Wet Start to Work Week

MONDAY/TUESDAY: These two days will feature periods of rain and scattered thunderstorms with some heavy rain and lightning. Expect more clouds than sunshine and highs should continue to hold into the mid to upper 80s. You’ll definitely want to take the umbrella with you to school or work these days.

MIDWEEK FRONT: A surface front will push into Alabama by midweek as an upper trough sets up over the eastern third of the nation. This means northwesterly flow should return to the state, allowing drier air to filter back into the state. For the second half of next week, we are going to be forecasting plenty of sunshine, lower humidity, meaning drier conditions, and very comfortable nights for late August. Dry air heat ups fast and cools off fast, so we should see highs in the lower 90s, but nights will be well down into the 60s. And with the lower humidity levels, the air will be comfortable.

TROPICAL STORM DORIAN: At 500 AM AST, the center of Tropical Storm Dorian was located near latitude 11.9 North, longitude 56.4 West. Dorian is moving toward the west near 14 mph. A turn toward the west-northwest is expected later today, with this motion continuing through Tuesday night. On the forecast track, the center of Dorian is expected to be near the Windward Islands late today and tonight and move into the eastern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 60 mph with higher gusts. Slow strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and Dorian could be near hurricane strength on Tuesday and and Wednesday while it is over the eastern Caribbean Sea. Dorian is a small tropical cyclone. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1002 mb (29.59 inches). Certainly something to watch this week, and too early to know Dorian could be an issue for the U.S.

ELSEWHERE IN THE TROPICS: An elongated area of low pressure centered about 280 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina has become a little better organized this morning. Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development, and a tropical or subtropical cyclone is likely to form today or Tuesday while the system moves slowly northeastward well offshore of the southeastern United States. Interests along the coasts of South and North Carolina should continue to monitor the progress of this system. An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate the system later today, if necessary. Formation chance through 48 hours…high…80 percent.

Have a great day!
Ryan