Hot Days Ahead… Scattered Weekend Storms… Tuesday Forecast Update – 4pm

Good Tuesday afternoon! After a nice and refreshing start to the day, temperatures made a fast recovery back into the middle to upper 80s this afternoon. Most areas this morning started off in the lower 60s; in-fact, Tuscaloosa reported a low of 64 degrees. The atmosphere over Alabama is really dry, so temperatures can heat and cool quickly between day and night. Expect another fast drop in temperatures after sunset. If you are going to be outdoors this evening, expect temperatures to fall into the lower 80s by 7pm and lower 70s at 10pm. After 10pm, temperatures will drop into the 60s, under a clear sky.

A ridge of high pressure northwest of Alabama is baking the central and northern US in very hot weather. Fortunately, the core of the upper air ridge will stay to our west. This means, temperatures in our area won’t reach the extreme levels. Since we have a north flow today and will continue a light north wind tomorrow, humidit will remain low. Air temperatures will reach the lower 90s for the rest of the week and over the weekend.

Changes are likely on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as low level moisture moves back into the area. Expect the chance of a few scattered storms, especially on Saturday and Sunday. It will not be a total weekend washout, but a few scattered storms are possible. Rain chances stand at 30% to 40% this weekend and will continue through early next week. This should be the typical scattered summer storms, where some areas stay dry and some areas get a downpour.

The tropics remain really quiet, which is very unusual for the end of August. We’re getting close to the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. This time in years past, we have had 2 to 4 named storms at the same time. We’ll keep an eye on the latest trends as the hurricane season continues…

Alabama takes on Virginia Tech Saturday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. While the game will be indoors, the weather outside the dome will feature temperatures in the upper 80s. There is a chance of a few scattered showers or storms Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. Keep that in mind if you will be traveling to Atlanta for the game…

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Richard Scott
WVUA Chief Meteorologist
rscott@wvuatv.com
Twitter: Richard_wvua