Dry; Afternoon Highs Near Record Levels

CLASSIC SOUTHERN DROUGHT: There is no doubt this is my least favorite kind of weather to deal with. Droughts, and the associated heat/warmth aren’t good for anything. For Birmingham, today marks the 40th consecutive day with no measurable rain. Soil moisture has been depleted, and all of the sun’s energy will go to heating the parched ground, which in turn heats the air. If we were in August, we would be dealing with some nasty triple digit heat. But, this is October, and temperatures will max in the mid to upper 80s through early next week, right at record levels for this time of the year.

We haven’t established a daily record high in the month of October since 1984, so we were long overdue for one of these. Here are the records for Birmingham in coming days…

Today 86 (1900)
October 29 86 (1984)
October 30 86 (1984)
October 31 87 (1984)

Kids were sweating in their Halloween costumes back in 1984 when we hit 87, and they will be doing the same thing this year.

A no burn ban remains in effect, and water conservation is important. Lake levels are very low, and still dropping.

TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY: Sunny warm days, clear pleasant nights. Highs 85-88, lows in the 50s.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: A clear sky for the high school games tonight with temperatures falling through the 70s.

For tomorrow’s Magic City Classic in Birmingham (Alabama State vs Alabama A&M… 3p CT kickoff), the sky will be sunny with temperatures falling from near 85 degrees at kickoff, into the 70s by the fourth quarter.

Auburn is on the road this weekend; they play at Ole Miss in Oxford (6:15p CT kickoff)… the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from near 75 at kickoff into the upper 60s by the fourth quarter.

Alabama has the weekend off.

NEXT WEEK: Not much change Monday and Tuesday, but temperatures back down a bit later in the week, with highs in the 70s by Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately models show no hope for rain all the way through Friday. Sure looks like we will the record dry spell a run for the money… 52 consecutive days with no rain in 1924.

HOPE FOR RAIN: The European global model ensemble suggests a pattern change by mid-November, setting up a situation where we can expect cooler and wetter weather. This idea is supported by climatology in that November and December tend to be wet/stormy months.

AT THE BEACH: Sunny days, fair nights through next week from Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach… highs in the low 80s. See a very detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet, and tropical storm formation is not expected through early next week.

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.

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I am speaking today at the Athens Rotary Club… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Tags: ANC, dry

Category: Alabama's Weather