GORGEOUS WEEKEND AHEAD; LOWER HUMIDITY… Temperatures started in the mid-60s for most locales across the region this morning as dry, comfortable air continues to surge into our region from the northeast. Mostly sunny skies are expected across the region on this Friday. Nice weather is in store for high school football tonight. Sunny, warm conditions are expected on both Saturday and Sunday as well. The tropics continue to be active, but the good news is we’re not seeing any systems that will be in the Gulf of Mexico anytime in the next 5 days. Let’s look at details…
UNBELIEVABLE FLASH FLOODING IN MOBILE YESTERDAY… 90% of us across south Alabama and northwest Florida had zero rain on Thursday. That was certainly NOT the case across the Mobile, AL metro area last evening, however. Intense thunderstorms and heavy rain trained over the same areas (that happens to be the most densely populated locales in our region!) for several hours. Numerous water rescues happened because motorists were stranded on water-covered roadways. Multiple flash flood warnings were required for Mobile County. Check out the dramatic video of the flash flooding here: https://www.facebook.com/rzweather/videos/2397170520532711
HURRICANE JERRY STRENGTHENING; ANOTHER THREAT FOR BERMUDA… Hurricane Jerry continues to barrel to the northwest in the central Atlantic Ocean. The system is currently passing just northeast of the northernmost of the Leeward Islands. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for St. Martin, St. Maarten, St. Barthelemy, and Saba & St. Eustatius. Maximum sustained winds are up to 105 mph, making Jerry a category 2 hurricane. The system will likely recurve into the Atlantic by Sunday. This means that United States direct impacts from Hurricane Jerry remain very unlikely. Bermuda, however, might not be so lucky. The island commonwealth again finds itself in the middle of the cone of uncertainty where Jerry will probably move in the days ahead. This comes after Bermuda was just lashed a few days ago by the southern flank of Hurricane Humberto.
LAST ADVISORY ISSUED ON HUMBERTO… The National Hurricane Center has issued its final advisory on Hurricane Humberto, which has become extratropical south of Newfoundland, Canada over the northern Atlantic Ocean.
REMNANTS OF IMELDA PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN IN TEXAS… Big time rain amounts and flash flooding issues are happening across portions of eastern Texas as the decaying system that was once Tropical Storm Imelda continues to drift northward. The system should continue to decay today and ultimately fizzle out as we go into the weekend.
TROPICAL WAVE IN CARIBBEAN… There is a very low (10%) chance of tropical storm formation as a tropical wave currently situated south of Hispaniola continues drifting westward. Significant development of this system remains unlikely due to unfavorable upper-level winds. Locally heavy rainfall will be possible across Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the next day or so because of this tropical wave.
TROPICAL WAVE IN ATLANTIC EAST OF JERRY… Another tropical wave situated behind/east of Hurricane Jerry in the Atlantic Ocean is moving west toward the Lesser Antilles. NHC says this system has a 30% chance of becoming a tropical storm in the next 5 days as the system continues moving westward. Directly from the NHC discussion: “A tropical wave located about 700 miles east of the Windward Islands is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms. The wave is expected to move quickly westward at about 20 mph during the next few days, and some development is possible while it approaches and moves across the Windward Islands this weekend. Upper-level winds appear less conducive for development once the wave moves into the eastern Caribbean Sea early next week.”
60% CHANCE OF TROPICAL DEVELOPMENT NEAR AFRICA… Our next significant chance of tropical development probably will come early next week as a tropical wave moves off of the African continent. The NHC discussion reads: “A tropical wave is forecast to move off the west coast of Africa this weekend. Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for development, and a tropical depression could form early next week while the wave moves westward across the eastern tropical Atlantic.”
HOT DAYS, COOLER NIGHTS AHEAD… High temperatures today, tomorrow, and Sunday will be in the upper-80s and near 90°. Overnight lows through Sunday morning will be in the mid-60s. Sunday morning looks to be the coolest morning in the next 7 days with temperatures reaching the 63-66° range in many spots, especially across inland areas of south Alabama.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL FORECASTS… Each week, we provide a brief summary of our local college football matchups when the weather isn’t insanely active locally. See details below.
ALABAMA VS. SOUTHERN MISS… The Southern Miss Golden Eagles travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. The game is set for an 11AM kickoff on ESPN2. Partly cloudy skies are expected in Tuscaloosa on Saturday with very little to no chance of rain. Kickoff temperatures will be around 82° rising to around 88° by the end of the game.
AUBURN VS. TEXAS A&M… The Aggies of Texas A&M will host the Auburn Tigers this weekend in College Station, Texas. The game will be televised on CBS local stations and is set for a 2:30PM kickoff. We’ll call it a 20% chance of showers and storms during the daytime hours in College Station. The remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda will continue to bring heavy rain to parts of Texas this week, but I expect areas near College Station to be mostly dry by Saturday. Game time temperatures will be in the mid-80s.
TROY AT AKRON… The Akron Zips will host Troy this weekend as the Trojans travel all the way to Akron, Ohio for a 2PM game on Saturday. There is only a 10-20% chance of showers and storms in Akron during the game which is set to be broadcast on the ESPN+ streaming platform. Game time temperatures will be in the mid-80s.
SOUTH ALABAMA AT UAB… There is a big intrastate football game scheduled for 2:30PM at Legion Field in Birmingham on Saturday as the South Alabama Jaguars take on UAB. Temperatures will be in the mid- to upper-80s Saturday afternoon and evening in Birmingham. No rain is expected.
APP… If you haven’t already, be sure to download the free RedZone Weather app to keep up with all the latest information on the world of weather in south Alabama and northwest Florida. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Once you have the app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) and tap the large, yellow Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
See all the graphics and details in your Thursday #rzw forecast video… Have a great day!