Warmer Afternoons, Before Weekend Cold Front
Today will be sunny and dry and temperatures will be on the way up. Most locations across South/Central Alabama should be on average ten degrees warmer than yesterday, so that should mean lower to mid 70s. On Friday, clouds will begin to increase, but the day should be dry with mid and upper 70s for highs. By Friday night, rain should begin to move into West Alabama, but most of the high school games should be able to get played before the rain moves in; some exceptions would be in the western locations. The sky will be cloudy with temperatures falling from the upper 60s at kickoff to near 60 by the final whistle.
RAW SATURDAY: Rain becomes widespread after midnight Friday night; some thunder is possible and there is a “marginal” threat for severe weather. Rain continues into Saturday morning, then ending from west to east by afternoon. The latest guidance is a little faster, suggesting the bulk of the rain for the state comes from midnight Friday night to around noon Saturday. But, light rain or drizzle could linger into the afternoon hours, Saturday will be cloudy, cold, and blustery with temperatures around the 60 degree mark all day along with wind chill index values down in the low 50s. It is going to be feeling more like winter compared to mid fall.
COLD SUNDAY: We drop into the upper 30s early Sunday, and it still looks like there will enough wind to prevent widespread frost from forming. Sunday will be partly to mostly sunny with a high in the upper 50s to lower 60s and breezy conditions, once again making it feel colder than the actual temperatures.
FROSTY MONDAY MORNING: This will be the coldest morning and more than likely when we see areas of frost. Overnight Sunday into Monday, the wind will be near calm and the sky will be clear; these conditions will allow morning temperatures to drop into the 31-38 degree range across South/Central Alabama.
REST OF NEXT WEEK: Monday and Tuesday will be cool and dry with highs in the 60s. Overnight will be on the way up as well with 40s on Tuesday. It still looks as though our next rainmaker will arrive midweek, so we are going to go ahead and mention the chance for showers on Wednesday, Wednesday night and likely Thursday. The GFS is showing lows in the 50s, with highs in the 60s these days.
IN THE TROPICS: Showers and thunderstorms associated with a broad area of low pressure located over the western Caribbean Sea and Central America are gradually becoming better organized. Close proximity to land is likely to limit development of this system on Thursday. However, environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for the system to become more organized Friday and Saturday as it moves slowly northward over the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Strong upper-level winds associated with an approaching cold front will make conditions less favorable by Sunday. Regardless of development, locally heavy rains are likely over portions of Central America and Cuba during the next several days. Formation chance through 5 days…40 percent.
Have a phenomenal fall Thursday!
Ryan
