Tropical Storm Ernesto made landfall about 11:30 p.m. EDT near Long Beach, North Carolina with sustained winds of 70 mph. It is raining buckets over much of North Carolina.

The future path of Ernesto has not changed much. The center will continue NNE and then turn north passing over extreme Eastern North Carolina Friday and through Eastern Virginia Friday night. The center should be over NW Maryland by the early hours Saturday morning and into NW Pennsylvania by Saturday night.

Ernesto will likely be downgraded to a tropical depression by the time he reaches Virginia passing west of Chesapeake Bay. That does not mean much as far as the danger of flash flooding is concerned. Extremely heavy amounts of rain will fall along and east of his path causing extensive flooding.

Here is a link to all the information you need about Ernesto:

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

Here are some additional notes:
+ Ernesto was moving NNE near 18 mph
+ Maximum sustained winds were near 70 mph near landfall with higher gusts. Since the center is not over land, a gradual weakening in the wind fields will occur.
+ The lowest central pressure just before landfall was 988 MB or 29.18 inches.
+ Storm surge flooding of 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels will occur along the North Caroina coast.

THE RAINFALL STORY
+ That is going to be one of the main problems. Totals of 5 to 10 inches are possible from NE South Carolina into the Mid-Atlantic States and the Southern and Central Appalachians through Saturday. Some places could even get 15 inches. These amounts may cause life-threatening flash floods. Isolated spin-off tornadoes are possible over Eastern North Carolina and SE Virginia through Friday morning.

SOME SPECIFIC EVENTS
+ Flash flooding was occurring near Riegelwood, N.C. around midnight. Highway 87 was flooded and some streets were closed.
+ Flash flooding was occuring in the city of Wilmington. Beasley Road was impassable because Hewlett Creek was overflowing its banks. Burnt Hill Creek was also out of its banks and causing some roads to be impassable.
+ At Top Sail Beach, N.C., U.S. Route 17 was impassable.
+ There were numerous other cases of impassable roads too numerous to mention here.
+ Earlier tonight, a spin-off tornado touched down at Morehead City, N.C. There was roof damage to a home just east of downtown. Another tornado was spotted north of Snead's Ferry.

SPOT REPORTS AT MIDNIGHT EDT
Raleigh...light rain...wind NE 18...gusts 28 mph
Norfolk...extensive rain...E 25...gusts 33
Virginia Beach...rain...E 22...gusts 30
Langley Air Force Base...rain...E 33...gusts 41
Elizabeth City...heavy rain...NE 28
Wilmington...extensive heavy rain...E 31...gusts 48
Fayetteville, NC...rain, NE 24...gusts 39
Diamond Shoals...SE 31...gusts 38
Cape Lookout, NC...NE 41...gusts 49
Frying Pan Shoals...SW 47...gusts 57, 17-foot waves

(Please continue to check our 33/40 tropical page for all the latest information. Later on this Friday morning, we will post some more spot reports and additional information.)

Ten years ago today the TV station known as “ABC 33/40” signed on the air for the first time.

It was the merger of WCFT-TV in Tuscaloosa and WJSU-TV in Anniston; the primary studio was built in Riverchase near the intersection of Valleydale Road and Riverchase Parkway. The year 1996 was quite a confusing time for local TV viewers; long time ABC affiliate WBRC, Channel 6, switched to the Fox Network, and ABC teamed up with Allbritton Communications, who formed the new ABC station.

Many figured it would never work; ABC 33/40 would not have a transmitter in the city of Birmingham. One tower, the Channel 33 signal, was built in northern Tuscaloosa County near Windham Springs. This was a quite a project; the tower was 2,000 feet tall, one of the tallest in the nation, and almost twice as tall as the towers on Red Mountain in Birmingham. The signal to the east, Channel 40, was transmitted from a new tower atop Bald Rock mountain, just east of Moody.

