Mostly Dry For A While; Irene Stays East

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THIS MORNING: After a pretty oppressive day yesterday, drier air is moving into North Alabama this morning, and should provide relief in the form of lower humidity levels today. Over in Atlanta, the dew point has dropped to 56 degrees, and we expect dew points in the 50s here later today, which also, of course, means no rain. Temperatures should peak in the low to mid 90s at most places, not quite as hot as yesterday.

REST OF THE WEEK: Basically dry weather. The possible exception is Thursday, when a weak surface front approaches from the north. This might kick off a few isolated afternoon showers, but the chance of any one spot getting wet remains small. Highs stay in the 90s.

OUR WEEKEND: While Hurricane Irene moves up the Atlantic coast, well east of here, we stay rain-free with sunny days and highs in the low 90s. The humidity levels should be relatively low with a northerly flow near the surface.

NEXT WEEK: No real change. We could use a good rain event, but the air sure looks dry for the first half of the week as Irene moves up into the Canadian maritimes.

IRENE NOW A CATEGORY TWO: Hurricane Irene is packing sustained winds of 100 mph, and will be moving right through the Bahamas as a major hurricane during the next 48 hours. People that live in the Bahamas need to rush preparations to completion today.

Guidance continues to shift a little to the right, and the highest landfall probabilities remain over the North Carolina coast Saturday afternoon or Saturday night. More than likely, Irene will be a major hurricane at the time of landfall, with the most serious impact along and to the right of the landfall center.

On the positive side, there is a chance that Irene will remain just offshore, but that is just a possibility at this point. Remember, we are five days away from potential landfall, and forecast track errors can still be significant.

We note the GFS notes Irene right up toward the major Northeast U.S. population centers Sunday night into Monday… Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston could be impacted in a major way by then. Please take a few minutes to watch the Weather Xtreme video for all of the graphics and details.

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I will be speaking at a function this morning in Weaver over in Calhoun County…. look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Tags: dry

Category: Alabama's Weather