Few, if any showers over the entire north half of Alabama late on this Monday afternoon.

The ones over the south half are very widely separated.

Heating up again. Most temperatures across Alabama were in the low to mid 90s...with 91 to 93 prevailing.

So much for the nice high Sunday of only 84 in Huntsville and Birmingham and only 80 in Alexander City.

Last time it was that "cool" in Bimingham was 60 days ago--way back on June 13.

By mid afternoon today it was:

92 in Huntsville and Birmingham
93 in Montgomery
95 in Tuscaloosa

Not many thunderstorms across the state this afternoon. Very few over the north half. Slightly more over the south half but still a lot of miles between each one.

The thermometer is as stubborn as can be. About ready to throw it out and get a new one, if that would make it a little cooler.

The Monday afternoon map discussion video is on the web, and available on iTunes:

http://www.jamesspann.com/

Again a reminder the video is available in both Windows Media and Quicktime format. Just follow the link to the main jamesspann.com page above and you can see both versions there. And, iTunes is always the third option. Take your pick.

The video and blog discussion is coming a little early today; see the morning post about my 2:00 p.m. appointment in Tuscaloosa. I am looking forward to seeing my friends there. Wish I had time for lunch at the City Cafe in Northport!

TODAY: Visible satellite images show the western third of the state is bathed in sunshine right now, while the clouds are thicker on the eastern side of the state. We have a few showers in East Alabama under those clouds. Showers for the rest of the day should remain fairly isolated, but the differential heating between the sunny west and the cloudy east could bring some healthy storms up later along the I-65 corridor.

MID-WEEK: A surface front will approach Alabama tomorrow night, and we should see an increase in the number of scattered afternoon showers and storms. The new 12Z version of the GFS continues to push the front down to near I-59 on Wednesday, and that means places like Cullman, Hamilton, Muscle Shoals, and Huntsville might get into drier air with no rain at all on Wednesday. We will continue to mention a chance of scattered showers and storms from Gadsden, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa southward. That front should dissipate on Thursday, and scattered, mainly afternoon storms will be possible statewide. Afternoon temperatures during the mid-week period should pretty close to 90 degrees, or maybe a degree or two warmer in spots.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY-SUNDAY: No real reason to depart from the normal summer forecast. Yep, we get really tired of saying and typing "scattered, mainly afternoon showers and thunderstorms", but that tells the story on most summer days in Alabama. That is why the headline here says "Looking Forward To Fall"... c'mon October. Highs for the weekend should generally be in the low 90s.

The GFS does advertise another weakening surface front approaching by Monday of next week which might enhance the number of showers and storms by then.

TROPICS: Two hot spots... one is east of Daytona Beach and just north of the Bahamas; pressures are falling now and a tropical depression seems to be forming. That thing might stay out there for a while since the steering currents have collapsed. The other one is in the far eastern Atlantic between the Cape Verde Islands and the coast of Africa. Needless to say that one is way out there, but we will keep an eye on it. It could become a tropical depression.

I am amazed at the quality of digital pictures we see almost every day...we post as many as we can here on the blog. Thanks to all of you who take the time to share with us. Check out the three images below this post.

The next map discussion video will be posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow....

From our weather watcher in Black Creek (northeast of Gadsden) in Etowah County, Vic Bell:

It's already looking like fall around here. I'm afraid many of these trees will die next year because of the effects of this summers weather. This is on Tabor Rd. 15 miles NE of Gadsden, near the Etowah / Cherokee County line.

What a great shot of the sun going down over the Black Warrior River... this was taken in Jefferson County by Brian Edwards...

Thanks to Michael Mills of Alabaster for this great image of a sunset over the weekend:

This note came in this morning from Steve Jones in Huntsville about a great event this weekend up in the Tennessee Valley:

Hi James,

You might be interested in knowing, and passing along
to the abc33/40 weather blog readers in this area,
information about the Huntsville Hamfest that will be
held this coming weekend, August 19-20, in the South
Hall of the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville.

There will be the usual large Dealer Show and Flea
Market, and among the 29 forums currently planned for
the event, a few that might be of particular interest
to the weather bloggers:

"2005 Ham Radio Hurricane Response Review"
(Greg Sarratt, W4OZK and Steven Smith, KG5VK)

"ARRL ARES Emergency Communications"
(Jay Isbell, KA4KUN, Alabama SEC)

"APRS Forum" (Tim Cunningham, N8DEU)
Digipeaters, Internet Gateways, and Weather Stations!

"SKYWARN Forum" (Don Smith, KI4FMD)

"Lightning Protection for the Radio Amateur" (Dr.
Monte Bateman, Thunderstorm Physicist, NASA Marshall
Space Flight Center)

There is complete information on the Huntsville
Hamfest website at http://www.hamfest.org. I hope
to see you this weekend, I'll be working some of the
Talk-in at K4BFT on 146.34/94...give us a shout for
travel / driving assistance.