The first weeknight news team on ABC 33/40 consisted of news anchors Dyan Patterson and Josh Thomas, meteorologist Bob Baron, and sports anchor Mike Raita. Construction wasn’t actually complete when the station signed on the air September 1, 1996; it would almost two years before everything was complete. One month later, at the first of October, I joined the ABC 33/40 team as the chief meteorologist, and Brenda Ladun went on the air as the primary news anchor.

It has been a great 10 year ride; we have seen incredible success in terms of ratings and revenue thanks to the people of Alabama welcoming us into their homes daily. We have gone through many big weather events together, and ABC 33/40 has continued to lead the way in weather technology and coverage policies. We invite you to watch a one hour special on our tenth anniversary on Sunday, September 10; we will look back at the last ten years and all of the stories and weather events that we went through together. Bill Castle and Pam Huff are putting the show together; you know it will be good!

The circulation of Ernesto is clearly seen on Wilmington doppler radar tonight...approaching the North carolina Coast near Wilmington. Good circulation with the usual spiral bands swirling counter-clockwise.

The stronger spiral bands are the most likely feature to produce a spinoff tornado. Already tonight a large waterspout moved onshore at Stacy, N.C.

SPECIFIC REPORTS
+ In New Hanover County, numerous roads are flooded countywide. (Wilmington is in that county)
+ Widespread flooding at Riegelwood, N.C., in Columbus County
+ At Holden Beach, flooding across Ocean Blvd.
+ At Stacy, N.C., in Carteret County, a large waterspout moved onshore. No known damage.
+ Frying Pan Shoals, off North Carolina reports 64 mph wind gusts and 21-foot waves


PEAK WIND GUSTS FROM SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA
59 mph at Edisto Buoy No. 41004
41 mph at Capers Nearshore

PEAK WIND GUSTS IN SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
47 mph at Sabsoon Tower
36 mph at Grays Reef

SPOT REPORTS AT 9 PM EDT
Norfolk Navy Station...rain...wind east 26, gusts 35 mph
Virginia Beach...rain...east 23, gusts 33
Langly Air Force Base...cloudy...east 28, gusts 33
Kill Devil Hills...rain...east 14, gusts 24
Cape hatteras...heavy rain...east 24, gusts 36
Wilmington...rain...NE 22, gusts 31
Frying pan Shoals...SE 52, gusts 64, 21 foot waves

Remember our post a couple of weeks or so ago about Munchkin, a missing dog. She is still missing.

On August 7, Munchkin got loose from the person walking her along Montclair Road in Birmingham in the vicinity of BMC/Montclair Hospital (now known as Trinity Medical Center)

The search for Munchkin has been awesome and it has involved numerous volunteers. It is the most well-organized that you could ask for. There has been a lot of sightings although no additional onces since last Monday night. Munchkin was even featured on a local TV newscast last Monday evening.

Melissa Smith, the owner melissasmith1@mac.com is deeply appreciative of the many people who have been walking or riding around in their communities, with leash in hand, ready to bring Munchkin in.

Here is a part of the daily update that Melissa sends out daily:
----------------------
Munchkin now has a listing on fidofinders. You can view her listing at:
http://www.fidofinder.com/dog.php?id=44830

This Web site will alert me if anyone registers that they have found a dog matching her description within a 10-mile radius of the zip code that I used. I decided to use the 35222 zip code as it includes an area from downtown Birmingham back to the Clairmont area. Unfortunately, I could only list one zip code. This one seems to encompass a lot of the area where she could possible be located now if she has continued to move in the same direction. The 10-mile radius should allow us to receive info from dogs found in area within 10 miles of that zip code.
----------------------
Please continue your efforts. I feel for the Smith family. I cannot imagine what I would do if little Miss Molly was missing. Check the link above and you can see a picture of Munchkin.

Ernesto has not become any stronger since the last advisory with sustained winds near 70 mph. This link will give you all the information including the track forecast in map form.

