RADAR CHECK: Most of Alabama is dry at midafternoon. We note just a few isolated showers south of Montgomery. Temperatures are mostly in the low 80s; the average high for Birmingham on May 26 is 84. Tonight will be mostly fair and pleasant with a low between 55 and 62 degrees.
Alabama’s weather will stay quiet over the holiday weekend with temperatures below average. We will mention a risk of isolated showers Saturday and Sunday, but the chance of any one spot seeing rain is 10-20%. Temperatures will trend downward; we project highs in the mid to upper 70s for the northern half of the state Saturday and Sunday, almost 10 degrees below average.
Memorial Day looks dry with a good supply of sunshine and a high near or just over 80 degrees.
REST OF NEXT WEEK: The weather stays calm with no major precipitation events for the Deep South. Showers will remain few and far between through the week, and temperatures will trend warmer. Highs will be close to 90 by the end of the week.
TROPICS: Disorganized showers and thunderstorms near the southeastern United States coast are associated with a non-tropical low-pressure area and associated frontal boundary. The low is unlikely to become a subtropical or tropical cyclone since it is forecast to remain frontal while moving generally northward and inland over the Carolinas late Saturday or Sunday.
Regardless, the system is expected to continue producing gusty winds and dangerous surf and rip-current conditions along portions of the southeastern U.S. coast through Sunday. Heavy rainfall is expected in portions of the Carolinas and Virginia during the next couple of days. Hazardous marine conditions are also expected over the coastal and offshore waters, where gale and storm warnings are in effect.
The rest of the Atlantic basin, including the Gulf of Mexico, is very quiet.
The Atlantic hurricane season begins Thursday, June 1, and runs through the end of November.
ON THIS DATE IN 1917: A major tornadic thunderstorm took a 293-mile track across parts of central Illinois and Indiana. Although it was once believed to be a single tornado, a later study indicated it was likely at least eight separate tornadoes. Overall, 101 people in Illinois were killed during the outbreak, with 638 injured.
ON THIS DATE IN 2003: A BMI Airbus bound for Cyprus from Manchester, England, encountered a violent thunderstorm over Germany. The plane bounced and twisted violently as it ran into severe turbulence, with huge hailstones pounding the exterior. A football-sized hole was punched in the aircraft’s surface. None of the 213 passengers or eight crew members was seriously hurt.
For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.
