Sixteen In A Row

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90s HERE TO STAY: The official high in Birmingham yesterday was 96 degrees, making it the 16th day in a row with a high of 90 or higher. The last time we had a high in the 80s was on May 27, when the high was 82.

No sign of the heat abating anytime soon… the streak will just keep growing for the next 5 to 7 days as the upper ridge holds across the southern states. But can’t help but notice the refreshing air over the northern states, actually not that far away; Lexington, Kentucky is at 58 degrees this morning with a dewpoint of 55… but that continental air won’t make it down to Alabama unfortunately.

RAIN SITUATION: Our only hope for rain continues to be the “scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms” that is a possibility on a daily basis due to the low level moisture and the rising air parcels generated by the daytime heating process. The placement and coverage of these storms is just about impossible to forecast with any serious reliability… it is all up to temperatures aloft (very small variations), and small scale low level boundaries that can be hard to identify. Seems temperatures aloft are slightly warmer this morning, so the storms could be pretty isolated today. But, an MCS (mesoscale convective system) is forecast to develop northwest of the state this afternoon, and SPC has a slight risk of severe weather in place down to Memphis. Some of those storms could try and push into Northwest Alabama with a weak northwest flow aloft.

REST OF THE WEEK: The core of the heat ridge will be a little west of Alabama tomorrow through Thursday, which means the coverage of afternoon and evening showers and storms could be a little higher. And, the door is still open for a potential MCS to move into our state even during the late night hours with a northwest flow aloft. Otherwise, same ole routine with highs in the mid 90s.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: The ridge strengthens. Looks like highs in the 95-100 degree range on these three days with a good supply of hazy sunshine and only isolated afternoon showers and storms.

TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet as a mouse and tropical storm formation is not expected through the week. It is interesting to note that we have now gone over 1,000 days without a hurricane striking the coast of the U.S. Last one was Hurricane Ike in 2008. Longest streak without a hurricane landfall on our shores since the Civil War.

LONG RANGE: Unfortunately there is no sign of the ridge going away, which of course is not surprising since this is summer, after all. Hot and hazy weather continues through the rest of June with no real hope of a soaking, widespread rain event. Best you can hope for is catching a decent afternoon storm or two.

AT THE BEACH: Mostly sunny days, fair nights will continue this week along the Gulf Coast from Panama City to Gulf Shores with only isolated afternoon storms. Highs along the immediate coast will be in the upper 80s, with 90s inland. Sea water temperature early this morning at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is 86 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. We will record this week’s episode tonight.. our guest is Jaclyn Whittal, a Weather Specialist for Global Regina in Canada.

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Every morning this week I will be at Double Oak Community Church in Mount Laurel for “Rumble in the Jungle”… always a ton of fun every summer. Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 this afternoon… enjoy the day!

Tags: hot

Category: Alabama's Weather