Alabama's weather feels more like September through midweek, but it does not last long.

1 year ago 28

Cool again tonight but hotter days return soon

I WALKED OUT THIS MORNING AND DARE I SAY, IT FELT A LITTLE COOL AND REFRESHING OUT THERE. WE LOVE IT. IT WAS AS COOL AS THE MID 50S AND ONEONTA THIS MORNING. FORT PAYNE VALLEY HEAD. THE TYPICAL COOLER SPOTS AROUND HERE THIS AFTERNOON. IT’S GOTTEN WARM, BUT IT IS NOTHING LIKE IT WAS JUST A FEW DAYS AGO. GOT SUNSHINE RIGHT NOW IN SHELBY COUNTY TONIGHT WE’LL BE DROPPING DOWN TO ABOUT 70 JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT IN THE BIRMINGHAM AREA, 64 EARLY IN THE MORNING WITH THE MOSTLY SUNNY SKY. AND THEN TOMORROW AFTERNOON, A NICE WARM DAY, DAYTIME, HIGH TEMPERATURES BETWEEN ABOUT 85 AND 88 DEGREES RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN. I THINK OUR OFFICIAL HIGH PROBABLY CLOSER TO 88. BUT THE MAJORITY OF US PROBABLY HOVERING THERE CLOSER TO 85, 86 FOR MOST OF THE AFTERNOON. A HANDFUL OF SPOTS STILL MAY TOUCH THE UPPER 50S EARLY IN THE MORNING, LIKE TALLADEGA, INDIANA, AND THEN A FEW COMMUNITIES JUST OUTSIDE GADSDEN UP ON LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN AND THEN SOME OF THE VALLEYS UP IN CHEROKEE COUNTY TO JUST NORTH OF GAYLESVILLE, UP TOWARD BROOMTOWN. AND THE REST OF US, WE START TO COME UP A DEGREE OR 262 AT JEMISON, 64 AT NORTHPORT AKRON FORKLAND, RIGHT AROUND 62 TO 63. AND THEN TOMORROW AFTERNOON, THE FARTHER SOUTH YOU ARE, THE WARMER IT IS. THE FARTHER NORTH YOU ARE. I WON’T SAY COOLER, BUT THIS IS PRETTY NICE. 82 AT ONEONTA, 85 AT MOODY, 82. AROUND HALEYVILLE 81 AT VINEMONT AND MID 80S AROUND SOUTH SIDE AND SAME THING AROUND MOST OF CALHOUN COUNTY. THINGS ARE DRY AROUND HERE NOW. DON’T EXPECT ANY RAIN ANYTIME SOON. IN FACT, THE COLD FRONT THAT CAME THROUGH HERE YESTERDAY HAS CLEARED OUT ALL 67 COUNTIES OF ALABAMA FOR MANY THREAT OF SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS HERE IN THE SHORT TERM, THE FRONT IS HUNG UP HERE CLOSE TO THE EAST COAST. SO THERE’S A LOT OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVER FLORIDA. AND THEN UP TOWARD THE CAROLINAS. BUT THERE’S NOTHING OF A TROPICAL NATURE JUST YET. EVEN THOUGH WE ARE BEGINNING TO WORK OUR WAY UP TOWARD THE PEAK OF HURRICANE SEASON WITHIN THE NEXT 20 DAYS, THAT PEAK IS USUALLY RIGHT AROUND SEPTEMBER 10TH TO SEPTEMBER 15TH. AND HERE WE FIND OURSELVES ON THE UPSWING AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE MAY START TO SEE SOME ACTIVITY IN THE GULF OF MEXICO WITHIN THE NEXT TEN DAYS OR SO. THE WATER HERE VERY WARM. LOOK AT THIS ALL THESE DEEP REDS AND BLACKS CORRESPONDING TO 80 TO 90 DEGREES. SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES. AND THAT IS SOME SERIOUS FUEL SHOULD SOMETHING DEVELOP HERE. BUT AT THIS MOMENT, THE RISK SEEMS FAIRLY LOW, ABOUT A 20% CHANCE THAT A TROPICAL WAVE GETS IN HERE AND SPINS UP INTO AT LEAST A TROPICAL DEPRESSION, A GREATER CHANCE THAT TWO WAVES OUT IN THE ATLANTIC, WHICH WILL NOT BE ISSUES FOR THE UNITED STATES, DEVELOP WITHIN THE NEXT 4 OR 5 DAYS. BIG AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE, A RIDGE DEVELOPING OVER THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTRY. AND LOOK, WE ARE JUST SWEPT CLEAN OF ANY SIGNIFICANT RAIN GOING FORWARD THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. I CAN’T SAY IT’S A 0% CHANCE OF RAIN, BUT MOST OF US NOT A DROP OF IT. AND YOU’LL BE WISHING YOU COULD HAVE SOME WITH HIGHS BACK IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S EARLY

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Cool again tonight but hotter days return soon

