Lower Humidity on the Way!

By Jay Grymes & Steve Caparotta

There were some pockets of rather dense fog this morning, but not enough to prompt the NWS to issue an advisory -- the same will likely be true for Friday morning.

A few t-storms popped up late this afternoon – producing frequent lightning and heavy rainfall – but most of us have remained dry, with highs climbing up to around 90° for many WAFB neighborhoods. That too may be repeated for Friday afternoon, although we suspect that showers for Friday afternoon will be mainly confined to the coastal areas.

As we’ve mentioned through the week, we expect a “backdoor” cool front to work through the viewing area during the morning and mid-day hours on Friday. 

What’s a “backdoor” cool front? It’s a term for a front that slides into the area from the north or even northeast rather than the normal approach from the west or northwest.

Our “backdoor” front won’t have much of an impact on afternoon temps, but it will deliver a “drier” (less humid) air mass, which will mean a drop in the daytime humidity and morning starts in the low 60°s for Saturday and Sunday morning.

We’re headed into the “extended” Memorial Day Weekend - - considered by many to be the unofficial kick-off to the summer season. And the forecast for the entire weekend is a great one no matter where you plan to be in the Gulf South region. Whether it’s the coastal beaches, chasing the Tigers in Hoover, or just an afternoon in the backyard, the forecast everywhere is not only a rain-free 3-day weekend, but the northeasterly flow thanks to Friday’s cool front will mean everyone gets a dose of the less-humid air mass.

But the “drier” air doesn’t last too long. Winds will begin to swing around on Sunday and by Tuesday we’ll be back to our more typical late May muggies. But even then, our forecast stays mainly dry for Tuesday and Wednesday, with just a 20% rain chance for Thursday.

And in case you don’t catch the news this evening, the NOAA tropical experts (from the National Hurricane Center and the Climate Prediction Center) issued there forecast for tropical weather activity in the Atlantic basin today. Their forecast offers no insight as to U.S. landfall threats, but does suggest that we will see another busy season with: 13 to 20 ‘named’ storms, 7 to 11 becoming hurricanes of which 3 to 6 would become ‘major’ hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.

Are you Hurricane Ready? Have your “Game Plan?”