Soaking Tropical Rain Event Ahead

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DRY SPELL COMING TO AN END: Tropical Storm Lee will be a huge rainmaker for the Gulf Coast states in coming days as the system creeps inland over the Labor Day weekend.

FOR NORTH/CENTRAL ALABAMA: Our weather won’t change much tomorrow. A few widely scattered showers or storms could form during the afternoon and evening hours, but the chance of any one spot getting wet is about one in five. The primary rain shield from Lee tomorrow afternoon should be south of a line from Livingston to Greenville to Geneva.

Widespread, soaking tropical rain is likely Sunday and Monday as Lee continues to move along at a snail’s pace. We are projecting rain amounts of 3 to 6 inches for North and Central Alabama; this will be a widespread rain event that will include every county and community. We might even have some flash flooding issues here despite the dry weather in recent weeks.

The rain could very well linger into Tuesday, when the remnant low should be near Clanton. Then, we expect a trend toward drier weather on Thursday and Friday.

THE GULF COAST: For the Alabama Gulf Coast, rain amounts of 8-12 inches are likely through Monday. To the east, across the Florida panhandle, amounts of 4-8 inches are expected. The heaviest rain of all should over coastal Mississippi and Southeast Louisiana, where amount over 15 inches are possible. Needless to say, there will be a significant flooding threat along the Gulf coast, along with dangerous rip tides and very rough surf.

KATIA: The GFS brings Hurricane Katia a little closer to the upper Atlantic coast of the U.S. toward the end of next week, but keeps it offshore. And, the ECMWF keeps the system farther offshore. See the Weather Xtreme video for details.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Mostly fair weather for the high school games tonight with only a small risk of a shower. Kickoff temperatures will be around 90, falling through the 80s during the game.

College football gets underway tomorrow. Alabama hosts Kent State at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa; the kickoff will come shorty before 11:30 tomorrow morning; the sky will be partly sunny with a kickoff temperature of around 92 degrees, rising into the mid 90s during the game. The chance of a shower during the game is only in the 20 percent range. Auburn hosts Utah State at Jordan-Hare Stadium; at the 11:00 a.m. kickoff the temperature should be near 87 degrees, rising into the low 90s by the fourth quarter. For now we will project a slight chance of rain during the game; we will keep an eye Tropical Storm Lee for any greater impact.

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A special thanks to everyone in Haleyville for their hospitality today… I had the pleasure of speaking at their monthly Chamber of Commerce luncheon. What a great crowd. Look for running updates on Tropical Storm Lee tonight and over the weekend….

Tags: Lee

Category: Alabama's Weather