First Alert Weather: Cranking up the weekend heat; Storms possible on Sunday

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - First Alert AccuTrack shows us mainly dry and quiet across Central Alabama this evening. Any lingering clouds will gradually fade away overnight, making for a mostly clear sky. We’ll start tomorrow morning off dry with temperatures in the mid 60s. Saturday is shaping up to be our driest day of the weekend. We are expecting a mostly sunny to partly cloudy sky with highs climbing into the lower 90s. It’s going to be a hot afternoon with only a stray shower possible. Most of our short-range models keep us dry. Just make sure you stay hydrated and take several breaks if you have to work outdoors over the weekend. Humidity will be around, but it won’t be super muggy. Heat index values may climb into the mid to upper 90s tomorrow afternoon.

Storms Possible Sunday: Humidity levels will likely increase Saturday night into Sunday. It’ll make the heat index climb higher and also help increase our chances to see showers and storms. We’ll likely start Sunday morning off warm and muggy with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s. We now have a First Alert for the possibility of scattered storms at times on Sunday with rain chance up to 50%. With a northwest flow pattern setting up again, models are struggling to figure out the timing on when any clusters of storms could move through. Right now, it looks like the first round could move through Sunday morning before another round moves in later at night. The Storm Prediction Center is highlighting a marginal risk - threat level 1 out of 5 - for North Alabama Sunday. A few strong or severe storms can’t be ruled out with damaging winds and large hail as the main threats. Storms that form Sunday into Monday will also be able to produce heavy rainfall and frequent lightning. Just make sure you have ways to receive critical weather information. Remember that when thunder roars, go indoors.

Scattered Storms Monday: We will likely see a chance for another round of stormy weather Sunday night into Monday morning. A few storms could be strong or severe. Models are backing off on the coverage of showers and storms later in the day on Monday, so we expect to gradually dry out during the afternoon. Rain chances are at 50%. We’ll likely see showers and storms early in the day with a few more storms possible late in the afternoon and evening hours. It’ll remain hot and very muggy with highs in the lower 90s. When you factor in the humidity, it could feel like it is in the triple digits. The good news is that this stormy pattern will move to our south allowing us to dry out by Monday night.

Hot and Muggy Next Week: We will likely see a small break from the stormy weather by the middle of next week. A ridge of high pressure will likely build in giving us sunshine and hot temperatures. We could see highs in the low to mid 90s next Tuesday through Friday. It will not surprise me if we see upper 90s in far west Alabama by next Thursday and Friday. We’ll likely stay mostly dry for the middle of next week, but we can’t rule out a few storms by next Thursday and Friday. The first weekend of July could start out stormy across Central Alabama, but a lot of things can change between now and then.

Tropical Update: Tropical Storm Bret is producing some lingering showers and gusty winds across the Windward Islands this evening. It has emerged into the eastern Caribbean, where wind shear is now impacting the core of the storm. Bret is looking disorganized, and winds have lowered to 50 mph. It is very likely that Bret will continue to struggle over the next 48 hours as it pushes to the west. The National Hurricane Center has Bret dissipating in the Central Caribbean Sunday afternoon.

Tropical Storm Cindy formed late Thursday night in the Central Atlantic. The system has sustained winds at 50 mph and is moving off to the west-northwest at 16 mph. Cindy has a better structure with sustained storms developing along the center of the storm. Cindy could intensify over the next 48 hours, but it is not forecast to become a hurricane. It will likely steer to the northwest and stay away from Puerto Rico. The National Hurricane Center is forecasting Cindy encountering volatile conditions that will likely weaken and disrupt the storm early next week. They forecast Cindy to weaken early next week and possibly dissipate by Tuesday night.

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