ISOLATED SHOWERS TODAY; THERMAL GRADIENT ACROSS THE REGION… Rain will be possible today, particularly in the afternoon and evening hours. We’ll call it a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms for any given spot. High temperatures will vary from the upper-70s in west Alabama in places like Chatom, Thomasville, Grove Hill, and Jackson to the mid-80s in places like Andalusia, Opp, Florala, Crestview, and Destin. Why the notable thermal gradient? The cold front that pushed into our region on Saturday has stalled out, creating a boundary between warm air to the east and cooler air to the west. Tuesday may feature the greatest rain amounts many locales across our region have had in quite some time. Let’s talk details…
HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES 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.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED 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.
COOLER AIR ARRIVES WEDNESDAY INTO 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.
RAIN POSSIBLE DURING UPCOMING WEEKEND… 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!
TROPICAL UPDATE… There is a tropical disturbance located near Honduras in the far southwestern corner of the Caribbean Sea that has a low (20%) chance of developing into a tropical storm as it moves northwest toward Mexico. Impacts from this system, regardless of formal development, are not expected in Alabama or northwest Florida. We’re also watching two tropical waves in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean that may develop into tropical storms in the days ahead. Impacts in the continental United States are not expected from these systems.
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See all the details in your Monday #rzw forecast video… Have a great day!