James Spann: Hot, humid days for Alabama with spotty afternoon showers, storms

RADAR CHECK: We have a few spotty showers and storms over east and south Alabama, but much of Alabama is dry this afternoon with a partly sunny sky. Temperatures are generally between 88 and 94 degrees; showers will fade after sunset.

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.

The chance of any one spot seeing a cooling afternoon shower or storm is 15-25% through Wednesday. Odds increase a bit, to 35-45%, by Thursday, Friday and the weekend as the upper ridge weakens a bit. But the bottom line is that 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: Recent satellite-derived wind data indicates that a weak area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave has become less organized today. Although the wave is still producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms, environmental conditions are not expected to be conducive for development during the next few days while the wave moves westward at around 15 mph. The chance of development has dropped to 10%.

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.

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