http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
May has certainly been a month of contrasts. The first half of May was unseasonably cool while the latter half of May has been warmer than normal. Rainfall was plentiful during the first half to two-thirds of the month while the latter third has been somewhat dry. And as we usher May out the door, another change may be coming about plus we usher in the 2006 hurricane season.
A boundary from convection over the last several days to the north of Alabama is likely to remain a focus for isolated thunderstorms for the next couple of days as it settles southward. Not everyone will see rain but if you should get under one of the isolated storms, you could see some briefly heavy rain as well as lightning. We're also getting into the lightning season across the United States.
Our weather remains hot and muggy for the next several days, but by mid-week, the GFS is advertising a change in our weather pattern. The ridge over us now will slowly move eastward. By mid-week, a developing trough in the central US will return the Southeast to a northwesterly flow pattern by next Friday and Saturday. This should mean a reduction in high temperatures by 4 or 5 degrees as well as some less humid air by next Saturday. I'm ready for less humid air. Always fun to imagine living here with humidity values running in the 30 percent range. Summer could be quite pleasant IF that were to happen - but humidity is one of the, er, benefits of living in Alabama.
Memorial Day weekend always kicks off the summer vacation time as school lets out and people hit the roadways for some off time. As I mentioned, though, this is the lightning season, and we all need to give lightning the respect it deserves. On average, somewhere between 80 and 120 Americans will be killed by lightning primarily in the months from May to September as we spend lots of time outside. The best safety I can advice is to move inside whenever you hear thunder. I don't want to see any of us on the statistic list adding to those lightning death figures.
I hope your Memorial Day weekend is a good one. I'm headed out to the Hoover Met once again for the SEC Baseball Tournament - I sell tickets there - so I get to enjoy The Met from an air-conditioned perspective!! Then I'm filling in for John Oldshue this afternoon and evening. You can catch ABC 33/40 news, weather, and sports at 6 and 10 pm today.
-Brian-