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Tropical Action Stays East Of Alabama

| August 30, 2016 @ 6:04 am

A GENERALLY DRY PATTERN: Alabama’s weather won’t change much today through Thursday; mostly sunny, hot days with only isolated afternoon and evening showers. Chance of any one spot getting wet each day is only about one in eight, and highs will be in the 91-95 degree range.

FRIDAY AND THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND: An upper trough over the eastern U.S. will help to pull down drier, continental air, setting up some pretty nice weather for the holiday weekend. Mostly sunny days, fair cooler nights, and lower humidity. Highs will drop back into the 88-91 degree range, with lows in the 60s. Some of the cooler pockets across North Alabama could see upper 50s by early Sunday morning.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: First off, Friday night looks fantastic for high school football across Alabama with a clear sky and temperatures falling through the 70s. Humidity levels won’t be as bad as the first two weeks.

Auburn hosts Clemson Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium (8:00p CT kickoff)… the sky will be clear. Kickoff temperature near 78 degrees, falling into the low 70s by the final whistle.

Alabama will take on Southern Cal Saturday night at Arlington, Texas (8:00p CT kickoff)… a clear sky with temperatures falling from near 82 at kickoff, into the mid 70s by the end of the game.

TROPICS: Things are pretty active, as you might expect in late August. Here is a breakdown on the action…

HURRICANE GASTON: Packing estimated winds of 100 mph, Gaston is moving eastward, away from the U.S. It will be close to the Azores this weekend as a “post tropical” North Atlantic storm.

INVEST 92L: A well organized wave emerged off the coast of Africa yesterday; it has a decent chance of becoming a tropical depression and storm in coming days as it makes the long journey across the Atlantic. Tropical models and the GFS suggest this will begin to gain latitude in about 3-4 days, staying north of the Caribbean. If this verifies, it will not be a Gulf of Mexico threat, and it remains to be seen if it recurves over the open Atlantic, or threatens the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. Just too early to know.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION EIGHT: This disorganized system is just east of the Outer Banks of North Carolina; it will turn northeast out to sea today. Still some chance it becomes a tropical storm.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION NINE: Down in the Southeast Gulf of Mexico, convection seems to be increasing, and there is a decent chance this becomes a tropical storm over the next 24-36 hours. The circulation center is expected to move into North Florida (somewhere between Apalachicola and Tampa) Thursday. The main impact of this will be rain, heavy at times for the Florida Peninsula (not the panhandle), and dangerous rip tides and rough surf. It moves out into the Atlantic Friday, and it will be long gone by the Labor Day weekend.

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Alabama will see no direct impact from TD 9, and the only impact on the Central Gulf Coast will come Thursday when Panama City Beach could see periods of rain and breezy conditions. The risk of rain from Destin west to Gulf Shores remains fairly low (as a direct result of this tropical system).

AT THE BEACH: The weather generally looks great for the Central Gulf Coast through the Labor Day weekend, with mostly sunny days, fair nights, and only widely scattered showers. The exception is Thursday with that risk of rain for Panama City Beach due to the tropical system. However, rip tides are likely tomorrow and Thursday… the surf will settle down by the Labor Day weekend as TD 9 moves into the Atlantic and away from the region. Highs on the immediate coast will be in the upper 80s, with low to mid 90s inland. See a very detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

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. Scroll down for the show notes on the new episode we recorded last night.

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I will be speaking at Glen Iris Baptist School today… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

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Category: Alabama's Weather

About the Author ()

James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.

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