Midday Nowcast: Hot and Mainly Dry

HOT AND MAINLY DRY DAY: Mostly sunny skies out there across all of Central Alabama at this hour, and since we are on the dry side of Tropical Storm Julia to our east off of the South Atlantic Coast, rain chances for today will actually be reduced. Afternoon highs will top out at or just over 90 degrees. Skies will be partly to mostly sunny for the remainder of the day. We still do have a very small chance of an isolated shower or storm this afternoon, but odds for any one spot getting rain will be about one in five. Winds will be out of the northeast at 5-10 miles per hour.

AIR QUALITY: Air quality index will be in the “Green” for today. Ozone and particulate matter 2.5 levels are below criteria for an alert to be issued.

TEMPERATURES ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA AT THIS HOUR:

Birmingham 88
Tuscaloosa 88
Gadsden 88
Anniston 88
Cullman 85
Jasper 93
Alexander City 87
Auburn 82
Selma 86
Montgomery 87

NORMS AND RECS FOR TODAY IN BIRMINGHAM: The normal high for September 14th is 85, while the normal low is 64. The record high for today was set back in 1980 at 98. The record low was set back in 1902 at 45.

THURSDAY’S FORECAST: Unfortunately for Central Alabama, rain chances have actually dropped for the next few day since we will continue to be on the dry side of the circulation of Tropical Storm Julia. Skies will be partly to mostly sunny with afternoon highs in the low 90s. There will be a small chance of an afternoon shower or thunderstorm, but the odds for any one spot getting wet will be about one in five.

HEADED TO THE BEACH: About 6 to 8 hours of sunshine daily from Panama City Beach over to Gulf Shores with scattered showers and storms around through the weekend. Highs in the upper 80s on the immediate coast, with low 90s inland. See a very detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

THE TROPICS: Advisories were initiated last night by the National Hurricane Center; the system is far Southeast Georgia, and drifting slowly to the north. Top winds are 40 mph, and the main threat will come from heavy rain and flooding, and a few isolated tornadoes in the broad zone from Savannah up to Charleston. No direct impact on Alabama.

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Ian in the Central Atlantic is moving north, and is no threat to land. A wave in the far eastern Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands has some chance of slow development in coming days; just something to watch for now.

ON THIS DAY IN 1988: Thunderstorms produced severe weather over the Texas panhandle during the evening hours. One thunderstorm spawned a strong (F-2) tornado in the southwest part of Amarillo, and deluged the area with five inches of rain. The heavy rain left roads under as much as five feet of water, and left Lawrence Lake a mile out of its banks. Hurricane Gilbert lost some of its punch crossing the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Its maximum winds diminished to 120 mph.

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Category: Alabama's Weather