This summer has been relatively mild, but the week ahead will certainly make up for it.

For the next few days, temperatures will be in the upper 90’s, possibly exceeding 100 degrees!  Heat indexes will be well into the 100’s, and on Tuesday can top 110 degrees.

The wave will be short-lived though, as a cold front will be pushing through the area on Wednesday, bringing much needed rain and cooler temperatures to the area.

Keep cool, limit your outdoor activity, and review heat wave safety information.  Don’t forget about your pets as well.

It may not be officially winter yet, but it definitely feels like it outside.  We’ve already had our first frost and are settling into the typical cold front weather pattern that mid to late fall brings to the Shoals area.

The recent rains have helped the drought some, but remember that this is our wet season, and we need to get more than the average rainfall for this time of year to start making up for lost time.  Even though the dry weather has receded, we’re not picking up enough extra moisture to tip the balance yet.

That said, it’s nice to see rain again, and even if we don’t get over our usual amount, we’ll take what we can get.

A strong moist southerly flow is persisting with an approaching cold front, creating the possible ingredients for severe weather this afternoon and tonight for the northwest corner of Alabama, including the Shoals Area.  There is a 50% chance of thunderstorm activity this afternoon and an 80% chance of thunderstorms tonight.

Possible supercell development ahead of the front is the main thing to watch for.  Shoals Area residents should remain weather aware thorugh the afternoon and evening hours.

For more information about this event, please see the special weather announcement by the National Weather Service out of Huntsville, Alabama.

Summer ends on Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 with the Autumn Equinox.  The temperature has been very pleasant over the past week or two, and while it will warm up a bit over the next few days as some clouds roll in at night, keeping nighttime cooling to a minimum, it still isn’t even what most would consider warm.  We’ve definitely seen the last of the 90’s, and before long the 80’s will be over with too.

If you’re so inclined, the myth about being able to balance an egg on an equinox isn’t so far fetched.   Something fun to try this Sunday at noon!

Rain chances come back into the picture around the first of the next week, so enjoy the clear skies for your weekend.

The Muscle Shoals Airport, the official weather reporting station for the Shoals Area, reported almost 2 inches of rain from Humberto, bringing our monthly total to over 3.5 inches, which is a bit above normal. We need every inch above normal we can get to help make up for the deficit of rainfall we’ve experienced. Our deficit for the year now stands at 13.35 inches, which is better than it was during the summer. It may be almost impossible to completely make up for the drought this year, but we do seem to have some momentum towards achieving at least part of that goal.

Once the remains of Humberto cleared, a cool front came in, bringing some cooler temperatures. Lows tonight are expected to reach 49 degrees. Looks like fall is here!

Remnants of Hurricane Humberto will be filtering in today and strengthening through end of day Friday.  You can expect showers and possibly thunderstorms over the next  24-48 hours in most western Alabama counties.  We are expected to pick up at least a couple of inches of rain from this event, which is much needed in the area due to drought, even despite the recent rains.

A voluntary recall was issued for Oregon Scientific weather radios due to a potential failure of some of the models to receive weather alerts issued by the National Weather Service.  Models WR103NX, WR108, WRB308, and WRB308J are affected by the recall.  Not receiving alerts of severe weather can put lives and property at risk.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has created a web page with more information on this recall. Consumers with affected models can also visit the recall section of the Oregon Scientific website for further information.

While this blog has typically been filled with bad weather news (storms, drought, extreme temperatures, etc.), I’ve got good news to report in this post.  For the past several days (and it seems for the next few days to come), we’ve had absoultely beautiful weather here in the Shoals!  The temps haven’t really gone much over the low 90’s, a gentle breeze is in the air keeping things nice and comfortable, and the rain we had lately has made a dent (albeit small) in the drought.

The great weather is just in time for our 3-day Labor Day weekend as well!  There’s not any excuse not to have a great time outdoors today.  Enjoy!

Last week we received roughly 2.54 inches of rain at the Muscle Shoals Airport, bringing our monthly total over 3 inches for August.  This is slightly above average, helping to reduce our rainfall deficit for the year to just above 14 inches. While half an inch of rain isn’t considered a drought buster, it looks like the month of August will be a month that the drought receded, if even a bit.

Almost every day this week has a chance of rain, with the greatest on Wednesday, so hopefully we can make a bit more headway.

While today will be another hot day in the Shoals area with the high temperature reaching 100, the next few days will start a cool down with highs in the lower 90’s by the middle of next week.  This heat wave has broken many records across the Tennessee Valley.  Combined with the drought, it has made the past month’s weather almost unbearable.  A chance of showers and possibly thunderstorms will also increase over the weekend, hopefully providing at least some minimal relief from the record drought.