgomery 86

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR TODAY: Hot, hazy, and humid for the remainder of the day, with a risk of scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Afternoon highs will be in the mid to upper 90s, and with dewpoints well up into the 70s, the heat index will be up above 100 in many spots. The SPC has defined just about the whole state under a “Marginal Risk” for severe storms through the rest of today, with damaging winds associated with wet microbursts and dangerous frequent cloud-to-ground lightning being the main risks. The odds of any one spot getting rain today is 1 in 3.

CODE YELLOW AIR QUALITY: The Air Quality Index for the Birmingham Metropolitan Area will be in the “Code Yellow” for ozone and particulate matter 2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.

TODAY’S CLIMATOLOGY FOR BIRMINGHAM: The normal high for July 22nd is 91, while the normal low is 70. The record high for today was set back in 1993 at 100. The record low was set back in 1947 at 55.

THE WEEKEND’S WEATHER: The “Carbon Copy Forecast” can be used for this weekend. Partly to mostly sunny skies with a risk of scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Afternoon highs on both days will be in the mid to upper 90s, with heat indices over 100 for most spots. The odds of any one spot getting rain each day is 1 in 3. Overnight lows will be in the 70s.

HEADED TO THE BEACH: Mostly sunny days, fair nights though the weekend from Gulf Shores over to Panama City Beach. But, of course, you will probably deal with an occasional storm from time to time. Highs on the immediate coast 87-91, with mid to upper 90s inland. See a very detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

THE TROPICS: The Atlantic basin remains very quiet, and tropical storm formation is not expected through the next five days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1918: 504 sheep were killed at the Wasatch National Forest in Utah from a single bolt of lightning. Since sheep usually gather together in a herd during a storm, the shock traveled from one sheep to another as they were grouped closely together during this thunderstorm.

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About the Author ()

Scott Martin is an operational meteorologist, professional graphic artist, musician, husband, and father. Not only is Scott a member of the National Weather Association, but he is also the Central Alabama Chapter of the NWA president. Scott is also the co-founder of Racecast Weather, which provides forecasts for many racing series across the USA. He also supplies forecasts for the BassMaster Elite Series events including the BassMaster Classic.

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