Some Heat Relief Ahead

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

http://www.jamesspann.com/

Here are some highs around our SKYCAM network as of 3:00 this afternoon:

Demopolis 98
Inverness 97
Hamilton 96
Tuscaloosa 96
Downtown Birmingham 95
Gadsden 94
Cheaha State Park 90

Interesting to note that Cheaha is down to 79 degrees as I write this thanks to a passing rain shower... the total up on the mountain is 0.05".

You can see the picture and observation from Cheaha here:

http://www.abc3340.com/static/skycams/skycamscheaha.html

FOR THE FOURTH: I don't think the weather will really change much tomorrow. Highs mostly in the mid 90s; a few isolated afternoon and evening showers and storms. The chance of any one spot getting wet tomorrow is about one in eight.

WETTER AND COOLER? Sure sounds good... but of course weather changes this time of the year are not exactly drastic. However, as the upper ridge breaks down and a weak front approaches from the north, we should see an increase in the number of scattered showers and storms on Wednesday and Thursday. And, the heat should back down a bit. The new MOS guidance from the 12z GFS suggests a high of 89 on Wednesday, and only 83 on Thursday. That sounds a little too cool... but there is no doubt days will be "cooler". Rainfall distribution will be very uneven, but some spots could get over one inch of rain in the heavier storms.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY-SUNDAY: Drier air slips into the northern half of the state, and these three days look mostly sunny with lower humidity. Highs around 90, early morning lows in the low to mid 60s. We might even see some of the cooler spots reach the upper 50s by Saturday morning. Scattered showers and storms should be confined to the far southern part of the state over the weekend.

TROPICS: If the surface front makes it into the northern Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, we will be watching for the potential for a tropical depression to form, which sometimes happens under those circumstances this time of the year. And, tropical depressions can bring beneficial rain. We will be watching...

Elsewhere today the Atlantic basin is pretty quiet...

LONG RANGE: Still looks like the most intense heat during mid-July will be over the southwest part of the nation; the GFS is suggesting "normal heat" here with at least a daily chance of scattered afternoon and evening showers and storms.

I will crank out one map discussion video tomorrow... and go back to the regular "two a day" schedule on Wednesday when most folks are back at work. Have a wonderful holiday!