Central Alabama’s Most Detailed Seven Day Forecast

Friday afternoon, August 14, 2020
Forecaster: Ryan Stinnett

AGAIN, WATCHING THE RADAR: More clouds than sun for many of us as we roll into the afternoon hours with highs today around 90°. The radar is active with areas of rain and storms and these will continue the rest of today and into tonight. Like recent days, stronger storms this afternoon will produce gusty winds, heavy rain, and lots of lightning, in fact some severe storms are possible across the southwestern counties of the state, where a “marginal risk” has been issued for gusty winds.

TROPICAL STORM JOSEPHINE: At 1100 AM AST, the center of Tropical Storm Josephine was located near latitude 16.1 North, longitude 54.7 West. Josephine is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days followed by a turn toward the northwest late this weekend or early next week. On the forecast track, the center of Josephine is expected to pass to the northeast of the Leeward Islands over the weekend. Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph with higher gusts. Some strengthening is possible during the next 24 hours. After that time, Josephine is expected to encounter upper-level winds that will not be conducive for strengthening. An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate Josephine this afternoon. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles mainly to the north of the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1006 mb (29.71 inches).

ELSEWHERE IN THE TROPICS: Shower activity has increased in association with a low pressure area located about 100 miles northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Some additional development is possible during the next couple of days, and a tropical or subtropical depression could form during that time as the system moves east-northeastward well to the southeast of New England and to the south of the Canadian Maritime provinces. Formation chance through 5 days…medium…50 percent. If this system develops it would be Kyle.

The rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet for now.

WEEKEND WEATHER: Rain chances start to decrease over the weekend as drier air moves into the state. Tomorrow will still feature some showers and storms, but fewer in number. Expect a mix of sun and clouds, and highs around 90°. For Sunday, we should see a mainly sunny sky, with only a few isolated showers/storms. It will be a hotter day with highs in the low 90s.

NEXT WEEK: The drier weather will stick around to start the new work week, but by mid-week, moisture levels will again rise, and we will bring back showers and storms, mainly during the afternoon and evening hours. With an upper trough over the eastern half of the nation, temperatures look to be slightly below average for August in Alabama with highs in the upper 80s and lows in the 60s most days.

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 118.8F at Ejido Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The lowest observation was -103.7F at Concordia, Antarctica.

CONTIGUOUS TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation was 118F Death Valley, CA. The lowest observation was 24F at Choteau, MT.

WEATHER ON THIS DATE IN 1987:  Temperatures across much of eastern Kansas soared above 110 degrees. Kansas City MO hit an all-time record high of 113 degrees. It was one of sixteen consecutive days of 100 degree heat for Kansas City. During that summer there were a record 53 days of 100 degree heat, and during the three summer months Kansas City received just 1.12 inches of rain.