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

Here are some extra notes:

+ Located about 100 miles SSW of Wilmington, N.C
+ Moving NNE 17
+ Track forecast has shifted slightly eastwatd
+ Landfall later tonight near Wilmingtom
+ From landfall, moving north through Eastern North Carolina
+ Then through Eastern Virginia and Western maryland
+ Into Western Pennsylvania by Saturday
+ Extremely heavy rain will cause possible life-threatening flash-flooding along his path
+ 4 to 8 inches of additional rain from NE South Carolina into the Mid-Atlantic states as well as the Central and Southern Appalachians. Some places could get up to 12 inches
+ Isolated spinoff tornadoes for Eastern North Carolina tonight.

SPECIFIC REPORTS
+ Mandatory evacuations ordered for low-lying sections of Beaufort County.
+ Mount Pleasant, S.C., has already received 5.24 inches of rain today.
+ In Surf City, N.C., highway 50 is impassable
+ 5.20 inches of rain in Wilmington today as a record for the date. Several streets are flooded and impassable

SPOT REPORTS AT 6 PM EDT
Washington, D.C....cloudy...wind NE 18, gusts 24 mph
Raleigh...light rain...east 17, gusts 23
Norfolk Navy Station...light rain...NE 20, gusts 33
Langley Air Force Base (Va.)...light rain...NE 30, gusts 38
Kill Devil Hills, N.C.,...light rain...east 17, gusts 26
Wilmington...steady moderate rain...NE 18
Frying Pan Shoals...ESE 36, gusts 45,,,12 foot waves
Myrtle Beach...rain...north 31, gusts 39
Savannah...cloudy...wind 14 mph

Thanks to Tyreen McGowin for these great rainbow shots, taken in Demopolis this past Sunday afternoon. Tyreen is a student at the middle school in Demopolis...

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

http://www.jamesspann.com/

While a calm and pleasant weather pattern is setting up for Alabama, there is plenty of action in the tropics... scroll down and read all of the information below this from J.B. on the Super Typhoon and Ernesto.

DRY DAYS: I can't really say there is no chance of rain, but most folks will be dry for the next five days, all the way through the Labor Day weekend, as cooler and drier air continues to slip southward over Alabama. Our forecast will highlight partly to mostly sunny days and fair nights through Monday with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s. I see one small isolated shower on radar this afternoon, up in northeast Alabama on the Cherokee/DeKalb county line; that is what the radar will probably look like tomorrow.

NEXT WEEK: A long wave upper trough will form from the Great Lakes down to Texas early next week, and as that approaches you have to think we might see a few showers around here by the middle of the week. But, the GFS shows very limited moisture, so a big rain event doesn't look likely at this point.

LONG RANGE: How about the cold air moving into the northern U.S. in mid-September, according to the GFS. The 540 line (haven't talked about that in a long time dips into Minnesota, and some folks around the Canadian border will have their first frost of the season if the model happens to be correct. Can't wait for some of that to get down here, when we will enjoy cool morning temperatures in the 40s or 50s.

ERNESTO: Looks like the system will be a minimal hurricane as it rolls into the coast tonight near the border of South and North Carolina, or just below Cape Fear. Still, heavy rain and flooding will be the main threat as the system moves northward through North Carolina and Virginia tomorrow.

GREAT WEATHER SITE: Check out our sister site for the latest news reports on the tropical systems and other weather issues:

http://www.weatherparty.com

There is also a nice story over there about a former ABC 33/40 Weather Intern who just took a TV weather job in Chicago (weekend meteorologist at WMAQ-TV). Always nice to see our young friends doing well!

There is also a very interesting article posted on weatherparty.com that was in the Miami paper this morning about the NHC's lack of ability to forecast Ernesto in recent days.

You can register and submit links and vote on them. Pretty fun stuff.

I will have the next map discussion video posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow... stay tuned for more late news on the tropical systems from J.B....

Ernesto continues to grow stronger in the Atlantic this afternoon and he has almost reached hurricane force.

A Hurricane Watch now in effect for part of the South Carolina Coast north to Cape Lookout, N.C.

Ernesto was located early this afternoon about 180 miles SSW of Wilmington, N.C., and about 90 miles SE of Charleston.

