At 4 o'clock this afternoon the temperature in Chamberlin, South Dakota was a blistering 110 degrees but it was accompanied by SW winds gusting to 32 mph.

Ever felt conditions like that? It is almost like standing in the door of a blast furnace. Well, maybe not that bad.

I was filling the family station wagon with gasoline one afternoon east of Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle. It was 106 degrees at the time with south winds gusting to at least 30 with visibility about one mile in blowing dust. A thunderstorm was developing overhead but it was so dry that only a few big drops of rain came down. But they were brown drops because of the whirling dust. When I got back in the car, there were little brown rings on my arms where the "muddy" raindrops had dried quickly.

Other late afternoon notes...

The Desert SW not so hot today. At 4 pm (Alabama time) it was "only" 96 in Las Vegas, 97 in Palm Springs and 98 in Phoenix. Of course, those are not the final highs. Other 4 o'clock temperatures selected at random:

101 in Denver
105 in Omaha
97 in Des Moines
82 in Chicago
105 in LaJunta, Colorado

HERE IN ALABAMA
These are the highest temperatures noted this afternoon based only on hourly reports. Keep in mind that the highest temperature may have occurred between hours and those highs will be available later this evening.

93 in Birmingham, Anniston, Muscle Shoals, Huntsville, Alexander City
94 at Shelby County Airport
95 in Decatur and Montgomery
97 in Tuscaloosa

OTHERS...

97 in Tupelo and Memphis
95 in Meridian
99 in Columbus, Mississippi

The seventh tropical depression of the 2005 hurricane season is forming over the Bay of Campeche. Here is the latest information from the National Hurricane Center:

SATELLITE DATA INDICATE THE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ASSOCIATED
WITH THE LARGE AREA OF DISTURBED WEATHER LOCATED OVER THE BAY OF
CAMPECHE AND THE SOUTHWESTERN GULF OF MEXICO HAS CONTINUED TO
BECOME BETTER DEFINED. SINCE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY HAS
INCREASED NEAR THE BROAD CENTER...ADVISORIES ON 25-KT TROPICAL
DEPRESSION SEVEN WILL BE INITIATED AT 4 PM CDT...2100Z. A NOAA
RESEARCH AIRCRAFT IS CURRENTLY RELEASING DROPSONDES IN THE AREA...
WHICH WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE ORGANIZATION OF
THIS SYSTEM.

TROPICAL STORM WATCHES AND/OR WARNINGS WILL BE REQUIRED FOR PORTIONS
OF THE EASTERN COAST OF MEXICO...MOST LIKELY NORTH OF PUNTA EL
LAGARTO.

It appears that this disturbance will follow a track similar to Emily but not along the exact line that she took. More rain for northern Mexico quickly on the heels of Emily.

More on this latest development as information becomes available.

-Brian-

HEAT ADVISORY TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY

The NWS has issued a Heat Advisory for today through Sunday for Central Alabama and for North Alabama west of I-65. Heat indices across the area will be in the 107-112 degrees range between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. The combined effects of the excessive heat and high humidity puts a lot of stress of humans and animals and can cause severe physical problems. Stay in a cool, ventilated place as much as possible. If you go out, wear loose, light colored clothing. Don't forget the hat. Stay hydrated, but avoid alcoholic beverages. Remember that children, the elderly, and people with chronic ailments are especially vulnerable to the heat. Check on them. Pets also. They need shade and water.

Temperatures are running a couple of degrees warmer than this same time yesterday. Highs will make the middle 90s in most locatiosn, with some parts of West Alabama reaching the upper 90s to near 100 degrees. Dew points are also in the steamy middle 70s, and the humid conditions are exacerbating the effects of the heat.

The Saturday map discussion video is on the server at:

http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb

I could just describe our weather as H...O...T and say goodbye. The 500 millibar high continued to inch our way and the GFS keeps it coming with our hottest days most likely to be Sunday and Monday. A Heat Advisory may be required, so please take it easy if you have work or other activities outside. Be sure to drink lots of water. Temperatures are expected to climb into the mid and upper 90s. Model output continued to be a tad too high. Models have a difficult time accounting for high levels of ground moisture and the low level humdity.

Tropics continue active with a disturbance over the Yucatan Peninsula and Franklin off the east coast of Florida. The disturbance over Yucatan is expected to move west-northwest over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico where it is likely to intensify into a tropical storm. If so, it will be named Gert. The track of that storm should follow a course similar to Emily into northeastern Mexico.

Franklin continued to churn east of Florida and had become better organized overnight. The storm is moving a little east of north as it appears to be starting a recurvature toward the northeast. This path should take it away from land, however, the future track does trheaten Bermuda. There is still a bit of uncertainty as the trough comes off the east coast, and at least one model takes Franklin back west. The track into the Atlantic is looking good, but the next 24 hours or so will tell the story. Stay tuned.

No other areas of disturbed weather were noted across the tropical Atlantic.

Going to head out in the heat myself this morning to pick a few blueberries over around Alpine. Stay cool and don't forget to catch the beauty of the sky.

-Brian-

Today in Weather History:

In 1893....Father Benito Vines, a Jesuit priest at the Royal College of Belen in Havana died after a distinguished career of studying and predicting hurricanes.

In 1898...A powerful thunderstorm made street lamps necessary in the middle of the afternoon in Atlanta. Over four inches of rain during the two hour thunderstorm caused a foot of water to flood Union Station.

In 1987...A stationary front provided the focus for thunderstorms that trained across the Minneapolis, MN area for hours. As much as twelve inches of rain fell in some locations. Ten inches of rain fell on Minneapolis/St. Paul in 6.5 hours. Serious flash flooding results in the deaths of 2 people and damage totaled $21.3 million.

In 1997...Tornadoes hit South Carolina in wake of dying Hurricane Danny, including one that leveled a duplex apartment and killed a 32-year-old woman. A Charlotte, North Carolina, railroad trestle gave way, plunging a CSX locomotive into Little Sugar Creek. Crew members escaped unharmed. 6.88 inches of rain fell in Charlotte, breaking the 24 hour record of 5.91 inches that had been set in July 1944. A record 6.14 inches fell between midnight at 2 p.m. Up to ten inches fell in other parts of south-central North Carolina

In 1997...A warehouse fire in Denver was started by lightning. Damage totaled $50 million, making it perhaps the most expensive lightning bolt in history (non-military.)