Thanks to James Ponder for these images on the last big summer weekend of 2006!

More reader images...

James:  Since everyone is sending in beach photos I thought I would share these taken at Panama City last October, One is a porpoise swimming ahead of a ship and the other is shell island at sunset.  These were take  from a tour boat using a Nikon D70 with a 300MM zoom (JB would appreciate that) .  We usually go to Orange Beach but since the hurricanes we went to PCB instead the last two years.  We may try Gulf Shores area this  year.  Thanks, Enjoy your weather info on 33-2, Dave Jones Woodstock , AL

The incredible viewer pictures keep rolling in. These are from ABC 33/40 Skywatcher Brandon Harris of Jacksonville:

I thought you'd like to see some shots I took while on vacation this week on Orange Beach.  I'm sure you know where these were taken...just down the beach at the rocks near Perdido Key.

From our online weather watcher in Etowah County, Vic Bell:

Keith Miller, the Vestavia dentist featured in Episode 32 of WeatherBrains, has supplied a few pictures he took during his work in the early days after Hurricane Katrina to help storm victims in southern Mississippi.

The pictures below were taken in and around Waveland, Bay St. Louis and Lakeshore, MS.

"The crews helping us offload were sent from Arizona and New Mexico for tree removal," Keith said. "They said they had been waiting around for two days, with no orders as what to do."

We expect to be receiving more pictures from Keith later in the week, so watch for more pictures to be posted.

All photos by Keith Miller.

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

http://www.jamesspann.com/

Be sure and scroll down and read J.B.'s post on the all time record high for Alabama (112 in Centreville on September 5, 1925).

NOT THIS YEAR: No record highs for Alabama on September 5, 2006. In fact, most spots are only in the 70s as I write this update; here are some observations from our SKYCAM network:

Inverness 77
Mt. Cheaha 77
Gadsden 77
Hamilton 78
Birmingham 78
Tuscaloosa 79
Jasper 81
Demopolis 83
Gulf Shores 85

We can thank clouds for the cooler daytime temperatures today. Tonight, as the cloud move out and drier air moves in, we will drop off pretty quickly, and there is a good chance many communities will reach the upper 50s. That will be a great preview of fall, and Thursday morning should be about as cool. Daytime conditions will be very nice tomorrow and Thursday with ample sunshine and low humidity levels.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY: Moist air will return to Alabama by Friday and the weekend, and I think you have to mention some risk of a shower each day. However, there will be little in the way of dynamic forcing, and the showers should be widely spaced. So, rain not a big issue for the weekend, but just keep in mind a few of them might show up on radar during the afternoon and evening hours. Highs will stay in the 80s, but the humidity levels will be on the rise.

NEXT WEEK: The GFS shows a strong cold front moving through here Tuesday of next week; if that is correct we should have a decent chance at showers and storms on Tuesday, perhaps followed by the coolest air since the spring. That airmass just might get some of the cooler valleys in the upper 40s toward the latter half of next week, or about 8 to 9 days from now. Bring it on!

FLORENCE: Tropical Storm Florence is moving to the northwest through the middle of the Atlantic; no real change in the NHC track or our thinking. The global models (GFS, GEMS, ECMWF) are in amazing agreement next week that this system will miss the east coast of the U.S., but will be a big problem for the Canadian Maritimes around the middle part of next week. Of course, this can change, but the model agreement gives some degree of confidence to the solution. One way or another Florence won't bother the Gulf of Mexico.

OTHER TROPICAL ISSUES: We have a good looking wave trailing Florence in the eastern Atlantic; this one has the potential to become a tropical depression at any time. This system is lower in latitude, so a track to the Caribbean cannot be ruled out if it survives and develops. Another wave is in the central Caribbean with no sign of any serious development for the moment.

WEATHER BRAINS: A reminder an all new episode of WeatherBrains was posted last night... and features some really good interviews, including one with Bill Gray:

http://www.weatherbrains.com

Kudos to David Black for his hard work on the show.

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

Another great image from Jeff Snyder, one of our readers from Atlanta. Jeff writes:

The photos from Ann Anderson that you posted on the blog reminded me of one that I made last October on the beach near Fort Morgan.  I briefly considered sending it to you, and then when I heard you talking on Weatherbrains about how great the conditions were in Gulf Shores when you taped the TV special about Hurricane Ivan, I knew I had to send the photo.  We always plan our beach trip for October, and we rent the same house each year.  The house is located about two miles from Fort Morgan, and in October, we are the only people and dogs on the beach!

This photo was made as the sun was rising, and Barrington was looking westward toward the fort and Mobile.  I highly recommend that you visit the Gulf Coast during October.  For us, it is a true getaway.

Here is a quick look at several things:

ALABAMA NOW
Broad band of scattered light rain over the NW third of the state signals cooler and drier air slowly pushing into the state. Don't look for much--many areas only getting sprinkles. However, to the south a line of showers (could even be a few peels of thunder) extended from Autauga County NE to Tallapoosa, Chambers and Randolph County. Cloud cover over the north was holding temperatures into the 70s in some areas at midday. Delightful is the word.

A HUGE CONTRAST
Better be glad you were not around at this time in 1925. Down in Bibb County, the official thermometer outdid itself peaking at 112 degrees in Centreville on this date. That still stands as the all time high for the entire state and I hope it is never broken. Birmingham blistered in 106-degree heat. It was a long-drawn-out hot month. Birmingham set records for 8 days in a row at the first of the month only to see more 100-degree heat in the third week of the month.

NO AIR CONDITIONING
Could you exist in 112-degree heat with no AC? Wow. I was not around in 1925 but growing up in West Alabama, I often heard old husbands tales that people would plant kudzu on the west side of their houses to try to soften the summer sun. I do not have proof but I would not doubt it.

FLASH BACK TO SUMMER
Weather folks consider summer over (June-July-August makes up summer for us) Some interesting stats from Tuscaloosa:

* In the 92 days that made up summer, the Tuscaloosa high was 90 or above on 85 days
* Every day in July and August was 90 or hotter
* 9 days had 100 or hotter
* 101 was the hottest all summer--on August 8,9,20th. So there was no long drawn-out heat wave like we had in such years as 1980 and 1925 when it was well above 100 for a week at a time.

It took only a small amount of growth for TD No. 6 to become Tropical Storm Florence but that is what happened as outlined in the 10 am, CDT advisory. Basic facts:

* Center near Latitude 13.3N...Longitude 47.3W
* Translation: 935 miles east of the Lesser Antilles
* Moving west 12 mph
* Highest sustained winds 40 mph
* Should slowly get stronger
* Expected to pass well north of Puerto Rico Friday/Saturday
* Every tropical model says she will not touch the USA (Little too early to be 100% certain)
* She should curve more to the NW, then north and finally NE
* Eventual path off Nova Scotia

These two pictures from Ann Anderson, one of our readers who lives in Clarksville, TN. The pictures were taken from her condo at Sanibel Island on the southwest coast of Florida.