Mostly Cloudy, Warm, And Breezy Sunday; Still Watching Eta
It was a somewhat gloomy day across central and south Alabama. Clouds were widespread from the get-go, with embedded pockets of light rain. Temperatures still warmed into the 70s, however, and remain rather mild this evening. Expect temperatures to hover in the upper 60s through about midnight. Overnight lows only fall into the low to mid 60s, while the sky remains mostly cloudy. However, our area looks dry overnight.
Sunday may feature more clouds than sun again, but breaks of sunshine may be more frequent than they were Saturday. Winds become breezy out of the northeast again, at around 10 to 15 mph with higher gusts. While there could be a stray shower somewhere in our area, Sunday looks like another mainly dry day. Temperatures warm well into the 70s during the afternoon.
Next week features more November warmth. Monday looks like another mostly cloudy but mainly dry day, with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. Rain chances appear higher starting Tuesday, depending on the eventual track of tropical storm Eta. However, uncertainty is high in the forecast track after it moves into the eastern Gulf early next week. More on that system below. For now, our forecast reflects minimal impacts with the system impacting mainly the central Florida peninsula. If the system remains well to our southeast, the chance for rain stays lower.
However, a front also heads our way from the west around the middle of next week. That could help to increase our rain chance, especially Tuesday and Wednesday. It could also be the factor that keeps Eta well to our southeast. Outside of rain chances, the rest of next week likely features more clouds than sun, but highs still in the low 80s most days. The nights remain quite warm, with lows only in the low to mid 60s.
Eta is moving northeast at 14 miles per hour in the northwest Caribbean this evening. It’s moving north of the Cayman islands towards central Cuba now. As of 6PM Saturday evening, max sustained winds are near 65 mph. The National Hurricane Center forecasts Eta to move over central Cuba Sunday, then turns west towards south Florida or the Florida keys early next week. From there, uncertainty in the forecast track becomes high. However, many models show the storm moving inland somewhere near the central Florida peninsula. If that happens, impacts to our area would be slim to none. However, it’s still too early to know for sure. We’ll continue to monitor Eta’s progress next week.
