James Spann: Alabama seeing upper 80s, low 90s and little or no rain

WE NEED RAIN: Alabama is rain-free this afternoon with temperatures in the 87-92 degree range for most communities. The sky will remain mostly clear tonight with a low in the 60s.

The weather won’t change much through the week and over the coming weekend. Mostly sunny days, fair nights, and only very isolated showers. Chance of any one spot seeing rain daily is 15% or less, and highs will be in the 88-92 degree range.

Temperatures will come down a bit by Sunday and next week with highs in the mid- to upper-80s, and unfortunately there is still no sign of any widespread, beneficial rain event for the state for the next 10 days. Understand this is not unusual this time of the year; September and October tend to be very dry months unless a tropical system is involved. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.

TROPICS: A broad area of low pressure (Invest 92L) has formed roughly midway between the Windward Islands and the coast of west Africa. This system has become better organized since yesterday and is expected to move through a favorable environment for further development. A tropical depression or tropical storm is likely to form by the middle to latter part of this week as the system moves west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph over the central tropical Atlantic.

NHC gives this feature a 90% chance of development, but it will turn north into the open Atlantic and is no threat to land. We see no tropical storms or hurricanes across the Gulf for at least the next 7-10 days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1945: A hurricane entered the south Florida coast at Homestead, curving northward right up through the center of Florida, remaining over land, and exited near Jacksonville Beach with winds gusting to 170 mph. The following is from the Homestead Air Reserve Base. “On Sept. 15, 1945, three years to the day after the founding of the Homestead Army Air Field, a massive hurricane roared ashore, sending winds of up to 145 miles per hour tearing through the Air Field’s buildings. Enlisted housing facilities, the nurses’ dormitory and the Base Exchange were all destroyed. The roof was ripped from what would later become building 741, the Big Hangar. The base laundry and fire station were both declared total losses. The few remaining aircraft were tossed about like leaves.”

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit the Alabama Weather Network.