Midday Nowcast: Sun and Clouds; Storms Later

ROUTINE JULY WEATHER: First off, Happy Independence Day!!! It is that time of year where the weather in Alabama won’t change much from day to day. Look for partly sunny, hot, humid days with random, scattered showers and thunderstorms firing up during the afternoon and evening hours. Most of the summer soakers will come from 2PM-10PM and odds of any one place getting wet are in the 40–50 percent range most of this week. Afternoon highs will be in the 91-95 degree range for most communities, and a “heat advisory” could be needed later in the week as heat index values climb close to the 105° danger range.

For the big fireworks shows tonight, most, but not necessarily all, of the storms should be over by 9:00. Just keep an eye on radar trends if you have outdoor events going on today and tonight; no way of knowing in advance exactly when and where summer storms pop up in advance.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: We will roll with a persistence forecast Saturday and Sunday, as both days will be hot and humid, with those random, pop-up afternoon storm. Highs will remain in the low to mid 90s.

NEXT WEEK: The upper ridge stays in place across the southern U.S…it will remain hot and humid, with pop-up afternoon storms possible daily. Highs will remain in the 90-95 degree range, which is what we expect here in mid-July.

IN THE TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet and no development is expected this week or through the upcoming weekend. Bonnie is a hurricane and moving west in the eastern Pacific. I want to apologize for saying Bonnie would become Darby once it crossed into the Pacific. That use to be the case, but the WMO (World Meteorological Organization) changed the rule and as long as it maintains the dominant circulation, it can keep the original name…the Eastern Pacific will have two “B” storms this year.

BEACH FORECAST CENTER: Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Fort Morgan to Panama City on our Beach Forecast Center page. There, you can select the forecast of the region that you are interested in visiting.

WORLD TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation outside the U.S. was 118.9F at Ouargla, Algeria. The lowest observation was -103.5F at Vostok, Antarctica.

CONTIGUOUS TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation was 111F at Death Valley, CA. The lowest observation was 25F at Bodie, CA.

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