August Front Creeping Southward Across Alabama Today
RARE AUGUST FRONT: A “cold front” north of I-20 this morning… you don’t see those around here that often in early August. North of the front, the air is drier, and temperatures are in the mid 60s in many places. But, to the south, humid air lingers with temperatures in the 70s. We have a cluster of showers and storms riding along the front over West Alabama just before daybreak.
Look for more clouds than sun today, and a few passing showers and storms are likely over the southern 2/3 of the state, south of the surface boundary. On the positive side, heat levels will be way down today as most places will see a high only in the low to mid 80s across North/Central Alabama, almost ten degrees below average for early August.
REST OF THE WEEK: Showers and storms tomorrow will be mainly confined to the southern third of Alabama as the front creeps southward. For North/Central Alabama, the sky will be partly to mostly sunny with a high in the 85-88 degree range. Showers will be hard to find over the northern half of the state.
Then, Wednesday through Friday, we expect partly sunny days with just few widely scattered showers and storms around as the front washes out over South Alabama. Highs will be generally in the upper 80s.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: No real change. Partly sunny weather is forecast Saturday and Sunday, and a few pop-up afternoon showers or storms could form in scattered spots. The high Saturday and Sunday will be close to 90 degrees.
NEXT WEEK: The quiet pattern continues. Partly sunny days with a few “scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms” possible; highs will be in the low 90s. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.
TROPICS: All remains very quiet across the Atlantic basin this morning thanks to dry air and subsidence; tropical storm formation is not expected this week.
LOOKING BACK AT JULY: Birmingham’s average temperature for the month of July was 89.1 degrees, below the average of 91. The rain total was 8.66″, well above the average value of 5.42″…. but not close to the record of 20.12″ set in 1916. In fact, July 2021 didn’t even make the top 15 in terms of rain amounts.
ON THIS DATE IN 1985: Delta flight 191 crashed at DFW airport at 6:05 p.m.; killing 137 people. The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) Accident Board determined that the cause of the incident was wind-shear associated with an intense thunderstorm downdraft that occurred at the north end of the airport along runway 17 Left (17L). Today we know this intense, localized downburst as a microburst, a weather phenomenon that was not well understood at the time of the accident.Delta 191’s aftermath changed how regulators approached weather threats, how pilots talked to each other in the cockpit and even how fire rescue crews at airports save lives at crashes.
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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:00 this afternoon… enjoy the day!
Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos
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James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.Subscribe
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