Strong thunderstorms with gusty winds, intense lightning likely Friday evening

Impact Weather: strong storms blow through Alabama Friday afternoon and evening ahead of a cool front. That sets up a weekend with less humidity and fewer storms through next week. Check the video forecast for the latest.IMPACT DAYThis air is ripe for storms. Birmingham’s morning low temperature Friday was only 82°F: the single warmest minimum temperature for a day on record since 1896 (if it stands through midnight).A cold front moving into this soupy air stirs up several waves of thunderstorms through Friday evening and into early Saturday morning.The most intense storms occur before midnight: What kind of storms? Strong summertime thunderstorms with intense lightning and damaging wind gusts over 60 MPH. Multiple clusters of storms may train over the same geographic areas causing localized flash flooding. When do they happen? Storms build through the evening, lasting through the night and early Saturday morning. The severe weather threat is most prominent before midnight.Coverage of storms will be uneven across Alabama: some get a lot of rain, a few get zero through Saturday morning. SATURDAY AND SUNDAYThe passing cool front slowly pushes the threat of rain south of Interstate 20 through midday Saturday. Another risk of scattered strong storms exists across the southern half of Alabama Saturday, but drier air gradually lowers the humidity, clears the sky, and gets rid of the daily thunderstorm threat to the north of Birmingham.Expect a high in the middle to upper 80s Saturday afternoon: a north wind, partly sunny sky, and a slight (almost unnoticeable humidity drop).Drier air becomes more pronounced Sunday, and you will feel the difference: from the muggy mornings this week to something that is almost comfortable by sunrise Sunday with temperatures in the upper 60s.Sunday afternoon looks sunny, hot, and dry: highs in the 90s with a light north-northeast breeze.DRIER WEATHER NEXT WEEKThe summer storm machine has been running non-stop through July. The National Weather Service in Huntsville issued 58 Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings in July (as of 1 PM Friday). That’s the second-most on record for the first three weeks of the month (2004 had 65).Birmingham’s NWS office triggered 33 warnings: not even close to the record of 77 back in 1995 over the same period but still more than usual. These numbers may change with Friday night’s totals not added yet.Drier air following the weekend cool front cannot keep us ‘cool,’ but it does keep the storms away for a few days. We see no real risk of rain Monday or Tuesday, and the chance for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday is small: accounting for a few relatively small, isolated showers or brief storms that develop in the heat of the day.The kind of weather pattern setting up toward the end of next week and the weekend can sometimes give us sneaky days of above-average thunderstorm action. We’ll keep an eye on it and keep you in the loop on any new details for a given day’s rain chance after next Thursday.CLICK TO SEE THE 7-DAY FORECASTSTAY WEATHER AWAREGet the free WVTM 13 app and turn on the alerts for the latest weather updates in your neighborhood.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.