73s,
Steve Jones N4HF

About a week ago, we posted information from Melissa Smith, Tuscaloosa, who had a dog lost in the general vicinity of BMC/Montcalir Medical Center in Birmingham. (Now Trinity Medical Center)

As I mentioned before, if this was my Little Miss Molly missing, I would not be able to sleep at night.

Munchkin, the dog is still lost. Here is an update from Melissa including the link to a web site:
----------------------------------
J.B.,
I wanted to let you know that we are still looking for our dog, Munchkin. We have been walking the neighborhoods near Montclair Medical Center, and we have put out flyers and posters. We even did a postcard mailing to all households within a mile of where she was lost.

We now have a Web site where people can go for more information. It's: www.FindMunchkin.com

People can find the contact information at this site, as well as additional photos and a story about her life and family.

This is agonizing for us. We're depending on people in the area to contact us if they see her. We've driven from Tuscaloosa up there almost every day and walked and walked and called and called. We now wonder if she has found a kind soul who is providing her with food and water. If so, we are so very grateful.

We just want her home.

If you can pass along any of this information to your friends or through the Weather blog, we would appreciate it. You don't know how special it is to us that complete strangers are donating their time to looking for our dog.

Thank you for your help.

Melissa Smith

The Monday morning map discussion video is on the web and available on iTunes:

http://www.jamesspann.com/

Anyone remember the Mamas and Papas?

"Monday, monday (ba-da ba-da-da-da)
So good to me (ba-da ba-da-da-da)
Monday mornin, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh monday mornin, monday mornin couldnt guarantee (ba-da ba-da-da-da)
That monday evenin you would still be here with me

Monday, monday, cant trust that day
Monday, monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh monday mornin you gave me no warnin of what was to be
Oh monday, monday, how could you leave and not take me"

Gotta love those ba-da ba-da-da-das...

What a nice break from the heat over the weekend. Saturday's high in Birmingham was 89, and the high yesterday was 84. Nice wedge from the east; the front moved all the way to the Mississippi line.

TODAY: The backdoor (or wedge) front will dissipate today, but it still looks like any storms will be over the western half of the state, and they should be pretty isolated with most spots staying dry. The mercury should rise back into the low 90s, where we should be this time of the year.

MID-WEEK: Another surface front will approach from the north, and by Wednesday it should be close to I-59 (Fort Payne to Birmingham to Tuscaloosa). The front will probably wash out on Thursday in that general area. So, we will mention scattered, mainly afternoon and evening showers and storms tomorrow through Thursday with that surface boundary approaching and hanging around. We should be in the low 90s tomorrow, and close to 90 on Wednesday and Thursday.

FRIDAY/SATURDAY/SUNDAY: Once again, as I often write here, it really doesn't pay to be too cute in the longer ranges this time of the year, since many of our weather changes are mesoscale (small scale), and not on the larger (synoptic scale). We will do the ole summer broad brush for Friday and the weekend: morning sun and the risk of a passing afternoon shower or storm in scattered spots. Afternoon highs close to 90 degrees.

TROPICS: A tropical wave is moving through the Windward Islands this morning... not much convection so far. All of the systems have really struggled in this area this month with strong winds aloft; I am not totally sure this thing can get its act together, but we will keep an eye on it.

Another surface low is forming east of Fort Lauderdale, and just north of the Bahamas. That thing will probably meander around all week with very little steering current; it has some chance to develop into a tropical cyclone.

Lots of noise from those calling the 2006 hurricane season a bust... I would hold that nose until November and we can review everything then. We still have a long, long way to go.

TODAY: I will be down in Tuscaloosa today for this event:

Officials from NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) will recognize Tuscaloosa County, Alabama for renewing its “StormReady” status again on Monday, August 14 at 2 pm, in front of the Tuscaloosa County Commission Meeting at the City Council Chambers, Northport City Hall, 3500 McFarland Boulevard, in Northport, Alabama. Local officials from the county, including the Honorable Judge Hardy McCollum, Probate Judge and Chairman of the Tuscaloosa County Commission, the Honorable Mayor Harvey Fretwell, city of Northport, the Honorable Mayor Walter Maddox, city of Tuscaloosa, and Tuscaloosa County’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director David Hartin. NWS representatives will also be present. Co - keynote speakers at this event will be James Spann, Chief Meteorologist, ABC 33/40 Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston, and Wes Wyatt, Chief Meteorologist, WVUA 7 Tuscaloosa. This will again place Tuscaloosa County among the NWS’s “StormReady” communities.

This is special to me since I really developed my interest in weather as a volunteer for the Tuscaloosa County EMA (called Civil Defense back then) as a kid in the 1970s. I know most of these folks very well and looking forward to being with them today. With that 2:00 time, I will be posting the afternoon map discussion video late this morning... probably by 12:00 noon. Most of the 12Z model guidance should be in the house by then.