Alabama 811 | Know What's Below.

Sunday Weather Xtreme: Showers and Storms Thin Out by Midweek

| July 18, 2021 @ 7:00 am

Another July afternoon, another round of storms heading up from the southwest into Central Alabama. A few spots picked up decent rainfall, over an inch. One of those spots was the Birmingham Airport, where 1.34 inches fell yesterday afternoon.

ON THE WEATHER MAPS: This morning, we have an upper-level trough over the Great Lakes. The troughiness over the eastern third of the United States is keeping us slightly cooler than normal with higher than normal rain chances. Like yesterday and Friday, rain and thunderstorms will be fairly common today and tomorrow across Central and North Alabama.

FOR YOUR SUNDAY: Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy across North and Central Alabama today. Temperatures will warm into the middle 80s with high humidity once again today. A few showers and storms will form and move across the area during the afternoon hours, but it appears that the rain chances may be slightly less than the past two days. There could be one more round tonight as an upper-level disturbance passes by to our north. Lows tonight will drop to around 70F.

TOMORROW: The trough will still be in place to our north, and that means more showers and storms. It will be cloudier, and the rain will get started a little earlier than today. High temperatures will be in the lower 80s.

MIDWEEK: Rain chances will start ramping down Tuesday as the trough lifts out to the northeast. By Wednesday, ridging will begin to build into Alabama from the west and the rain chances will return to more typical July values for Alabama. High temperatures will start ramping up as the rain chances ramp down. By Thursday, another trough will begin to sharpen over the eastern United States, and that means more rain chances for Alabama.

WEEKEND: With the trough back in place, we will deal with partly cloudy skies and daily doses of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be in the upper 80s. Lows will be near 70F.

VOODOO COUNTRY: Out at the end of the period, around August 1st, it looks like a mid-summer cold front could actually make it through North and Central Alabama. Is that realistic? It is certainly possible, but only time will tell.

TROPICS: After a fast start, the Atlantic Hurricane Season has slowed down a bit. The basin looks quiet for the next two weeks into the first few days of August. But that will change at some point. We are through E on this year’s list. Last year, the F storm formed on July 5th, so we are getting behind now. Which Is good news, but it still promises to be an active season.

BEACHCAST: We’ve settled into the mid-summer doldrums along the beautiful beaches of Alabama and Northwest Florida. Hot and humid conditions will prevail for the next week, with highs in the upper 80s and lows in the middle 70s. Water temperatures are in the middle 80s. Seas will be running 1-2 feet except for around thunderstorms. The rip current risk should be fairly low, also except for around thunderstorms.

Click here to see the Beach Forecast Center page.

DANCING WITH THE STATS: 96F at Tampa yesterday tied the record high for the date. The previous record was set last year.

ADVERTISE WITH US: Deliver your message to a highly engaged audience by advertising on the AlabamaWX.com website. The site enjoyed 29 MILLION pageviews in the past 12 months. Don’t miss out! We can customize a creative, flexible and affordable package that will suit your organization’s needs. Contact me, Bill Murray, at (205) 687-0782 and let’s talk.

WEATHERBRAINS: This week, the panel will entertain legendary newsman Bill Kurtis. It promises to be one of the most interesting shows of our over 15 year run. Check out the show at www.WeatherBrains.com. You can also subscribe on iTunes. You can watch the show live at live.bigbrainsmedia.com or on James’ YouTube Channel You will be able to see the show on the James Spann 24×7 weather channel on cable or directly over the air on the dot 2 feed.

ON THIS DATE IN 1942 : An unbelievable rainstorm dumped an amazing 34.50 inches in just eighteen hours at Smethport in McKean County, Pennsylvania. Six inches fell between midnight and 9 a.m. Then between 9 a.m. and noon, an phenomenal 28.50 inches fell. 30.70 inches fell in just six hours. Follow my weather history tweets on Twitter. I am @wxhistorian at Twitter.com.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS

About the Author ()

Bill Murray is the President of The Weather Factory. He is the site's official weather historian and a weekend forecaster. He also anchors the site's severe weather coverage. Bill Murray is the proud holder of National Weather Association Digital Seal #0001 @wxhistorian

Comments are closed.