Front Bringing Fall-Like Mornings Ahead

A front is dropping through the state this morning, and will deliver a nice surge of dry air all the way to the Gulf Coast the next few days. Today will feature a clearing sky, falling humidity, and a northerly breeze. Through Sunday, we are forecasting sunny days, with fair pleasant nights. Highs will be in the mid 80s today and tomorrow, followed by highs closer to 90° over the weekend. Lows will be mostly in the 60s, but most of North/Central Alabama will enjoy a low in the 50s Friday morning.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Expect perfect weather for the high school games across the state Friday night; the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from the upper 70s at kickoff into the upper 60s by the final whistle.

Saturday, Auburn hosts Alabama State at Jordan-hare Stadium (11a CT kickoff)… look for a sunny sky during the game with temperatures rising from near 84 degrees at kickoff to around 87 by the fourth quarter.

Alabama will host Mercer at Bryant-Denny Stadium (3p CT kickoff)… the sky will be sunny with temperatures falling from 88 degrees at kickoff to near 80 degrees by the end of the game.

INTO NEXT WEEK: By Monday scattered showers will return to the forecast. Showers and thunderstorms will become a bit more widespread the rest of the week on a daily basis through Friday. Highs much of next week will be in the upper 80s to low 90s, which is right where they should be this time of year.

IN THE TROPICS: The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Hurricane Larry, located over the western Atlantic a few hundred miles
east-southeast of Bermuda, and on Tropical Storm Mindy, located inland over northern Florida.

1. The northern portion of a tropical wave over the western Caribbean Sea is forecast to emerge over the southern Bay of Campeche on Saturday. Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive to support some gradual development of the system before it moves into mainland Mexico early next week. Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 percent.

2. A strong tropical wave is expected to emerge off of the west coast of Africa on Saturday. Environmental conditions are forecast to be conducive for development thereafter, and a tropical depression could form by early next week as it moves west-northwestward over the far eastern Atlantic near the Cabo Verde Islands. Formation chance through 5 days…medium…50 percent.

HURRICANE LARRY: The center of Hurricane Larry was located near latitude 30.9 North, longitude 61.1 West. Larry is moving toward the north-northwest near 16 mph, and a turn toward the north-northwest and north with an increase in forward speed is forecast today, with a faster northeastward motion expected by Friday. On the forecast track, the center of Larry should pass east of Bermuda today, and move near or over southeastern Newfoundland Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is forecast during the next couple of days, but Larry is expected to remain a hurricane during that time. Larry should become an extratropical cyclone early Saturday, after passing by Newfoundland, then weaken further while it passes southeast of Greenland Sunday night. Larry is expected to be absorbed by a larger baroclinic system east of Greenland Monday. Larry remains very large, with Hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 90 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 220 miles from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 969 mb (28.62 inches).

TROPICAL DEPRESSION MINDY: The center of Tropical Depression Mindy was located near latitude 30.8 North, longitude 83.0 West. The depression is moving toward the northeast near 20 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue today. A slower east-northeastward motion is forecast tonight through Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Mindy is expected to move across southeastern Georgia this morning, and over the western Atlantic by late this morning or early this afternoon.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast through tonight. Gradual weakening is expected on Friday, and Mindy is forecast to become a remnant low by Saturday. The minimum central pressure estimated from surface observations is 1004 mb (29.65 inches).

Have a superior Thursday!!!
Ryan