Hurricane Delta To Bring Weekend Impacts to Alabama

Our Friday will be warm and muggy with highs in the mid-80s. Expect more clouds than sun with scattered showers and storms at times. These will become more widespread as we head into tonight as Hurricane Delta will be moving inland across Southern Louisiana.

LATEST ON HURRICANE DELTA: The center of Hurricane Delta was located near latitude 26.9 North, longitude 93.7 West. Delta is moving toward the north near 12 mph, and this motion is expected to continue today followed by a north-northeastward motion by tonight. On the forecast track, the center of Delta will move inland within the hurricane warning area this evening.

Maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph with higher gusts. Delta is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Slow weakening is expected to begin as Delta approaches the northern Gulf coast later today, with rapid weakening expected after the center moves inland. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 160 miles. The estimated minimum central pressure based on data from the Air Force Hurricane Hunters and NOAA buoy 42002 is 953 mb (28.15 inches).

The official NHC forecast has Delta start weakening as it approaches the Southwest Louisiana Coast later today near Lake Charles. This will still be a very dangerous storm as it is expected to be category 2 hurricane at landfall.

STAY WEATHER AWARE SATURDAY: Tomorrow will be a wet and breezy day for the state, but the core of the really heavy rain and wind associated with Hurricane Delta will be to the west, over Mississippi, closer to the center of circulation. However, we are going to be feeling the impacts from Delta through the day.

RAINFALL: Potential rainfall will vary across the state with totals in the 1-3 inches expected, with the higher totals over the northwestern corner of the state. For much of Central and South Alabama, around an inch is expected for most locations. Flooding is NOT Expected to be an issue.

WINDS: Winds tomorrow across Alabama will generally be in the 15-25 mph range, with a few gusts to 35 mph possible over the western counties.

TORNADOES: With any land falling tropical system, especially east of the center of circulation, you do have the risk for a couple of brief, isolated tornadoes. These will be possible Saturday, and the SPC has all of Alabama highlighted in a “marginal risk” (level 1/5) for this threat.

Again this threat is very low, but not zero, it all depends on the amount of surface based instability that develops.

Rain will end from southwest to northeast during the day Sunday; highs over the weekend will be in the upper 70s to low 80s for most communities.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Saturday, Auburn hosts Arkansas (3:00p CT kickoff) at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Periods of rain are likely during the game, with a south wind of 10-20 mph. Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 70s.

The kickoff time for the Alabama at Ole Miss football game to be played Saturday in Oxford has been changed to 6:30 pm Central Time due to Hurricane Delta. The game was originally scheduled to start at 5 pm CT. The change in start time was made to provide a forecast for better game conditions. The weather will still be windy and wet due to the remnant circulation of Delta being nearby; with some rain and winds in the 15-35 mph range.

NEXT WEEK: Monday will be warm and dry with a high in the 80s, then a cold front on Tuesday passes through. Moisture will be very limited, so it looks to come through in dry fashion. For the rest of the week, expect very nice weather to return with sunny days and clear cool nights. Highs will be around 80°, while lows in the 50s.

ELSEWHERE IN THE TROPICS: A tropical wave located several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands continues to produce disorganized showers and a few thunderstorms. The wave is expected to move generally westward or west-northwestward at about 15 mph. Environmental conditions could be conducive for some gradual development of the system this weekend or early next week while it is located over the tropical Atlantic, well east of the Lesser Antilles. Upper-level winds are forecast to become unfavorable for further development by the middle of next week. Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 percent. Again, hurricane season runs through the end of November, and we are not done naming storms just yet…

Have a great day!
Ryan