Just before 7 o'clock, some weakening storms moving into Marengo and Sumter County from the east. Most of the heavy rain now gone from Hale, Perry and Dallas County.

Still some thunderstorms with very heavy rain way down over South Central Alabama.

A heavy shower in Franklin County, NW Alabama.

0.96 of an inch of rain this afternoon at the 3340 WeatherNet site on the east side of Tuscaloosa.

We will post some other amounts later this evening.

Here are the heaviest rain areas:

.....Hale County, between Akron and Greensboro, and east of Greensboro towards Marion
.....NW Dallas County
.....East Wilcox County
.....South Lamar County

Movement south to SSW

So far, the ABC 33/40 WeatherNet site in the east part of Tuscaloosa has measured 0.77 of an inch.

No doubt, we will see much heavier amounts when all the reports are in this evening.

Pouring now in Bibb County, especially the west half of the county, for the second day in a row.

Or is it the third day in a row?

Or fourth?

The heavy rain edging into SE Tuscaloosa County.

Also raining buckets in NE Dallas County.

Movement toward the SW...a little faster now.

Those are just the heaviest showers/storms. Lots more showers around the state. If we pinpointed everyone, would have to write a journal.

Flash Flood Warning continues for South Talladega County from previous heavy rain. Most of the heavier storms west of that area now.

A line of showers and storms, producing very heavy rain, extends from south of Birmingham southward along the Bibb-Chilton County line into Autauga County. Moving westward.

Others are producing heavy rain along the NW edge of Tuscaloosa County.

That is not all of the storms by any means. Just the main ones.

Many communities have probably received well over an inch of rain this afternoon.

The Tuesday afternoon map discussion video is on the server:

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

Some big time downpours in progress again this afternoon... see J.B.'s updates on the latest storm situation. NWS just issued a flash flood warning for southern Talladega county; especially for the area around Sylacuga.

TROPICS: Sure beginning to look like Irene will survive, possibly becoming a singificant tropical cyclone this weekend, and threatening the southeast U.S. Atlantic coast next week. And, it might even be a player here in Alabama toward the latter part of next week. Everyone from Cape Fear, NC on south to Miami will need to keep a close eye on Irene... including places like Charleston, Jacksonville, and Daytona Beach. Model trends continue westward... see the video for more.

AROUND HERE: Pretty routine summer weather for the next five days... hot, humid, some sun, and afternoon thunderstorms. Highs near 90 each day, with most of the storms coming from 1:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. The chance of any one spot getting wet the next few days will be about one in three.

Gotta run do some TV work with warnings being issued... see J.B.'s updates here for the latest.

Showers and thunderstorms, that is.

Early this afternoon, the more numerous ones were over East Central Alabama, places like:

South Tallapoosa County
East Elmore County
South Montgomery County
West Talladega County

Not moving much, so some folks getting a drenching.

In North Alabama, West Cullman County getting some showers and storms. Raining very heavily north and NW of Cullman, places like West Point and Vinemont.

Again, slow movement.

The Tuesday morning map discussion video is on the server:

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

No landing for the space shuttle in Florida this morning (cloud issues)... they will land out in California shortly.

ALABAMA STORY: Writing these discussions in summer is quite different than writing them in the colder months. Changes are slow and subtle this time of the year...

The NAM shows the upper air circulation at 700 mb over south Georgia this afternoon; that means the best coverage of showers and storms this afternoon should be along and east of I-65, with storms more widely scattered over the western side of the state. It also shows some drier air trying to slip into northwest Alabama tomorrow, but I am not convinced we need to depart much from the standard summer formula for the latter half of the week and the weekend ahead. You know the routine; partly sunny days with an afternoon storm in a few spots. The NAM output through 84 hours keeps 500 mb temperatures in the -6.0 to -6.5 (C) range without much change.

While we should remain below 90 again today, afternoon temperatures will be near 90, or maybe up to 91 or 92, tomorrow through the rest of the weekend and into the weekend.

TROPICS: Irene is hanging in there. Fighting dry air and hostile upper air winds, the system is a tropical depression around 22 N and 54 W. Models are shifting westward, and if this thing can survive I think there is a real chance it might threaten the southeast coast of the U.S. at some point next week. Elsewhere, the wave train continues in the eastern Atlantic, but waves are fairly muted now.

Have a 7:00 a.m. meeting this morning I must attend (who schedules these things??????!!!!!?????; Monday Night Football is back and even with the early kickoff time for the pre-season games we were on the air late last night)... will have the next update by 3:30 this afternoon.