Blistering Weekend Heat

TODAY AND THE WEEKEND: Dry air is in place and that means we got no rain in the forecast and we are in store for more late summer heat. Expect sunny, hot days and fair nights; the high will be in the mid 90s today, followed by upper 90s and low 100s Saturday and Sunday.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school games tonight, the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from the upper 80s at kickoff, into the mid 70s by the final whistle.

Saturday, Alabama hosts New Mexico State at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa (3p CT kickoff)… it will be a sizzling afternoon with a kickoff temperature near 98 degrees, falling into the low 90s by the fourth quarter. The sky will be mostly sunny.

Auburn will host Tulane Saturday evening (6:30p CT kickoff)… the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from 90 degrees at kickoff into the upper 70s by the final whistle.

NEXT WEEK: It looks like this dry pattern continues through much of next week with little hope for a widespread rain event. We could see a few showers Tuesday through Friday, but most likely they will be pretty isolated, and prospects of beneficial rain don’t look good, through the end of the week. The heat lingers too with mid and upper 90s expected through midweek.

HURRICANE DORIAN: At 500 AM EDT, the center of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 34.6 North, longitude 76.2 West. Dorian is moving toward the northeast near 14 mph and this general motion with an increase in forward speed is expected through Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Dorian will move near or over the coast of North Carolina during the next several hours. The center should move to the southeast of extreme southeastern New England tonight and Saturday morning, and then across Nova Scotia late Saturday or Saturday night.

Maximum sustained winds are near 90 mph with higher gusts. Dorian should remain a powerful hurricane as it moves near or along the coast of North Carolina during the next several hours. Dorian is forecast to become a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds by Saturday night as it approaches Nova Scotia.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 220 miles. A NOAA weather station at Cape Lookout, North Carolina, located inside the western eyewall of Dorian has reported sustained hurricane-force winds of 74 mph and a gust to 94 mph. This is equivalent to a 1-minute sustained wind speed of 81 mph. A Weatherflow station at Fort Macon near Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, recently reported a sustained wind of 64 mph and a gust to 85 mph.

The estimated minimum central pressure based on data from the Air Force Hurricane Hunters and surface observations is 956 mb (28.23 inches).

GABRIELLE: At 500 AM AST, the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle was located near latitude 25.5 North, longitude 37.6 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the northwest near 12 mph. A turn to the west-northwest with a slight increase in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days. A decrease in forward speed and a turn to the north are forecast to occur by Sunday morning.

Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph with higher gusts. Gabrielle is expected to weaken into a post-tropical remnant low by tonight. Thereafter, slow strengthening is expected to occur over the weekend, and the remnants of Gabrielle is forecast to regenerate into a tropical cyclone at that time.

Post-tropical Cyclone Gabrielle, located over 1000 miles southwest of the Azores, is expected to regenerate into a tropical cyclone within the next couple of days as the system moves west-northwestward at 17 mph over the open Atlantic. Formation chance through 48 hours…high…70 percent.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 mb (29.65 inches).

Also in the tropics:

1. A small low pressure system is located about 400 miles northeast of Bermuda. Shower activity has diminished, and further development of this system not anticipated due to unfavorable upper level winds caused by Hurricane Dorian. Formation chance through 5 days…low…near 0 percent.

2. Disorganized showers and thunderstorms located several hundred miles east of the Leeward Islands are associated with a tropical wave. Development, if any, of this system will be slow to occur while it moves slowly northwestward. Formation chance through 5 days…low…10 percent.

3. A low pressure system located near the southern Cabo Verde Islands is producing a small area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms, mainly to the west of the center. Little if any development of this disturbance is expected for the next couple of days, but environmental conditions are expected to become for a tropical depression form early next week while the system moves westward across the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Enhanced rainfall is possible across the Cabo Verde Islands through today while the low moves across the area. Formation chance through 48 hours…low…20 percent. Formation chance through 5 days…high…70 percent.

Next names up on the list are Humberto, Imelda, and Jerry.

Have a great day and wonderful weekend!
Ryan