Another Sweltering September Day

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THE 21ST OF SEPTEMBER… Anybody remember the song by Earth, Wind, and Fire?

“Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away

Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing
As we danced in the night,
Remember how the stars stole the night away”

Actually, the 21st of September will sure feel more like the 21st of July or August again today with afternoon highs well up in the 90s. Highs across Alabama yesterday included 100 at Tuscaloosa, Pinson, Muscle Shoals, and Montgomery. The high was 99 in Birmingham and Anniston, and 98 in Dothan and Troy. We might be close to those values again today… maybe just a degree or two lower with upper heights slightly lower. And, like recent days, a few isolated showers could form during the heat of the day, but they will be few and far between.

REST OF THE WEEK: Heat levels back down ever so slowly on a daily basis, with highs back in the low 90s Thursday and Friday. And, again, the chance of a shower remains only in the 10 to 20 percent each afternoon.

WEEKEND PEEK: Watch the Weather Xtreme video and you will see the GFS brings a strong short wave down from the Great Lakes, forming an upper trough over the eastern U.S. late in the weekend. A surface front comes through Saturday, with some potential for a few scattered showers or storms (nothing widespread, unfortunately), followed by cooler air Sunday and early next week. The high Saturday will be close to 90, but the GFS is printing 86 for Birmingham on Sunday, which sure sounds better than the mid to upper 90s we have experienced recently.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: Looks like highs in the low 80s early next week, with lows in the upper 50s, which will feel much more like fall. And, with the upper trough over the East Coast, that could mean the tropical system will be more of a problem for the East Coast of the U.S. instead of the Gulf Coast. The 00Z GFS brings a tropical system north from Canada, and runs it parallel to the Atlantic Seaboard next week. This, of course, is all in voodoo land, and the idea of a tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico is still on the table. See the Weather Xtreme video for details.

LAZY LISA: Newly formed Tropical Storm Lisa in the East Atlantic will just hang around and move slowly to the northwest for the next five days… no threat to land. A wave near the Windward Islands has some potential for development, and is more than likely the system the GFS shows over Cuba early next week. Again, see the Weather Xtreme video for details.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. You can even listen here on the blog; look for the player on the top left.

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I am headed to Piedmont this morning to speak to a group of senior adults… I will be back in the office by early afternoon, and the next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 3:30. Enjoy the day!

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