Dangerous heat continues, highs almost in the three-digit range

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (WBRC) – Good morning! Today, June 25th, is another First Alert Weather Day.

First weather warning day continues to this day: The extreme heat is expected to continue today. Morning temperatures are a little cooler this morning than this time yesterday. We’ll start with temperatures between 15 and 22 degrees Celsius under mostly clear skies. Highs are expected to rise to 35 degrees Celsius, with some spots reaching 38 degrees Celsius this afternoon.

I think we’ll have a lot of dry air today, so the heat index probably won’t be too bad. We’ll probably see a heat index close to the actual air temperature. Some triple-digit heat indexes are possible in far western Alabama. Today should remain dry, with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. Winds will likely continue to blow from the north at 5 to 10 mph.

Isolated thunderstorms possible on Wednesday: We’re expecting another hot Wednesday afternoon. Temperatures are expected to be between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday morning. Highs are expected to rise to 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday afternoon. We’ll likely see partly mostly cloudy skies on Wednesday afternoon, with humidity increasing across western Alabama. I can’t rule out the possibility of the heat index in far western Alabama rising to near 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday afternoon.

A disturbance to the northwest will likely develop and move into western Alabama Wednesday night, giving us a 40 percent chance of isolated showers and thunderstorms. Not everywhere will see rain Wednesday, but west of Interstate 65 the chances are higher. Any storm that develops Wednesday night could be strong or severe. The main dangers are damaging winds, frequent lightning and heavy rain.

Heat and humidity return this weekend: I want to give everyone a first warning for another hot weekend. The biggest concern this weekend is that humidity could return as southerly winds develop in Alabama. We could see highs of 95 to 100 degrees F on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The added mugginess will make it feel like it’s over 90 degrees F. Morning temperatures will also be warmer with lows of 75 to 80 degrees F. The only good news about the added mugginess is that we could see widely scattered showers and thunderstorms starting Sunday. Any storms that develop over the weekend could be strong. Just be sure to monitor the WBRC First Alert Weather app in case thunderstorms develop. Remember to go indoors if you hear thunder.

Tropical Update: The good news is that the tropics will remain quiet for the next five to seven days. The low pressure system in the western Gulf of Mexico has weakened and moved into Mexico.

We are watching some tropical waves in the central Atlantic, but they will likely have to battle wind shear, dry air and Saharan dust over the next few days. A tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles may need to be watched later this week as it moves into the Caribbean. Long-range models suggest something may develop in the western Caribbean, but confidence in potential development remains low. It’s a case of wait and see.

Hurricane season peaks in September and officially ends on November 30th.

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