A Taste of Fall, Very Active Tropics

WAKA Action 8 News,

Posted: Sep 6, 2017 5:24 AM CDT

TASTE OF FALL: Clouds and lingering showers are possible in the morning, especially over our southern counties, but as the dry, continental air settles into Alabama, we will see a clearing sky and a refreshing north breeze today. Highs will range from the upper 70s to lower 80s. By tonight, under a clear sky, we are going to see our temperatures drop well down into the 50s. Through Sunday, we are forecasting sunny pleasant days and clear, cool nights. Highs in the upper 70s and lower 80s are forecast, while lows will be mostly in the 50s. Some of the cooler pockets across North/Central Alabama could actually visit the upper 40s early Thursday and Friday morning. Sure looks like another great weekend for both high school and college football.

NEXT WEEK: Our forecast will depend on Hurricane Irma’s track and early next week it should be breezy with some chance of rain moving into East Alabama on the backside of Irma. However, most of the state will be dry and pleasant through the week.

NOW TO THE TROPICS: I had a friend ask me when hurricane season ended and shouldn’t we be near the end of it. I informed him it officially last until November 30th, and we are actually in the heart of the season, with the statistical peak on September 10th. Nothing unusual about having several features and storms to talk about this time of year. We’ve got three named storms to discuss.

HURRICANE IRMA: At 500 AM AST, the center of Hurricane Irma was located near latitude 17.9 North, longitude 62.6 West. Irma is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the extremely dangerous core of Irma will move over portions of the northern Leeward Islands this morning, move near or over portions of the northern Virgin Islands later today, and pass near or just north of Puerto Rico this afternoon or tonight. Maximum sustained winds remain near 185 mph (295 km/h) with higher gusts. Irma is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a powerful category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles. St. Martin recently reported a wind gust of 61 mph (98 km/h). The estimated minimum central pressure is 914 mb (26.99 inches).

TROPICAL STORM JOSE: At 500 AM AST, the center of Tropical Storm Jose was located near latitude 12.5 North, longitude 42.8 West. Jose is moving toward the west near 13 mph. A slightly faster west to west-northwest motion is expected during the next two days. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 60 mph with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast, and Jose is expected to become a hurricane by tonight. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1002 mb (29.59 inches).

TROPICAL STORM KATIA: At 400 AM CDT, the center of Tropical Storm Katia was located near latitude 22.1 North, longitude 96.3 West. Katia is moving toward the east-southeast near 2 mph, and the system should gradually turn southeastward during the next 24 hours and continue moving in this general direction through Thursday. A turn toward the southwest is forecast on Friday. On the forecast track, the center of Katia is expected to remain offshore of Mexico through Friday morning. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 40 mph with higher gusts. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1006 mb (29.71 inches).