FEW SHOWERS TODAY; UNSETTLED WEEK AHEAD… Showers are happening this afternoon across parts of northwest Florida and in parts of Baldwin and Escambia (AL) counties. Much of the rain today has been confined to the immediate beach zones, but a few sprinkles and areas of light rain have managed to sneak farther inland. Today is a harbinger of the next few days in that we have an unsettled pattern set to continue pretty much all week long. Temperatures will be well above our climatological norms for this time of year on Monday as we rise into the mid-70s. More rain is expected Tuesday and Wednesday. That’s your summary, let’s look at details.
SCATTERED SHOWERS ACROSS THE REGION RIGHT NOW… While the heavier showers have been confined to the immediate coastal zones near Orange Beach, Gulf Breeze, and Pensacola Beach over the last few hours, I’m noticing an uptick in the amount of light rain and sprinkles in areas north of Interstate 10 at the time this video is being produced at 1:50PM. Scattered showers will continue to be around through 7-8PM this evening. Drier conditions will prevail overnight.
FOGGY START MONDAY; WARM & MOSTLY CLOUDY… Due to the humid air mass in place across our region, I expect dense fog to be an issue in spots across our region on Monday morning. Vast majority of the region will remain dry on Monday, but there could be an isolated shower or two across the eastern part of our region in Butler, Covington, or Okaloosa counties. High temperatures will rise into the mid- to upper-70s by 3PM on Monday. That is approximately 10-15 degrees above our typical mid-December high of 62-64°. The warmth won’t last long, however, as we have a significant bout of cooler air set to move in late in the day on Tuesday.
SHOWERS & STORMS TUESDAY AHEAD OF SIGNIFICANT COOL DOWN… The chance of severe weather has significantly dwindled for Tuesday. Why? Model guidance suggests we won’t have much (if any) atmospheric instability in place across our region. This is exactly what happened with the last few cold fronts that have moved through our region. It’s a very common occurrence in the cool/cold season around here that we have plenty of shear for storms to work with, but very low to nil CAPE/instability values. That appears to be the case with this system as well. We will maintain a chance of general thunderstorms on Tuesday embedded in the showers, but I expect most spots to have rain with no strong storms. High temps on Tuesday will again be in the mid-70s before a cold front moves through the area late in the evening hours, rapidly dropping temperatures into the 40s late Tuesday evening.
MORE RAIN & MUCH COOLER ON WEDNESDAY… Let me be clear in saying I see no signs of wintry precipitation and/or snow for the local area, however we will likely have a cold, miserable rain in place on Wednesday. High temperatures will be in the low- to mid-50s on Wednesday with a 70-80% chance of rain throughout the day. There could be multiple hours of light to moderate rain on Wednesday.
UNSETTLED END TO THE WEEK… Thursday looks to be the driest day of the week, and even then we could have a few isolated showers around. High temperatures Thursday into Friday will be in the mid-50s with morning lows in the low-40s. Rain is set to return again on Friday as another area of low pressure develops to the southwest of our area and lifts northward.
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 Sunday evening #rzw forecast video… Have a great day!
