James Spann: Heat, humidity and a few afternoon storms for Alabama

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: In mid to late July in Alabama just about anybody can produce a daily weather forecast. Just say hot and humid with an afternoon shower or thunderstorm in spots and you will be correct. That is the story for Alabama this week and over the coming weekend. We project highs in the mid 90s through Thursday, followed by low 90s Friday through Sunday.

Hot weather in Alabama during the summer is just a way of life. This is no heat emergency; it is routine. Use your common sense and stay cool as best you can. I won’t insult your intelligence with heat tips like “go into an air-conditioned room” or “stay out of the sun.” You don’t need some nitwit to tell you that.

But remember, heat exhaustion and heatstroke are serious. Heat exhaustion is a condition whose symptoms may include heavy sweating and a rapid pulse, a result of your body overheating. It’s one of three heat-related syndromes, with heat cramps being the mildest and heatstroke being the most severe. Heat exhaustion can lead to heatstroke, a life-threatening condition.

The chance of any one spot seeing a cooling afternoon shower or storm is 15-25% through Thursday. Odds increase a bit, to 25-35%, by Friday and the weekend as the upper ridge weakens a bit. We have very standard summer weather around here at least for the next seven days.

The overall pattern won’t change next week. Typically, the first good cold front of the fall season arrives in mid to late September. The only other thing that can alter the pattern this time of the year is a tropical system, and the Gulf remains very quiet.

TROPICS: Showers and thunderstorms associated with a small area of low pressure about 900 miles east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles have increased some during the past several hours. Environmental conditions are generally favorable for some additional development over the next day or so while the system moves west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph. By the middle of this week, environmental conditions are forecast to become unfavorable for further development.

The rest of the Atlantic basin, including the Gulf, remains quiet.

ON THIS DATE IN 1983: At Vostok Station in Antarctica, the temperature dropped to 128.6 degrees below zero. This reading is the coldest temperature ever recorded.

ON THIS DATE IN 1987: An F4 tornado ravaged the Teton Wilderness and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The tornado’s violent winds destroyed millions of trees on a 24.3-mile track that traversed the Continental Divide at an elevation of 10,170 feet.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.