Alabama gets another beautiful, comfortable night before summertime heat and humidity build into the next heat wave in the days ahead. Temperatures could approach 100°F again as early as the weekend. Check the video forecast for the latest.NICE NIGHT, TOASTY THURSDAYWednesday morning’s low temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s made for the coolest night in over two months. We get close to that level again tonight, but the heat and humidity rebound quickly for the rest of the week.Expect early morning low temperatures in the 60s Thursday, and we warm to the middle and upper 80s under a mostly sunny sky. The north breeze keeps humidity lower, too.DRY SPELL UPON USAlabama’s State Climatologist Dr. John Christy says of our state (especially this time of year):"Our hydrologic cycle is much faster than elsewhere in the country. Our ecosystem is like an F-15 fighter jet – fast but with a small fuel tank. In the Midwest with their deep water-holding soils, they are like a long-haul cargo plane, slow but with a big fuel tank. The F-15 will run out of gas in a hurry and crash – just like our shallow-rooted vegetation.”The green grass and flourishing crops will show the change very soon. Much drier weather sets in for the second half of August.We see no real threat of rain whatsoever through Saturday and Sunday, and even next week’s odds of rain stay very small. That's all thanks to a strong ridge building over the middle of the country through early next week. Ridges do two primary things: keep it hot and keep it dry. Stay on top of irrigation for your lawn and garden through the next few days as the strong summer sun quickly starts "zapping" the moist ground: leaving us much hotter and much drier in the days ahead.HEAT WAVE NEXT WEEKOur September sneak peek is short-lived.Humidity sneaks up again Friday and Saturday, and temperatures rise with it. We’re back to the 90s going into the weekend with a heat index near 100 degrees.Sunday starts an upswing in the heat that may bring some of Central Alabama’s hottest weather of the year (highest air temperatures at least). It will all depend on wind direction and tropical influence.A north wind off the land makes us hotter early next week: potentially 100 degrees to 103 degrees for 3 to 5 days. A slight shift to the northeast allows some tropical influence from the Atlantic: more clouds, showers, and less heat.The 'ridge' setting up the dry spell pumps up the temperature and potentially helps spark some tropical activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center is watching the Gulf with a low chance of tropical cyclone formation over the next seven days:Regardless of that, the daily pounding of severe storms is over for now, and more typical (hot, dry) August weather sets in for the rest of the month. CLICK TO SEE THE 7-DAY FORECASTSTAY WEATHER AWARE For the latest Birmingham weather information and central Alabama's certified most accurate forecast, watch WVTM 13 News.Current Weather ConditionsHourly Forecast | 10-Day ForecastInteractive RadarBirmingham SkycamsLive Doppler RadarSign Up For Email Weather AlertsDownload the WVTM 13 AppDon't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

NICE NIGHT, TOASTY THURSDAY

Wednesday morning’s low temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s made for the coolest night in over two months. We get close to that level again tonight, but the heat and humidity rebound quickly for the rest of the week.

alabama weather forecast

Expect early morning low temperatures in the 60s Thursday, and we warm to the middle and upper 80s under a mostly sunny sky. The north breeze keeps humidity lower, too.

DRY SPELL UPON US

Alabama’s State Climatologist Dr. John Christy says of our state (especially this time of year):

"Our hydrologic cycle is much faster than elsewhere in the country. Our ecosystem is like an F-15 fighter jet – fast but with a small fuel tank. In the Midwest with their deep water-holding soils, they are like a long-haul cargo plane, slow but with a big fuel tank. The F-15 will run out of gas in a hurry and crash – just like our shallow-rooted vegetation.”

The green grass and flourishing crops will show the change very soon. Much drier weather sets in for the second half of August.

We see no real threat of rain whatsoever through Saturday and Sunday, and even next week’s odds of rain stay very small.

alabama weather forecast

That's all thanks to a strong ridge building over the middle of the country through early next week. Ridges do two primary things: keep it hot and keep it dry.

alabama weather forecast dry heat wave

Stay on top of irrigation for your lawn and garden through the next few days as the strong summer sun quickly starts "zapping" the moist ground: leaving us much hotter and much drier in the days ahead.

HEAT WAVE NEXT WEEK

Our September sneak peek is short-lived.

Humidity sneaks up again Friday and Saturday, and temperatures rise with it. We’re back to the 90s going into the weekend with a heat index near 100 degrees.

Sunday starts an upswing in the heat that may bring some of Central Alabama’s hottest weather of the year (highest air temperatures at least). It will all depend on wind direction and tropical influence.

A north wind off the land makes us hotter early next week: potentially 100 degrees to 103 degrees for 3 to 5 days. A slight shift to the northeast allows some tropical influence from the Atlantic: more clouds, showers, and less heat.

The 'ridge' setting up the dry spell pumps up the temperature and potentially helps spark some tropical activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center is watching the Gulf with a low chance of tropical cyclone formation over the next seven days:

tropical weather outlook gulf of mexico

Regardless of that, the daily pounding of severe storms is over for now, and more typical (hot, dry) August weather sets in for the rest of the month.