We wrote about lightning and the associated danger in this space yesterday; today we have more reports from the National Weather Service on the storms that rolled through the state Tuesday afternoon…

In Randolph County, traffic lights were destroyed, computers were severely damaged at the Courthouse and the Courthouse Annex, and one house caught fire and burned to the ground. Apparently, all of this was due to intense lightning.

In Calhoun County, the same batch of storms was responsible for bringing down trees and power lines along Alabama 144 between Ohatchee and Alexandria. One tree was blown onto a car in Ohatchee. Calhoun County EMA also reports three house fires due to lightning strikes; those fires were near the Wellington community.

And, down in South Alabama, a church burned to the ground in the Mt. Vernon community; that fire most likely was also started by a lightning strike.

One important point about the afternoon storms of summer… severe thunderstorms are defined based on hail and wind criteria (the hail must be ¾” or larger, or winds must be at 58 mph or higher). The intensity or frequency of lightning is not a factor in severe thunderstorm warnings, and you need to know that “non-severe” storms can often produce the most lightning on a summer afternoon.

We can be thankful that there were no reports of anyone being struck by lightning yesterday; the simple rule is this: when you hear thunder, go inside (even if it is not raining. When the thunder stops, you can go back outside. We will have plenty more days with active thunderstorms this summer… lets all remember lightning safety. In the words of J.B. Elliott… “lightning is frightening”!

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

http://www.jamesspann.com/

As expected, not much is showing up on radar over the northern half of the state this afternoon as drier air takes over. One shower is over Clay County, and a few more over Coosa and Tallapoosa Counties... and that is about it. Temperatures are not as hot as I expected today... seems like a wedge effect is on the map today with cooler temperatures advecting in here from the east. As I type this, our SKYCAM site atop Mt. Cheaha is showing only 81 degrees with an east breeze around 5 mph. The SKYCAM station in downtown Birmingham is only at 88 degrees, well below the high temperature levels I forecast today. Hey, nobody is complaining.

You can see images and weather data from all our SKYCAM sites here:

http://www.abc3340.com/static/skycams/skycamsmain.html

TOMORROW/FRIDAY: The chance of rain will remain very small tomorrow and Friday. Any afternoon showers will be isolated, and I think the mercury will find its way back into the mid 90s.

WEEKEND PREVIEW: While showers and storms should remain scarce on Saturday, they should begin to increase a bit by Sunday afternoon. Highs over the weekend should be in the 91 to 95 degree range for most places.

NEXT WEEK: A surface front will bring a good chance of showers and storms by Monday afternoon or Monday night. The latest GFS (12Z run) pushes that front all the way to near Mobile by Tuesday, so for now Tuesday and Wednesday look dry for the northern half of the state.

TROPICS: The system off the southern Atlantic coast looks a little better this afternoon. A tropical depression could form, but the chance of this growing into a major system is unlikely since shear over the system will increase by Friday. It should drift toward the southern North Carolina coast over the next two days. The small low over the Gulf of Mexico is rather inactive at this time.

I will have the next map discussion video posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow! Enjoy your Wednesday evening...

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

http://www.jamesspann.com/

Scroll down and read J.B.'s rainfall roundup from yesterday... a large percentage of Alabama received beneficial rain yesterday and last night. My total in northern Shelby County was 0.47", but at ABC 33/40 in Riverchase the total was only 0.01".

DRIER DAYS: In the wake of the storms yesterday and last night, looks like showers and storms will be fairly scarce over the northern half of the state today and tomorrow. Hey, this is mid-August and there is always a chance of an afternoon storm, but they should be few and far between thanks to the building upper air ridge, and drier air slipping in from the north. And remember drier air heats more effectively; most communities should reach the mid 90s today and tomorrow.

WEEKEND PEEK: Afternoon showers and storms should return over the weekend, especially Sunday when another front will approach from the north. The 00Z run of the GFS stalls the front near the Alabama/Tennessee border by Monday and Tuesday of next week, when we should fairly decent coverage of afternoon thunderstorms.

LONG RANGE: The 00Z GFS shows a cool upper trough from Michigan to North Alabama in the August 26-27 time frame; if that happens to be correct that should push a front all the way down to the northern Gulf and give us lower humidity and cooler nights. Sounds nice. Then, at the end of the month the model hints at some kind of tropical system rolling from the southeast Gulf up into Alabama. That is probably bogus.

TROPICS: It has been a real struggle for our tropical waves this season. They are acting like this is an El-Nino year, with stronger winds aloft blowing the tops off the developing waves. The dry Sahara layer has also been a factor, seemingly. We have "backyard" areas worth watching in the northern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, just east of Georgia. The system in the Gulf really flared yesterday afternoon, but it looks rather disorganized this morning. That disturbance should drift southwest, in the general direction of Texas, in coming days.

The Atlantic system continues to have a hard time getting its act together. If something happens to form there the steering currents are very weak and it probably won't move much for the next four to five days. Seems like winds aloft will be incrasing over that system by the end of the week, which will lessen the chance of anything big popping there.

But again I caution you not to blow off this tropical system. We have many readers in coastal areas, and the core of the season is just beginning.

I sure enjoyed being at the PEAK Awards last night, put on by the Birmngham Ad Federation. Nice to see lots of old friends; the big award winner was Shelley Stewart of O2 Ideas. He is a real Birmingham treasure; I strongly recommend reading his book, "The Road South". His story is a remarkable one of courage, and overcoming unthinkable obstacles. Shelley and his partner John Zimmerman are a unique pair that have built quite an advertising/PR agency; one of the largest in the nation.

I will have a somewhat normal schedule today; the map discussion video will be posted by 3:30, and I will be on ABC 33/40 at 5, 6, and 10:00 tonight. Thanks to Brian Peters for covering the 5:00 and 6:00 weather segments last night!