Relief from the Heat but Short-lived

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What an afternoon we had in Central Alabama yesterday. Thunderstorms erupted around noontime and created a good deal of havoc. The National Weather Service issued a number of severe thunderstorm warnings with a few reports of damage most of which was fairly limited - downed trees and power lines in isolated locations. The good news with those storms was that almost everyone got some rain. As is the nature of showers and thunderstorms, the rainfall amounts varied widely. I measured 0.39" yesterday afternoon but some spots saw over an inch. Thunderstorms erupted again last night - brought me out of my bed with tremendously bright lightning and a very loud chorus of thunder. I got an additional 1.19" of rain giving me a 6-day total of over 3 inches. We certainly needed the rain which will surely help the water supply situation. Unfortnately it looks like we are going right back into a summertime pattern after this short-lived period of some relief from the heat and dryness.

The current weather pattern is not the typical pattern one would expect to see in the summer. A large and realitively deep trough was positioned over the eastern half of the country. The trough is responsible for bringing a rather rare summer cold front into the southeast. The result is that temperatures will be a just a bit cooler today with highs around 89 or so.

As we get into the upcoming workweek, the trough will weaken and the main storm track gradually shifts northward over the next several days. Without an air mass change and the frontal zone hanging around, look for fairly decent chances of showers and thunderstorms for the next couple of days especially south of the Birmingham area. By the middle of the week, the pattern has weakened enough that we should be back into the fairly persistent afternoon shower regime. And temperatures by the end of the week are expected to be back into the mid 90s once again.

The GFS long range outlook is for the heat to return in full force with a strong upper level high over a large part of the country.

Tropics remain quiet. An area of cloudiness in the Southwest Gulf is being watched and upper level winds are becoming a little more favorable for development. However, with the system close to land it looks like any development will be slow to occur.

A BIG thanks to the folks in Calhoun County for coming out to the spotter training class held yesterday morning at the Calhoun County EMA office in Jacksonville. Nearly 40 people gave up their Saturday morning to learn about severe weather. And I really do appreciate that interest. Spotters remain an important part of the warning system, and spotter reports make a significant contribution to saving lives.

I hope you have a great Sunday and a wonderful week. James Spann will be back tomorrow morning with his regular schedule of web video map discussions.

-Brian-