Rain and Storms in the Days Ahead
You are certainly going to want to keep the umbrella and rain gear close the rest of this week, as the weather pattern over the state won’t change much. The front will stall out over Central Alabama and washout. This will keep the air mass over Alabama rich in moisture the rest of this week. Each day through Friday, we will forecast scattered to numerous showers and storms with only a limited amount of sun from time to time. Showers and storms will be possible at anytime, and it is impossible to know an exact time when the showers and storms will develop over your location, just be ready for rain at just about any hour of the day, including the late night and morning hours.
Flash flooding could very well become a concern over the latter half of the week as the ground becomes saturated. Rain amounts over the next five days will be in the 2 to 4 inch range for most of the state. No drought worries this year. Additionally, with the clouds and rain, highs will only be in the mid 80s most days…not too bad for early August in Alabama.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Still no real change expected for the weekend as high moisture levels hang around. Both days looks to featured scattered to numerous showers and storms/. With more clouds than sun, highs hold in the 80s. Understand the rain won’t be continuous, but a shower or storm will be possible at just about any hour of the day or night.
TROPICAL STORM FRANKLIN: At 4AM CDT, the center of Tropical Storm Franklin was located by the Belize Weather Service Doppler radar to be near latitude 19.3 North, longitude 88.5 West. Franklin is moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph. A west-northwestward to westward motion is expected during the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the center of Franklin will continue to move across the Yucatan peninsula through today, and emerge over the Bay of Campeche tonight. Franklin will then move westward across the Bay of Campeche on Wednesday. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 50 mph with higher gusts. Weakening is expected while Franklin moves across the Yucatan peninsula today. Restrengthening is forecast to begin tonight and Wednesday while Franklin moves over the Bay of Campeche. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles from the center. Wind gusts to 47 mph in squalls have been measured during the past couple of hours by NOAA Buoy 42056, located more than 200 miles east-northeast of Franklin’s center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 998 mb (29.47 inches).
ELSEWHERE IN THE TROPICS: Our other feature we have been watching out in the Atlantic continues to struggle to gets its act together. Latest update from the NHC has a trough of low pressure located about 900 miles east of the Lesser Antilles continues to produce disorganized cloudiness and showers. Development of this system is not expected during the next few days due to unfavorable environmental conditions. However, some development of this system is possible by late weekend while the system moves west-northwestward at about 15 mph over the western Atlantic
NEXT WEEK: Still no sign of any strong upper high or excessively hot weather. Scattered to numerous showers and storms will continue at least for the first half of the week with highs in the 80s. Models suggest no 90s for the next 10-15 days, with is remarkable for the hottest part of summer.
Have a terrific Tuesday!
Ryan
