Sun, Heat, Storms

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STEAMY AND STORMY: Birmingham’s dewpoint at 5:00 this morning was 74 degrees… about as high as it gets around here. Meaning, the humidity will be sky high today, making the summer heat pretty oppressive. We will see a high in the 90s, as you expect in July, but it is the steamy kind of heat that makes you want to find a pool somewhere.

Of course, the high dewpoints also mean we have lots of low level moisture around, which in turns means we will have showers and thunderstorms around. In fact, we actually have some decent showers early this morning over Jefferson and Shelby Counties… and when you have rain on radar at daybreak in summer, there is sure a good chance you will have a good number of showers and storms around later in the day during the peak of the daytime heating process.

GOOD AND BAD: While the showers and storms do provide some excellent cooling opportunities (many places drop from the 90s into the 70s in just minutes), they also can pack a punch. Like yesterday, the stronger storms will be capable of producing gobs of dangerous lightning, very heavy rain, and gusty winds, perhaps strong enough in spots for some tree and power line damage.

REST OF THE WEEK: The upper ridge will slowly weaken a bit as the core of the heat moves northwest, so afternoon highs will drop a degree or two each day, with a slow increase in the coverage of showers and storms. The nasty core of the 5940 meter 500 mb heat ridge moves to places like St. Louis and Des Moines.

WEEKEND PREVIEW: Nothing to suggest anything really different that routine mid-summer weather for Alabama. Highs in the low to mid 90s, intervals of sunshine, and scattered showers and storms. That rolls on into next week as well.

AT THE BEACH: Expect about 6 to 8 hours of sunshine each day this week along the Gulf Coast from Panama City west to Gulf Shores, with a few scattered showers and storms around. The sea water temperature this morning at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab was a warm 88 degrees. I just enjoyed a wonderful series of days on the Alabama coast. Sure good to see the big crowds back.

TROPICAL UPDATE: Everything remains quiet as a mouse across the Atlantic basin, and tropical storm formation is not expected through mid-week. The core of the season is yet to come… in August, September, and early October.

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 show tonight at 8:30 p.m. CDT… our guest tonight is Dr. Frank Tatom, who heads a company that uses seismic signals to produce tornado warnings. Should be a very interesting show.

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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Tags: hot, storms

Category: Alabama's Weather