It has been a hot week across the country. The heat has claimed at least fourteen lives in the Phoenix area. The INS reports that over 101 illegal immigrants have died coming into th U.S. from Mexico this summer. The heat in the desert Southwest caused airlines to cancel flights and lighten loads at Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Well over 250 new record highs observed, including some very important long-term marks. Denver tied their all time record high of 105F this week. Reno established a new record for consecutive days with highs of 100F or higher. The new mark is ten. The streak came to an end finally on Friday.

In Arizona, Tucson recorded its 39th consecutive day of 100F or higher readings, tying the old record. Relief is on the way there, however, as the monsoon finally kicked in this week. It marked the second latest start to the summer monsoon there.

In Grand Junction, Colorado, on the western slope of the Rockies, an all time record high temperature was established on Wednesday when the mercury reached 106F.

Even Alaska has been getting in on the act, with record highs at Valdez on Friday and Saturday of 73F and 74F respectively.

There aren't any showers or thunderstorms on the radar in Alabama today, but there was a thunderstorm on radar yesterday that was responsible for killing two people. A man and his stepson were killed while chasing a beach ball on the beach yesterday.

According to the latest information from the National Weather Service (NWS), lightning kills on average 67 people each year in the United States. As you might imagine, prime "lightning season" is during the summer months, generally May through September, as the weather turns nice, and we participate in many more outdoor activities. And that was the case for the family who was spending some time together at a condo in Gulf Shores, AL, yesterday.

Gray clouds gathered and a summer thunderstorm developed quickly as they often do. The 38-year-old man and his 7-year-old stepson were on the beach gathering their possessions when the thunderstorm developed. Many others had left the beach. Another person just 20 to 30 feet away was uninjured in the event.

We often hear thunder and see lightning flashes, but lightning is one of those events we may take for granted. Afterall, how many times have you heard thunder and seen lightning and nothing happened. But lightning is not something we should ignore. Extensive research on lightning has found that a lightning strike can be followed quickly by another up to 6 to 10 miles away. This means that when you hear thunder, you are at risk. It's time to take immediate action to be safe.

Do seek shelter inside a substantial building or automobile (non-convertible).
Don't be the highest thing around.
Avoid using electrical appliances when lightning is occurring in your area.
Don't get under high objects like flag poles or trees.
Rubber soles on your shoes will not protect you.
Don't let children play on baseball or soccer fields when you hear thunder.

Please take lightning seriously and be safe to play another day.

-Brian-

The Sunday map discussion video is on the server at:

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

The depression that formed yesterday afternoon has become Tropical Storm Gert in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. The storm is forecast to move ashore on the east coast of Mexico as a tropical storm. Fortunately, it will move ashore well south of the coastline impacted significantly by Hurricane Emily. Northeast Mexico may get some additional rain from Gert, but at least they won't feel the full impact of the storm.

In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Franklin continues to defy forecasters by maintaining itself in a rather hostile environment that is shearing the storm. It appears that Franklin will move easterly away from the US mainland threatening Bermuda and the shipping lanes of the Atlantic.

Heat is the big weather story for us and much of the central United States. My daughter lives in Chicago, and she's under an excessive heat warning up there while we are under a heat advisory. The GFS MOS output has not been too good with this heat primarily due to the excessive ground moisture we have from all the rain so far in July. So it could be worse. Looks like today and Monday should be the two hottest days.

James returns tomorrow with the regular morning and afternoon map discussions. I've enjoyed helping out this week and hope you each have a good week. Be sure to catch all the beauty the weather has to offer. God bless.

-Brian-

About to head out to Hunter Street this morning... I usually do the sermons in children's worship, but today I am in the "big house" filling in for our senior pastor, Buddy Gray. Woohoo!

Lots of local media hype on the heat these days. Hey, don't get me wrong, it is indeed hot. I helped to move my oldest son to another apartment yesterday during the middle of the day; I know the weather is hot!!

But then again, this is late July in Alabama. It is supposed to be hot! Yesterday's high of 93 in Birmingham is about where we should be this time of the year, and I doubt if we see anything above 95 today in the Birmingham metro. Forget the MOS guidance with those triple digits; they don't have a clue. The air is too moist (dewpoints in the mid to upper 70s), the ground is too moist (solar energy has to work on evaporation), and we have a light northerly flow.

Sure, some folks had some wild readings on their back yard thermometers yesterday, but those don't work in summer. See this post from a few days ago:

http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/post/wxtalk/1413/Check-Those-Thermometers

Quite frankly, as the NWS points out in their discussion this morning, most of Alabama really is not at local heat advisory criteria (lows above 75 degrees and heat index values over 110), although parts of west Alabama are there. Bottom line is that this is your standard July heat around here, and it will begin to back down next week.

I do note the code orange ozone alert today... good day to stay indoors if you have health issues.

Have a nice day, and stay cool.

In Tucson, Arizona, Friday was the 39th consecutive day with temperatures of 100F or higher, tying a record. Residents of Tucson and the rest of the southwestern U.S. have been sweltering under an unrelenting heat wave, waiting for the monsoon season to begin.

A monsoon is a seasonal weather pattern shift, often involving wind patterns. The word monsoon comes from the Arabic word mausim, which means seasons. A monsoon wind system is one that changes patterns seasonally. In a monsoonal pattern, winds will blow one direction in one season and from a different one in another season. Perhaps the most famous one is over the Indian subcontinent. High pressure in winter gives fair, dry conditions. In summer, air over the landmass is heated and a broad thermal low forms. This low pulls in moist air from the surrounding oceans. This increase in moisture produces the rainy season.

Another important monsoon pattern occurs over the southwestern United States over Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and southern California. In the Southwest, the official start of the monsoon is marked by three straight days of average dew points above 55F. The latest official start to the monsoon was July 25, 1987. This week, the monsoon began officially in Arizona. It marked the second latest start in recorded weather history. Now that the monsoon has begun officially, the increased moisture will lead to increased amount of showers and thunderstorms and provide some relief to the arid region.