The Monday afternoon map discussion video is on the server:
http://www.jamesspann.com
KATRINA: Be sure and scroll down and read all of Bill Murray's posts on Katrina... excellent stuff. I will post some notes tonight here on the blog. Also... WWL-TV in New Orleans will cover the one-year anniversary of Katrina tomorrow with 18 hours of wall-to-wall coverage, streamed live on WWLtv.com beginning at 3 a.m. CDT. Their work in the weeks following the storm was nothing short of remarkable, and it will be interesting to watch some of that as time allows. We carried WWL-TV on our digital stations (33.2 and 40.2) for a few weeks after the storm so those here from New Orleans could watch their local news station.
Click on the link below to read our blog posts from one year ago today:
http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/calendar/wxtalk/28,08,2005
ERNESTO: If you recall here late last week, I wrote this: "When it comes to tropical systems, expect the unexpected". TPC continues to shift the track to the east.... it should be near Miami tomorrow night, and then it moves parallel to the Atlantic coast to a point near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina by Saturday morning. The system is over the eastern tip of Cuba now, and sustained winds are barely at tropical storm strength. There is a chance it becomes a minimal hurricane by the time it reaches South Florida, but the threat of flooding and isolated tornados will be the biggest problem.
There is some school of thought now that Ernesto might stall somewhere around the North Carolina Outer Banks this weekend; that would mean some big time flooding for parts of the mid-Atlantic coast if that happens.
THE ALABAMA STORY: The number of showers and storms on radar right now isn't exactly overwhelming, but showers and storms should increase tomorrow afternoon as a surface front approaches from the northwest.
The interaction with Ernesto is an interesting issue for the latter half of the week. The GFS keeps relatively moist air over the eastern third of Alabama Wednesday through Friday, with drier air over the western two-thirds of the state. By Thursday and Friday, I guess we can hang on to a chance of a shower for East Alabama, but the rest of the state should be mostly dry. Highs will drop back into the 80s for most places Wednesday through Friday north flow on the west side of Ernesto.
LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Rain should not be a big issue across Alabama over the upcoming holiday weekend, although we can't totally rule out the chance of a few showers, especially over the eastern third of the state. Highs will be in the 85 to 89 degree range, with lows in the 68 to 71 degree range.
I enjoyed seeing my friends at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church in Hueytown this morning; that have a wonderful food ministry called "Jesus Pantry" that helps many people in need here in our area. I will have the next map discussion posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow!
http://www.jamesspann.com
KATRINA: Be sure and scroll down and read all of Bill Murray's posts on Katrina... excellent stuff. I will post some notes tonight here on the blog. Also... WWL-TV in New Orleans will cover the one-year anniversary of Katrina tomorrow with 18 hours of wall-to-wall coverage, streamed live on WWLtv.com beginning at 3 a.m. CDT. Their work in the weeks following the storm was nothing short of remarkable, and it will be interesting to watch some of that as time allows. We carried WWL-TV on our digital stations (33.2 and 40.2) for a few weeks after the storm so those here from New Orleans could watch their local news station.
Click on the link below to read our blog posts from one year ago today:
http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/calendar/wxtalk/28,08,2005
ERNESTO: If you recall here late last week, I wrote this: "When it comes to tropical systems, expect the unexpected". TPC continues to shift the track to the east.... it should be near Miami tomorrow night, and then it moves parallel to the Atlantic coast to a point near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina by Saturday morning. The system is over the eastern tip of Cuba now, and sustained winds are barely at tropical storm strength. There is a chance it becomes a minimal hurricane by the time it reaches South Florida, but the threat of flooding and isolated tornados will be the biggest problem.
There is some school of thought now that Ernesto might stall somewhere around the North Carolina Outer Banks this weekend; that would mean some big time flooding for parts of the mid-Atlantic coast if that happens.
THE ALABAMA STORY: The number of showers and storms on radar right now isn't exactly overwhelming, but showers and storms should increase tomorrow afternoon as a surface front approaches from the northwest.
The interaction with Ernesto is an interesting issue for the latter half of the week. The GFS keeps relatively moist air over the eastern third of Alabama Wednesday through Friday, with drier air over the western two-thirds of the state. By Thursday and Friday, I guess we can hang on to a chance of a shower for East Alabama, but the rest of the state should be mostly dry. Highs will drop back into the 80s for most places Wednesday through Friday north flow on the west side of Ernesto.
LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Rain should not be a big issue across Alabama over the upcoming holiday weekend, although we can't totally rule out the chance of a few showers, especially over the eastern third of the state. Highs will be in the 85 to 89 degree range, with lows in the 68 to 71 degree range.
I enjoyed seeing my friends at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church in Hueytown this morning; that have a wonderful food ministry called "Jesus Pantry" that helps many people in need here in our area. I will have the next map discussion posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow!