7:00 AM | *Excessive heat continues next couple days, but some relief arrives for the second half of the week*

September 17, 2019Paul Dorian

The very hot weather of the past few days will continue for another two days, but then a back door cool front will bring temperatures down to more reasonable levels for the latter part of the week. Highs today and Wednesday will likely again reach the mid-to-upper 90’s, but will be much closer to the 90 degree mark as we close out the work week and head into the weekend. An upper-level ridge of high pressure will dominate the scene across the northeastern US and southeaster Canada in coming days and ridging will extend into the Tennessee Valley and southern Plains as well.

7:00 AM | *Excessive heat to continue through the first half of the week then some relief*

September 16, 2019Paul Dorian

An upper-level trough has set up near the east coast and high pressure ridging is the dominate feature across the north-central US as we begin the new work week. The Tennessee Valley is sandwiched somewhat in between these two systems and it looks like it’ll stay very hot through mid-week. Some relief will arrive later in the week and highs will become closer to the 90 degree mark. Meanwhile, the tropical scene remains quite active in the Atlantic Basin with the system near the Bahamas late last week now a hurricane (Humberto) and it is likely to push away from the US east coast in coming days.

7:00 AM | *Excessive heat wanes after today...an active tropical scene*

September 13, 2019Paul Dorian

The excessive heat will continue for another day here in northern Alabama with afternoon high temperatures likely to reach the mid-to-upper 90’s. Temperatures will edge downward over the next couple of days with highs this weekend generally closer to the 90 degree mark. Meanwhile, the tropical scene remains quite active. One system near The Atlantic Basin tropical scene remains quite active today with multiple systems to monitor. One system over the Bahamas this morning is likely to strengthen as it heads slowly towards Florida over the next couple of days and a batch of showers and thunderstorms over the eastern Gulf of Mexico may organize as it moves westward. In addition, two tropical waves now exist in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the front running system will likely push into the eastern Caribbean Sea in several days and will have to be closely watched.

One final note, this happens to be Friday the 13th and only about 1% of full moons fall on a Friday the 13th. This one is even rarer as it is occurring near apogee, the farthest point in the moon's orbit. This hasn't happened since 1832 and won't happen again for more than 500 years.

7:00 AM | *Hot weather continues here...tropical wave headed to the Gulf of Mexico this weekend*

September 12, 2019Paul Dorian

The hot weather pattern will continue across northern Alabama and there will continue to be the chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms. The main player is an upper-level ridge that extends across much of the southern US allowing for temperatures to reach well into the 90’s in the local area and it’ll stay in control through the weekend. On the active tropical scene, one wave will trek into the Gulf of Mexico this weekend and is likely to produce locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds from the Bahamas to Florida and potentially into the northern Gulf coastal region by early next week.

7:00 AM | *Late summer heat continues for the rest of the week in the Tennessee Valley*

September 11, 2019Paul Dorian

The rest of the week will remain quite hot in northern Alabama and a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms will persist as weak boundary meanders around the region. The main player is an upper-level ridge that extends across much of the southern US allowing for temperatures to reach well into the 90’s for highs during the next few days around this area. A large ridge of high pressure extending from Bermuda to the Appalachians will keep a persistent E-NE flow of air in central Florida for the remainder of the week. This flow will keep high temperatures somewhat limited in coming days to the middle 80’s in general across the region. On the tropical scene, there are three different waves lined up in the Atlantic right now as we arrive at the climatological peak of the tropical season. The first system should head to the Gulf of Mexico by late this weekend and will have to be monitored, the second wave has little chance of survival, and the third wave may very well become an important issue for the SE US/Gulf of Mexico region in about ten days or so...stay tuned.

7:00 AM | *Late summer heat wave continues across the southern US*

September 10, 2019Paul Dorian

The week looks quite hot in northern Alabama for this time of year and a weak boundary zone will increase the chance of showers and thunderstorms for the next couple of days. The main player will be an upper-level ridge that will allow for temperatures to reach well into the 90’s for highs during the next few days and this heat wave extends across much of the southern US.

7:00 AM | *Hot weather pattern setting up for the weekend and early next week*

September 06, 2019Paul Dorian

An approaching upper-level trough of low pressure now crossing the Great Lakes will cause Hurricane Dorian to accelerate to the northeast later today and well to the east of the Mid-Atlantic region. Around here, it’ll remain quite hot and then the heat will intensify this weekend with highs in the middle 90’s by Sunday and the excessive heat will continue early next week.

7:00 AM | *Looks like a hot weekend in northern Alabama with mid 90's possible each day for highs*

September 05, 2019Paul Dorian

Hurricane Dorian is headed towards the South Carolina coastline - now as a "major" category 3 storm - and it will reach a location near the Outer Banks of North Carolina by mid-day tomorrow. At that time, Dorian will become influenced by an advancing trough of low pressure over the Great Lakes and this will cause it to accelerate to the northeast and well to the east of the Mid-Atlantic region. Around here, it’ll stay very warm for the next couple of days and then a September heat wave will begin on Saturday with highs in the low-to-mid 90’s this weekend and the heat will continue into at least the early part of next week.

7:00 AM | **Hurricane Dorian to parallel Florida's east coast today on its way to the Carolina coastline**

September 04, 2019Paul Dorian

Hurricane Dorian is on the move again and will head northward today paralleling the east coast of Florida on its way towards the Carolina coastline. By later tomorrow, Hurricane Dorian will head right over the Outer Banks of North Carolina and will begin to be influenced by an upper-level trough of low pressure pushing southeast across the Great Lakes. As a result, Hurricane Dorian will begin to accelerate to the northeast and should slide well east of the Mid-Atlantic region tomorrow night and Friday.