Humidity Returns… Thursday Afternoon Forecast Update – 4:40pm

Good Thursday afternoon! Temperatures have turned out hot this afternoon, with most areas reporting temperatures between 90 and 93 degrees. Dewpoints are gradually coming up this afternoon, so humidity is fairly noticeable. As humidity continues to increase, conditions will feel very muggy just in time for our holiday weekend plans. A surface high and upper air ridge west of Alabama is moving away. As this trend continues, we will start to introduce rain chances back into the forecast over the next several days.

If you have plans outdoors tonight, expect temperatures to fall into the upper 80s by 7pm and upper 70s by 10pm. Skies will remain clear tonight and there is no risk of rain. Overnight lows will fall into the lower 70s, which is much warmer than recent nights. Higher dewpoints are keeping lows warmer tonight, since the air temperature can’t drop below the dewpoint. Friday will feature a typical summer-like day, as temperatures warm into the lower 90s. A few heat activated showers or storms will develop on Friday, but most areas will remain rain free.

The holday weekend will feature a partly cloudy sky and mild temperatures. Highs will warm into the lower 90s, with lows in the lower 70s. Heat index values will approach 100 at times this weekned, so take it easy if you’re working outdoors. There is a fair chance of scattered weekend storms, but the best chance will occur east of I-65. West Alabama will deal with a few scattered weekend storms, but I expect most areas to remain dry.

A weak cold front will push into north Alabama on Labor Day. We can expect a good chance of scattered showers and storms ahead of the front, but it will not rain all day. Look for a mixture of clouds and sun on Monday, with a 40% risk of rain and storms. The front will push through Alabama during the day on Tuesday, so rain chances will end from north to south. Areas north of I-20 will be dry on Tuesday. All of Alabama will be rain free on Wednesday and Thursday as some dry and cooler air moves into Alabama. Highs will top out in the upper 80s on Wednesday and Thursday, with lows in the 60s Wednesday night.

As for tropics… It has been a really quiet year so far, but things are starting to heat up a bit. We’re watching 2 areas in the central and eastern Atlantic. Both areas have a chance of becoming a tropical storm over the next few days, but we’ve got lots of time to watch these systems.

Today is the 8 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. We can be thankful there isn’t anything like that out there this season, but we’ll keep a close eye on the tropics. We still have lots of warm water in the tropics…

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