First Alert Weather: Hot, muggy, & a chance of storms for the rest of the week

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - First Alert AccuTrack shows some isolated thunderstorms moving across Central Alabama tonight producing heavy downpours and frequent cloud-to-ground lightning. Otherwise, the rest of us are dry but muggy under a partly cloudy sky. 

We will likely start tomorrow morning off with a partly cloudy sky with temperatures in the low to mid 70s. Tomorrow will end up hot and muggy with highs in the lower 90s with a heat index near 100°F. By the afternoon, some more clouds will bubble up with a 60% chance for scattered showers and storms. We can never rule out a strong or severe storm capable of producing strong winds and hail. Remember that when thunder roars, go indoors.

Scattered Storm Chances Continue into the Weekend: The unsettled weather pattern will likely continue going into the weekend. I have increased Friday’s rain chances to 60% as a weak cold front approaches Alabama. The weak boundary could help to spark up scattered storms across Central Alabama Friday afternoon and evening. Saturday may end up as our “drier” day with only a 30-40% chance for scattered storms. We will likely end up partly to mostly cloudy over the weekend with highs in the lower 90s. Saturday will likely end up as the hottest day of the weekend. Heat index values could climb near 100°F-105°F.

Next Big Thing: I think our greatest chance to see scattered showers and storms this weekend could occur on Sunday. Long-range forecasts are showing a strong disturbance sweeping into Alabama from the northwest Sunday into Monday morning. We will likely end up mostly cloudy Sunday with a 60% chance for scattered storms. A strong or severe storm can’t be ruled out with damaging winds and large hail as the main threat.  Rainfall totals could add up to around 1-2 inches. The pattern doesn’t change too much going into next week. We’ll hold on to a hot and muggy pattern with highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s with lows in the 70s. Rain chances may lower a bit by the middle of next week with storm chances at 30-40%. 

Tropical Update: The Atlantic remains quiet for the first half of July. I see no signs of any tropical development for the Gulf, Caribbean, or the tropical Atlantic over the next seven days. Hurricane season normally ramps up in August and September. The season officially ends on November 30. If anything has a chance to develop, we will let you know.

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