Today will be another hot one across North and Central Alabama. A few isolated showers will show up this afternoon as moisture levels start to increase, but don’t look for relief to affect more than about 1 in 20 locations today.
It was a record-tying day down in Montgomery as the afternoon high reached 102 degrees.
Tons of sunshine and very hot weather continues across Alabama this weekend. Temperatures this afternoon are well into the 90s and we are likely to see many locations hit the triple digits this afternoon.
The blast furnace continues through the weekend, but we may see a little relief in the way of scattered afternoon thunderstorms for the work week ahead.
DRY AIR: Temperatures are generally between 90 and 97 degrees across Alabama this afternoon, but the air is very dry with dew points down in the 50s in many areas. At 2:30p CT the Shelby County Airport was up to 97 degrees, but the dew point was down to 51, making the relative humidity only 21 percent. Amazingly low for summer in Alabama. The sky is sunny, and there is no rain anywhere in the state. The sky will be clear tonight.
It’s a sunny and hot day across Central Alabama at 11:25 am. Temperatures are already up in the mid-80s to the lower 90s.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Not much change tomorrow; lots of sun with a high in the 90s… any showers will be confined to the far southern counties. Scattered storms will become more numerous over South Alabama Sunday, but most of North Alabama will stay dry with a partly to mostly sunny sky.
BLUE SKY: We have a fall-like sky over Alabama today, but summer-like temperatures. We are seeing mostly mid 90s at mid-afternoon, but the dew point at Birmingham has dropped to 61 degrees, with a relative humidity of only 32 percent. Earlier this week we had dew points in the 70s, making the heat oppressive.
Skies are mainly clear across Central Alabama as of 11:50 am… plenty of blue skies and sunshine with a stray cloud or two at times.
SUNNY SUMMER DAYS: A dry airmass now covers most of Alabama, meaning humidity values will be lower over the next few days along with slightly cooler nights. Expect a good supply of sunshine on a daily basis through Saturday with lows 90s today and tomorrow, and mid 90s Saturday.
NOT AS HOT: As advertised, heat levels are down over the northern half of Alabama this afternoon. Temperature are generally between 88 and 94 with a partly sunny sky. To the south, strong thunderstorms continue to drift slowly southward over the southern quarter of the state. SPC maintains a “marginal risk” (level 1/5) of severe storms for South Alabama through the evening hours.
As of 12:40 pm, temperatures were in the mid-80s to the mid-90s across the area.
NOT AS HOT: Understand every day in August in Alabama is hot. Today will be hot, but not nearly as hot as recent days thanks to a surface front that moved through overnight. The high today will be in the low 90s over North/Central Alabama, about ten degrees “cooler” than yesterday.
At 7:55 pm, a line of strong thunderstorms is pushing across the AL/TN state line and will soon bring some cooling relief to the northern counties of the state.
TO THE NORTH: A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for much of Middle Tennessee, and strong storms will likely drop into North Alabama tonight ahead of a surface front. SPC has the Tennessee Valley of far North Alabama in a “slight risk” (level 2/5) tonight, with a “moderate risk” down to Tuscaloosa, Sylacauga, and Roanoke. The main threat will come from strong straight line winds.
At 12:50 pm, much of North/Central is free from any rainfall but temperatures are really hot out there.
