Lower Humidity on the Way

FRONT PUSHING SOUTH: A front is pushing south through Alabama today and drier air is filtering into the state behind it. The best chance of rain today will be over extreme south Alabama. For much of Central Alabama, the sky will be partly to mostly sunny with highs in the lower 90s. Then tomorrow will be a great-looking day with ample sunshine and low humidity; the morning will be refreshing for late August, as lows early tomorrow morning should be down in the 60s and the high tomorrow afternoon should be in the lower 90s again, but with the lower humidity, it will be fairly comfortable. Thursday night will be another delightful night with lows back into the 60s and Friday will once again see highs in the lower 90s.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Alabama will take on Duke in the Chick Fil A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta (2:30p CT kickoff)… the game will be played indoors (Mercedes Benz Stadium), but outside the sky will be mostly sunny with only isolated showers. Temperatures will peak close to 90 in Atlanta Saturday afternoon.

Auburn travels to Dallas/Fort Worth to take Oregon at AT&T Stadium Saturday evening (7:30p CT kickoff). Temperatures will top out in the mid 90s during the day Saturday with a sunny sky, falling though the 80s during the game.

TROPICAL STORM DORIAN: At 500 AM AST, the center of Tropical Storm Dorian was located near latitude 16.8 North, longitude 63.9 West. Dorian is moving toward the northwest near 13 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue during the next few days. On the forecast track, the center of Dorian will pass over or near the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later today. Dorian is then forecast to move to the east of the Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday, and near or to the east of the central and northwestern Bahamas on Friday and Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph with higher gusts. Some strengthening is expected today, and Dorian is forecast to be near hurricane strength when it approaches the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Although weakening is possible after Dorian moves across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the storm is forecast to strengthen late this week and this weekend while passing near or to the east of the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1003 mb (29.62 inches).

Once the system passes Puerto Rico, it moves through the Bahamas, winding up near St. Augustine, Florida late Saturday night or Sunday morning. From there, the models vary on the track of the system, while some take it up the East Coast, others bring it across the Florida Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico early next week. Impact on Alabama and the Gulf Coast, if any, is simply not known this far in advance. If you have a trip to a place like Panama City Beach, Destin, or Gulf Shores for Labor Day, no need to change plans, but just keep an eye on the blog for updates through the week.

TROPICAL STORM ERIN: At 500 AM EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Erin was near latitude 32.5 North, longitude 72.4 West. Erin is moving toward the north-northwest near 6 mph. The cyclone is expected to turn northward later today then north-northeastward early Thursday morning with an increase in forward speed. Maximum sustained winds remain near 40 mph with higher gusts. Some slight strengthening is possible today, but then gradually weaken Thursday as it completes a transition to an extratropical cyclone. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 mb (29.68 inches).

LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Moisture begins to return to extreme South Alabama Saturday, where showers are possible, but the northern two-thirds of the state will stay dry with a good supply of sunshine. Moisture levels will continue to rise rolling through the weekend and you will feel those higher humidity levels over the weekend. Scattered showers and storms will return to the forecast Sunday and Monday. No “washout”, but know the afternoon and evening hours will feature scattered showers and storms from time to time. Highs over the weekend will range from the upper 80s to lower 90s. Also by late this weekend, Dorian could possibly impact our forecasts, so changes could certainly be made in the coming days depending on what Dorian does, but still a lot of time to watch this system.

REST OF NEXT WEEK: Once again, the early part of the week depends on what Dorian does, but for the most part, the first week of September looks pretty routine with partly to mostly sunny days and the daily risk of scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be generally in the lower 90s, which is pretty close to average for the early September.

Have a great day!
Ryan