Midday Nowcast: Big Heat, Big Storms in the Days Ahead

It is another very hot and very humid day with highs in the mid to upper 90s, and dew points are in the low to mid 70s. The combination of hot temps and high humidity is causing heat index values over 105° and the Heat Advisory continues today and tomorrow for the northern two-thirds of Alabama. Also, portions of the Tennessee Valley remain included in an Excessive Heat Warning as heat index values will exceed 110° at times.

By this afternoon, random, scattered showers and thunderstorms will be firing up, and some of these could be on the strong side. The SPC has defined a “slight risk” (level 2/5) of severe thunderstorms for the northeast corner of the state today, with a “marginal risk” (level 1/5) down to Russellville, Birmingham, and Phenix City. There is potential for a few wet microbursts this afternoon (localized areas of strong straight line winds) with stronger storms that form.

Not much change in the forecast tomorrow, with more heat and strong storms possible.

Again, keep an eye on radar trends if you have outdoor events going on, there is no way of knowing in advance exactly when and where summer storms pop up in advance.

WEEKEND WEATHER: The ridge slides back to the west some, allowing heat levels to come down some. Also, it will allow northwest flow aloft, and that will allow for complexes of storms to roll into Alabama this weekend. We will have a mix of sun and clouds both days with a higher coverage of showers and thunderstorms. Still, it won’t everywhere, but any one spot stands a 60-70 percent chance of seeing at least one shower or storm over the weekend. We note SPC has all of Alabama in a “marginal risk” (level 1/5) of severe storms Saturday… again the main threat will come from strong gusty winds with heavier storms. We are likely see a risk for severe storms on Sunday as well. Highs this weekend will range from the upper 80s to lower 90s.

INTO NEXT WEEK: For now, much of the week looks routine for mid-July. It will be hot and humid with highs in the low 90s most days with those randomly scattered afternoon storms.

IN THE TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet and no development is expected this week or through the upcoming weekend.

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 118.4F at Omidieh, Iran. The lowest observation was -96.2F at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Statin, Antarctica.

CONTIGUOUS TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation was 111F at Death Valley, CA. The lowest observation was 30F at Peter Sinks, UT.

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