RAIN AT TIMES THROUGH MONDAY; HOT TO THE EAST, COOL TO THE WEST… Isolated showers are happening across parts of south Alabama and northwest Florida on this Sunday evening. The sharp thermal gradient that remains in place across our region is because of the cold front that moved in yesterday and stalled out. It is currently 81° in Opp, Florala, Crestview, and Destin as of 6:00PM. It’s 71° in Thomasville and Millry right now. The cold front remains draped from Elba to Andalusia to Molino to Orange Beach with warm air in place to the east and cooler air to the west. Showers have been happening on both sides of the front today. That is going to be the case tomorrow on Columbus Day Monday as well with a 30% chance of rain for any given spot. We’re also looking ahead to a significant rain event for Tuesday! Let’s look at details…
FEW SHOWERS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT… Most spots across the region will be dry overnight into Monday morning. There could be a few light rain showers at times but I’m not expecting much in terms of beneficial rainfall totals until we get into Tuesday when many spots across the region may have upwards of 1 to 2 inches of rain.
TEMPS NEAR 80° FOR AFTERNOON HIGHS ON MONDAY… Depending on where you are across our region on Monday will determine exactly how high temperatures will be. Some spots across the eastern half of our region in Covington, Butler, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties will top out at or above 80 degrees on Monday. Some spots in west Alabama’s Clarke, Washington, and Choctaw counties may not hit 80° as these areas remain behind the cold front. The headline here remains: A sharp thermal gradient will remain in place across our region until a more powerful cold front moves by late in the day on Wednesday. Rain chances across the region are around 30% for Monday, meaning some spots may have rain/storms before the end of the day.
1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY… The most significant rain event we have had in quite some time is setting up for Tuesday as a strong cold front approaches from our northwest. The latest Quantitative Precipitation Forecast shows rain amounts in the 1 to 3 inch range across our area over the next week. This won’t be a “total drought buster” rain or anything like that but it definitely will help ease the ongoing drought conditions across our region.
STORMS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY MORNING… Our next round of organized thunderstorms will move by on Wednesday morning near or perhaps just out ahead of the advancing strong cold front that will be moving in from the northwest. Rain and storms will gradually move out as cool, dry air takes hold of our weather pattern on Wednesday afternoon/evening.
COOL AIR SURGES IN WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY… All indications point to overnight lows near 50° with high temperatures in the mid-70s (yes! HIGH temps in the 70s!) on Thursday and Friday. Temperatures will quickly moderate into the upcoming weekend when high temperatures are expected to return to the mid-80s by Saturday.
MORE RAIN IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST… Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be a possibility starting again on Saturday and extending into Sunday and perhaps even in the days following the upcoming weekend. It certainly looks like multiple rounds of drought relief are ahead. Good news!
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See all the details in your Sunday evening #rzw forecast video… I’ll have your next full forecast update posted by 7:15AM on Monday. See you then!