FINE FALL DAY: The northern half of the state is enjoying a picture perfect early autumn day; with ample sunshine, temperatures are in the low to mid 70s; the average high for September 21 at Birmingham is 84. Clouds persist over the southern counties of the state, with some patchy light rain near the coast.
Sunny, pleasant weather continues over the northern half of the state today with a high in the upper 70s… clouds linger over the southern part of the state with some light rain near the coast. Tomorrow will be a partly sunny day with a high in the mid to upper 70s over the northern counties, with clouds hanging tough over South Alabama.
THIS AFTERNOON: A canopy of cirrus clouds is over Alabama this afternoon, streaming into the state from Tropical Depression 22 in the western Gulf of Mexico. We note some patchy light rain over the southwest corner of the state, otherwise it is a dry afternoon with temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s for most places.
DRY PATTERN: Look for a partly sunny sky across the great state of Alabama today with a high this afternoon in the low to mid 80s. The average high at Birmingham for September 18 is 85. The sky will stay fair tonight; it will be a very pleasant night for high school football games with temperatures falling through the 70s.
DRIER AIR MOVING IN: After morning clouds the sky is now partly sunny across Alabama; temperatures are in the low to mid 80s in most communities, close to seasonal averages for mid-September. Tonight will be mostly fair with a low in the mid 60s.
RADAR CHECK: We have some lingering light rain over parts of East and Central Alabama early this morning, but the main rain shield associated with the remnant circulation of Sally is over Georgia and the Carolinas. Rain will end this morning, and the sky becomes partly sunny this afternoon with a high in the low 80s.
RADAR CHECK: The northern edge of the rain shield associated with TropicaL Storm Sally is along a line from Linden to Centreville to Birmingham to Piedmont. The heaviest rain is over the southeast part of the state where flash flood warnings have been required. There is still a low end tornado threat over the southeast corner of the state through tonight.
ROUGH NIGHT: It has been a horrible night along the Alabama Gulf Coast, with hurricane force wind along with more excessive rain. Hurricane Sally officially made landfall this morning at 4:45 a.m. CT at Gulf Shores; the eye is moving through southern Baldwin County early this morning… and will turn northeast through South Alabama later today as it begins to pick up forward speed.
EYES ON THE GULF: Hurricane Sally will dominate the Alabama weather situation through Thursday. The hurricane continues to slowly weaken in terms of wind; sustained winds are now 80 mph, and it will be a minimal hurricane when the center moves inland on the Alabama coast early tomorrow morning. Forward movement this afternoon is only 2 mph… upwelling from the nearly stationary hurricane has helped in the weakening trend, along with stronger winds aloft creating shear.
STILL QUIET TODAY: Alabama’s weather will remain quiet for the northern 2/3 of the state today, but the sky will be mostly cloudy as the canopy of high circus clouds from Hurricane Sally will spread northward. Any showers this afternoon should be widely scattered; most of the rain will remain near the Gulf Coast today.
EYES ON SALLY: Hurricane Sally in the Gulf of Mexico will determine Alabama’s weather for the rest of the week, but this afternoon is quiet with just a few widely scattered showers over the northern half of the state. It is a warm September afternoon with temperatures between 85 and 90 degrees; the sky is partly sunny. Evening showers will end after sunset, and the weather should be pretty quiet overnight.
SCATTERED SHOWERS LATER TODAY: The radar is quiet across most of Alabama early this morning, but we expect scattered showers, and possibly a thunderstorm to form this afternoon and tonight. Odds of any one spot getting wet are 30/35 percent, and the high today will be in the upper 80s with a partly sunny sky.
James Spann
@spann
