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

http://www.jamesspann.com/

How about this great summer song?

"Sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom
July is dressed up and playing her tune
When I come home from a hard day's work
And you're waiting there, not a care in the world

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine
Blowing through the jasmine in my mind
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine
Blowing through the jasmine in my mind"

One of the great "feel good" songs from the 70s by Seals and Crofts.

WEEKEND FORECAST: Dry air will mean lots of sunshine tomorrow and Sunday. High temperatures around 90; nights will stay pleasant.

NEXT WEEK: Yikes... the 12Z GFS brings 500 mb heights to 5940 (yep, the deaded "594 circle" by Wednesday and Thursday of next week. That would suggest mid 90s... maybe even upper 90s in spots. Not what you want to see; that also would mean very few afternoon showers and storms. Lets hope the height fields come down in weekend runs. But, the 12Z GFS continues the trend of keeping the first half of next week relatively dry. Humidity levels will be rising, and the weather will feel more uncomfortable. Enjoy this nice break from the really hot weather while we have it.

TROPICS: A surface low will probably form tomorrow along the mid-Atlantic coast, bringing windy and wet weather to the upper half of the Atlantic coast, but organized tropical storm development doesn't look likely at this point. We will still watch the northern Gulf of Mexico in the vicinity of the old surface front for any problems.

WEATHER PARTY: Don't forget to check out our new web site, edited by YOU:

http://www.weatherparty.com/

Register, and you can submit cool weather links and stories, and vote for them. Your votes will determine what shows up on the front page.

Brian Peters will have the map discussion videos over the weekend; my next video will be early Monday morning. Have a great weekend!

Just took a fast-paced half-mile walk with a little dog and for the first time in weeks there was not a drop of sweatperspiration.

Nice NE breeze coming down the U.S. 11 valley and low dew points.

Made me want to share a few early morning lows with you. This is not a complete list but it is enough to make me want an extra cup of coffee and an illegal frosted brown sugar cinnamon poptart. Having the coffee as my little fingers type on this keyboard, but no poptart.

55 at Cullman Airport
58 in Crossville and Jasper (Forest Service station in Jasper)
59 in Decatur, Meridianville, DeSoto State Park
60 at Huntsville and Gadsden Airport
61 in Pinson, Muscle Shoals, Fort Payne Airport
64 in Concord/Hueytown
65 in Heflin, Anniston, Tuscaloosa
67 at Birmingham Airport

I am sure we will see some lower temperatures when all the reports are in...maybe from places like Hamilton and good ole Valley Head.

Life goes on, but it is better in weather like this.

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

http://www.jamesspann.com/

Anyone remember this one?

"Monday morning feels so bad,
Ev'rybody seems to nag me
Coming tuesday I feel better,
Even my old man looks good,
Wednesday just don't go,
Thursday goes too slow,
I've got Friday on my mind"

Step outside on this Friday morning and the weather doesn't exactly feel like July. A refreshing airmass is over the northern half of the state, and I expect some of the cooler spots to reports lows in the 50s. In fact, at 5:00 the automated observation from the Cullman airport (which is actually in Vinemont) is showing 55 degrees. The day today will feature maximum sunshine and low humidity values, thanks to these dewpoints in the 50s. The mercury will speak somewhere between 87 and 90 for most communities. Tonight will be very comortable.

THE WEEKEND: Lots of sunshine tomorrow and Sunday. The humidity will stay low tomorrow, but the "muggies' become to come back Sunday as dewpoints rise. We will also watch the old front in the Gulf of Mexico for any sign of tropical depression development, but no models show this.

NEXT WEEK: The 00Z run of the GFS is coming in much drier for next week thanks to a stronger ridge aloft and warmer temperatures aloft. We will continue to mention a chance of scattered afternoon showers and storms beginning Tuesday, but if the 12Z run comes in dry we will probably have to back off on the chance of any rain. Dewpoints will be higher, and temperatures will be back in the 90 to 95 degree range each afternoon.

LONG RANGE: Still nothing really stands out on the GFS for the rest of July; the model suggests pretty typical mid-summer weather for much of the mid to late month period; hot, humid, and some chance of an afternoon shower or storm on an almost daily basis. You have to figure the tropics will begin to come alive at some point later this month; we will keep an eye on the Atlantic basin where the weather for the moment is relatively quiet.

ABC 33/40 SKYWATCHERS: I am looking for volunteer storm spotters to help us, especially in rural Alabama counties. Interested? Read this:

http://beta.abc3340.com/external.hrb?p=skywatchers&w=1

I will have the afternoon map discussion video posted by 3:30 this afternoon!