Very Humid With Afternoon Showers/Storms

MUST BE MID-SUMMER: All of the usual summer elements will remain in Alabama’s forecast through the weekend. Heat, humidity, and random, scattered showers and thunderstorms. Most (but not necessarily all) of the showers will come from 1:00 until 11:00 p.m., during the peak of the daytime heating process. Coverage of the rain should be highest tomorrow… odds of any one place getting wet today are around 30 percent, 60 percent tomorrow, and 40 percent Sunday. Unfortunately there is no skill in forecasting the exact timing and placement of the showers and storms; if you have something planned outdoors you just have to watch radar trends.

The high today will be in the low 90s for most communities; then highs over the weekend will be in the 87-91 degree range. The average high for Birmingham for July 19 is 91 degrees; the peak of the summer heat here typically runs from mid-July to mid-August.

NEXT WEEK: A surface front will slowly push into Alabama early next week, and we expect scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday. Then, drier air creeps into the state for the latter half of the week with lower humidity level and cooler nights. This rarely happens in July in Alabama, but models have been very consistent with the idea in recent days. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.

TROPICS: The Atlantic basin remains very quiet, and tropical storm formation is not expected through early next week.

ON THIS DATE IN 1997: The eye of hurricane Danny moved to the mouth of Mobile Bay near Fort Morgan just before dawn. The hurricane then drifted into southern Mobile Bay and stalled. Danny finally made landfall near Mullet Point, AL midday on the 19th as a Category 1 Hurricane. Danny drifted across Baldwin County through the rest of the day on the 19th and into the morning of the 20th. The weakening cyclone finally turned north late in the day and moved over the extreme northwest Florida panhandle before proceeding to move north and northeast over Alabama for the next 2 days.

Radar estimated an incredible 43 inches of storm total rain over the open water in Mobile Bay. Observing sites reported 30-40 inches across the area with Dauphin Island reporting 36.71 inches with 25.98 inches of this falling between 5pm and midnight on Saturday. Numerous roads were inundated and impassable for days after Hurricane Danny. Record flooding caused major damage to homes along the Fowl River in Mobile County and the Fish River in Baldwin County.

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I will be at the Pell City Public Library this morning for a weather program and book signing… then I will be live at Free Friday Flicks at Veterans Park in Hoover this afternoon on ABC 33/40. I will post fresh forecast notes here later… enjoy the day!

Tags: ANC, scattered storms

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