Heat Staying With Us - Chris Forms

The Tuesday morning map discussion video is not on the server.

I've tried to bring the size of the QuickTime movie down a bit, but that takes a lot of experimentation, so please bear with me. James is using his Mac, but I don't have the same software yet. I'm hoping UPS delivers today or tomorrow. Also, please forgive me for not getting it posted correctly yesterday. I put the file in the old location but realized it later in the evening and corrected it.

JB, unfortunately I DO remember Burma Shave signs along the road. I remember as a kid keeping my eyes posted for the first one so I could read the whole saying. They were also fun to find and cute while really getting their point across. I wouldn't mid seeing them make a comeback, but we have enough roadside advertising now!

Welcome to August and good morning to Chris. Tropical Storm Chris was named this morning by the National Hurricane Center after starting life as a tropical depression late last night. Chris looks to be a real challenge to hurricane forecasters, so this is surely a "stay tuned" storm. Climatologically, storms in that area in August usually do one of two things: head toward Florida and re-curve up the east coast or take a slightly more southerly track across the Caribbean and come into the Gulf of Mexico. Chris is poised right in the middle between those two paths, so it will be interesting to watch what the future will bring for Chris. National Hurricane Center tracks currently favor a track toward Florida, but the various model tracks are clustered over Hispaniola and Cuba or south of the current official track. If this southern track does prevail, Chris will have a tough life with atmospheric conditions that are not the best plus the obstacles of the mountains of Hispaniola and Cuba to deal with. Stay tuned on this one.

Meanwhile, across Alabama we have little weather to talk about. The upper level high is forecast to stay with us all week and into next week with subtle changes in strength and some wavering to the center position. Bottom line is it looks like the heat will stay with us with the ever present posibility of showers. Shower coverage is expected to remain isolated each day. Morning lows should be in the lower 70s while the afternoon highs will be in the middle 90s perhaps flirting with upper 90s. You'll be lucky if you find yourself under one of those showers getting some rain and brief heat relief.

I have a meeting downtown this afternoon, so the availability of an afternoon map discussion video is in question. I'll do my best to get the meeting over and get the video posted by 4:30 pm or so. After today, the schedule gets a little looser so I should be able to meet the usual schedule.

Stay cool and be cautious about the heat. Heat effects can sneak up on you so if you are out in the heat for very long, take frequent breaks and drink lots of water to keep hydrated.

-Brian-