Moving NNE at 17

Sustained winds 70 mph. He could be a minimal hurricane at landfall.

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

The above link will give you the latest advisory and track forecast.

SPOT REPORTS AT 2 PM EDT
Wilmington...heavy rain...wind SE 10, gusts 26
Frying Pan Shoals...wind SE 28, gusts 36...with 8 foot waves.

As he gets closer to the coast, we will post more often with a bigger selection of spot reports starting between 4 and 5pm, CDT.

Very heavy rain is a huge problem...along with a few spinoff tornadoes. Elizabeth City, in Eastern North Carolina had already received 5.13 inches of rain in the last 24 hours with 7.30 inches in the last few days--not because of Ernesto.

This is a combined post to save you scrolling time and reading time:

ERNESTO
He was growing stronger late this morning over the open waters of the Atlantic. He was some 225 miles SSW of Wilmington, North Carolina or about 105 miles SSE of Charleston. Here is a link to all the information you could possibly want about him: http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/tropics.hrb

A few additional notes:
+ Moving NNE at 17 mph
+ Sustained wind up to 60 mph
+ Minimum pressure 994 MB or 29.35 inches
+ Will grow stronger before making landfall
+ Landfall will be later today near the North Carolina/South Carolina border
+ Isolated spin-off tornadoes for Eastern North Carolina tonight
+ Excessive rain will be a problem along his path northward through the Mid-Atlantic states and the Southern and Central Apallachians.
+ The track forecast has not changed, except he may not move as fast as earlier expected after he gets inland.
+ He should be east of Pittsburgh by Saturday morning as a tropical depression. Earlier he was expected to be near Buffalo, New York by that time.

BIG BAD JOHN
Powerful Hurricane John was hanging close to the Pacific coast of Mexico this morning. He was about 150 miles WNW of Manzanillo moving WNW at 14 mph. Highest sustained winds were 125 mph with higher gusts. He is a category 3 hurricane and not expected to change much from that in the next 24 hours. Estimated central pressure was very low, 950 MB or 28.05 inches. John is expected to come extremely close to the lower tip of Baja, California late Friday before turning more westward out to sea.

ALABAMA
Not a single shower in the state at 11:45 this morning. There was a small cluster of strong thunderstorms over NW Georgia. Drier air (lower dew points) has spread over North and West Alabama with dew points in the mid 60s as far SE as Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. However, the lower dew points have not reached the NE and east part--places like Ft. Payne and Anniston. The drier air is struggling to reach southward. Some pleasant low temperatures this morning:

62 in Hamilton
64 in Cullman
65 in Muscle Shoals
66 in Courtland
67 in Crossville, Decatur and Huntsville

Many sections of Alabama got beneficial rain in the last 24 hours. Recent rains have improved the dry weather situation enough that the Birmingham Water Works has lifted their drought restriction. Some sample rainfall amounts for the last 24 hours:

2.31 inches in Troy (mostly within 1 hour last evening)
0.71 in Evergreen
0.66 in Anniston (Alabama Power report)
0.88 at Yates Dam
1.02 in Haleyville
0.56 at Henry Dam
1.02 at Jordan Dam
0.75 in Gadsden

TYPHOON IOKE
(Scroll down for an earlier post about this super powerful typhoon)

Lots of interest because it is so powerful.

+ Ioke passed almost directly over Wake Island earlier today. Sustained winds were 155 mph at the time with gusts to 190. According to press reports there was a storm surge of 40 feet. The highest elevation on Wake is only 20 feet so the results are obvious.

+ Everyone was evacuated earlier

+ No change in strength is forecast for the next 24 hours. The forecast for Friday morning, Alabama time, is sustained 155 mph with gusts to 190 mph

+ Even as late as September 5 (next Tuesday) the Pacific Hurricane Center projects sustained winds of 120 mph with gusts to 155.

+ By that time, Ioke will bemoving NW passing well north of Iowa Jima and headed in the general direction of Japan.