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Cloudy and Wet at Times

| October 3, 2015 @ 7:11 am

This is not your typical October weather, but it looks like the clouds and off-and-on rain will continue today. Sunday becomes a transition day as clouds hang around but rain chances fall off some. And Monday looks like we dry out with a return of sunshine.

But first, let’s update the hurricane. Joaquin remains a very powerful category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 mph. Joaquin began moving toward the north-northeast late yesterday and should take a more northeasterly track today and Sunday as it passes just west of Bermuda. There is a hurricane watch for Bermuda, and it looks like Joaquin will come close. Besides Bermuda, as it stays out in the Atlantic it will be a threat to shipping. In spite of the storm staying out to sea, coastal flooding and beach erosion will be a major impact along the US coastline from Georgia northward to the mid-atlantic states. And there is plenty of tropical moisture spreading inland that will cause flooding from Georgia across the Carolinas into Virginia where flash flood watches are in effect. Joaquin will continue to weaken slowly Sunday and into Monday.

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Expect more cloudy weather as a pesky upper-level low will keep us cloudy and cool, with rain at times. Best chance of rain today should be along and east of I-65, with amounts across the western sections of Alabama light and spotty. As we saw Friday, most communities won’t get out of the 60s. We should begin to see some decent breaks in the overcast Sunday, but we will still need to mention the risk of showers, especially south and east of Birmingham. Highs should get into the 70s for Sunday afternoon.

For all you Bama fans heading to Athens for the Alabama/Georgia game that kicks of at 2:30 pm CDT, rain is likely with temperatures around 60. No lightning delays are expected, but the rain could be heavy at times, so take rain gear. There is a flash flood watch in effect for Athens and a sizable chunk of eastern Georgia.

Auburn will host San Jose State at Jordan Hare Stadium with a 3:00 pm CDT kickoff. The sky will be cloudy with some light rain likely at times. Expect a kickoff temperature near 61 degrees, falling to near 58 by the final whistle.

Beach goers will see partly sunny days for Destin and Panama City Beach with a few scattered showers each day through Sunday; only a small risk of a shower for Pensacola and Gulf Shores where there will be a good supply of sunshine. Next week at the beach looks dry and pleasant for the entire Central Gulf Coast. See the complete Gulf Coast 7 Day Planner here. The Gulf Coast Beach Forecast is presented by Gulf Shores Plantation by Mandoki Hospitality Vacation Rentals. Escape to Gulf Shores Plantation where memories last a lifetime.

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That pesky upper closed low over North Florida on Sunday will exit stage right on Monday as an upper ridge becomes established over the Mississippi River Valley. That ridge will migrate eastward across the eastern US during the mid-week days. By Friday an upper trough coming out of the Four Corners area could bring some clouds back with the potential for some showers. Interesting to note that the GFS and the European have vastly different solutions for late next week with the GFS much wetter than the European. See the video for all the graphics and details, but for now we’ll keep the forecast tending toward the dry side and not mention any rain chances just yet.

No severe weather expected across the US for the next 5 to 7 days.

Looking into our crystal ball for the long range, the GFS shows a trough traversing the Central US around the 13th of October, but it keeps the Southeast dry. By the time we reach the 18th of October, there is a nice ridge over the eastern US with a rather broad trough over the western half of the country.

I expect to have the next edition of the Weather Xtreme Video posted on Sunday morning. I have a social engagement this evening, so the Sunday video may be posted a bit later than I typically do so I can sleep in a little longer. Enjoy the day, stay dry, and Godspeed.

-Brian-

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Category: Alabama's Weather

About the Author ()

Brian Peters is one of the television meteorologists at ABC3340 in Birmingham and a retired NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist. He handles the weekend Weather Xtreme Videos and forecast discussion and is the Webmaster for the popular WeatherBrains podcast.

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