Occasional Showers/Storms Over The Weekend

RADAR CHECK: Showers and storms are steadily increasing across Alabama this afternoon as the air becomes more unstable. Some storms this evening over the northern part of the state could become strong; SPC maintains a “marginal risk” (level 1/5) for areas north of I-20. The main threats are small hail and strong, gusty straight line winds.

We will hang on to the chance of a few late night showers or storms as an upper trough provides some dynamic support.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The sky will feature more clouds than sun tomorrow and Sunday, and we are forecasting scattered to numerous showers and storms both days. Understand, the weekend won’t be total “wash out”, but you will have to deal with some rain from time to time. Best chance of showers and thunderstorms will come from 1:00 until 11:00 p.m., but a few late night or morning showers are possible.

With only a limited amount of sunshine, temperatures will be below average… highs will be mostly in the 85-88 degree range.

NEXT WEEK: Unsettled weather continues Monday and Tuesday with scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms, but drier air will creep into North Alabama Wednesday. Much of Alabama will be dry Thursday and Friday with lower humidity and cooler nights; cooler pockets could easily see lows in the upper 50s early Thursday and Friday morning. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.

TROPICS: Tropical Storm Ernesto will become post-tropical in the North Atlantic over the weekend, and the rest of the Atlantic basin is very quiet. The tropical wave east of the Windward Islands is not expected to develop.

Interesting to note there have been no Atlantic hurricanes since July 12. NHC forecasts no hurricane development in the next 5 days. Should that forecast verify, the last time that the Atlantic went from July 13 – August 22 with 0 hurricanes was 2013.

ALABAMA FIREBALL: Last night, at 12:19 AM Central Daylight Time, numerous eyewitnesses in the SouthEast reported seeing a very bright fireball, which was also detected by all six NASA meteor cameras in the region. Analysis of the data indicates that the meteor was first seen at an altitude of 58 miles above Turkeytown, Alabama (northeast of Gadsden), moving west of north at 53,700 miles per hour. It fragmented some 18 miles above the small town of Grove Oak. Early results indicate the fireball, which was at least 40 times as bright as the Full Moon, was caused by a small asteroid 6 feet (2 meters) in diameter. We are still assessing the probability of the fireball producing meteorites on the ground – whether it did or not, it was an extremely bright event, seen through partly cloudy skies and triggering every camera and sensor operated by the Meteoroid Environment Office in the region.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.

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Look for my next Weather Xtreme video here Monday morning by 7:00 a.m…. Brian Peters will have the video updates tomorrow and Sunday. Enjoy the weekend!

Tags: ANC, storms

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos