Scattered Storms Possible Through Friday…Nice Weekend! Tuesday Afternoon Forecast Update – 5pm
August 7, 2012 Leave a comment
Good Monday afternoon to you! It turned into a busy afternoon for the Tuscaloosa area, as a heavy thunderstorm dumped nearly 3 inches of rain in an hour over parts of town. Due to the deep layer of tropical moisture over Alabama, summer storms have the opportunity to dump very heavy rain in a short period of time. Be sure to scroll down to see the flash flooding pictures from parts of Tuscaloosa in a post below. While there was a flash flooding issue in Tuscaloosa, much of the area didn’t get a drop of rain today. Scattered afternoon storms that moved across parts of Alabama this afternoon have died out over the past hour or two. We could still see an isolated shower or storm through 10pm, but the risk of rain for the rest of the day looks pretty low.
Temperatures will fall into the upper 70s after 9pm tonight and remain in the 70s through daybreak Wednesday morning. Areas that dealt with rain today may have some fog tonight, so use caution while on the roads tonight or early tomorrow. Foggy issues should be pretty isolated. A few more scattered storms are possible on Wednesday, but the chance is pretty low. Keep the rain gear handy incase a storm develops over your area. Even if you get rain tomorrow or on Thursday, don’t expect it to last very long. It may rain at your house for 30 minutes, and then end. The risk of scattered storms is at 30% on Wednesday and 40% on Thursday. Skies will remain partly cloudy, with a high near 93 both days.
Rain chances have increased on Friday, with the risk of showers and storms at 50%. An approaching trough will send a cold front through Alabama Friday night or Saturday morning. This will bring the risk of scattered showers and storms Friday afternoon through Friday night. Some storms could reach severe limits, with the threat of damaging winds. I think most spots will get a good soaking on Friday or Friday night.
The weekend forecast is looking really nice, as dry air takes over for a couple of days. Temperatures may stay in the 80s all day Saturday and Sunday across parts of north Alabama. I’ve got a forecast high of 90 for the rest of central and west Alabama for the weekend. Lows may reach the middle 60s both Sunday and Monday morning. The airmass will be nice and refreshing, atleast for the weekend. Muggy weather will return on Monday and Tuesday.
We’re watching Hurricane Ernesto move into the Yucatan Peninsula this evening. Ernesto is a category 1 hurricane, with winds of 80mph. Once the system makes landfall tonight, it will track across the Yucatan and re-emerge into the southwest Gulf of Mexico or Bay of Campeche. Here’s a statement from the National Hurricane Center.
ERNESTO HAS NOW BECOME A WELL-ORGANIZED TROPICAL CYCLONE WITH DISTINCT CONVECTIVE BANDING FEATURES OVER ALL QUADRANTS OF THE CIRCULATION…AND WELL-DEFINED CIRRUS-LEVEL OUTFLOW. THE INITIAL INTENSITY IS KEPT AT 70 KT PENDING THE ARRIVAL OF ANOTHER AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT…SCHEDULED FOR A 0000 UTC FIX. GIVEN THE CONDUCIVE CONDITIONS…ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE UNTIL THE CENTER MOVES INLAND. RESTRENGTHENING IS EXPECTED WHEN ERNESTO MOVES INTO THE BAY OF CAMPECHE…BUT RAPID WEAKENING AND DISSIPATION SHOULD OCCUR AFTER THE SECOND LANDFALL IN MEXICO DUE TO VERY HIGH TERRAIN. ALTHOUGH THE GLOBAL MODELS SUGGEST THAT ERNESTO COULD REGENERATE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC… THAT UNUSUAL EVENT IS NOT BEING PREDICTED AT THIS TIME.
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Richard Scott
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