WBRC Weather

Great Weather For Lawns & Gardens But Drought A Not So Distant Memory

When it comes to weather there are always highs and lows. Its hard to believe that nearly six full years have passed since the historic drought of 2007. The drought conditions in 2007 where catapulted by a 2006 statewide annual deficit of 12 inches. It was labeled as the worst drought in 50 years. The drought was most severe in eastern sections of our state. I remember driving east on I-20 and seeing dry ground under boat docks along the banks of Logan Martin. The water shortage was so severe that some cities feared water reserves would be depleted.  (Image-Dry Lake Bed-Source: NOAA)

When we think about drought the first things that come to mind are water restrictions and impacts on agriculture. However drought’s actually come in different forms. First there are meteorological droughts which involve the short term deficits in precipitation. If the deficits persist we begin to experience hydrological drought in which waterways and water supplies are impacted. The third form is agricultural drought followed by socioeconomic drought. Alabama experienced all four levels of drought which continued into 2008.  

Earlier this week we were discussing flood warnings along the Coosa River. It always amazes me how there are highs and lows when it comes to weather. While it seemed like we would never see a rebound in precipitation at the time, the persistent meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, and socioeconomic drought conditions are now in the history books. Recently Alabama Climatologist John Christy released his summary for March and April stating that the last time Alabama had so little sign of drought was in June 2010. 

(Lawn/Garden Moisture Index Explained)

Fox6 Meteorologist Wes Wyatt
Twitter @weswyattweather
Facebook.com/weswyattfox6
wwyatt@wbrc.com

A Look At 60 Day Rainfall Totals, Plus A Radar Update

Yesterday I shared an image that showed estimated precipitation totals for the past 30 days. Today I wanted to share an image showing estimated totals for the past 60 days. Clearly on this image you can see the area in most need of rainfall. One difference on this image is that portions of West Alabama show a huge deficit. The good news is that we’ve had some big improvements in these areas during the month of July.

I always find precipitation distribution patterns interesting, especially during the summer months. The atmospheric is what we call synoptically benign during this time of year, with smaller scale triggers causing rainfall. I’ve included a close-up over Shelby County. Notice the peak 12 inch totals near Alabaster and Maylene, where the flash flooding occurred last week. Just east of Alabaster the 60 days total drops to less than four inches.

A few showers are redeveloping as we approach lunchtime…here is a midday VIPIR update.

 

Fox 6 Meteorologist Wes Wyatt

Twitter @weswyattweather

facebook.com/weswyattfox6

Noon Update: A Growing Drought In East Alabama

On July 13^th a drought emergency was declared in 33 Alabama Counties. This comes as no surprise considering the extreme heat and dry weather we experienced in late June. The eastern and southeastern portions of the state have been dealing with a drought for months.  The June setup allowed the abnormally dry conditions to spread, including counties closer to home. 

I’ve included the latest drought monitor chart from the National Climatic Data Center.  On this map you will notice areas east and southeast of Birmingham in a severe to extreme drought.

I’ve also included an image displaying rainfall estimates for the past 30 days (source: NOAA, NWS). While parts of our area have received 30 day totals in the 10 to 12 inch range. Other parts of our area have received less than a half inch of rain. The area with least rainfall can be seen south of I-20 and east of I-65.

All of these data show that our friends in East Alabama desperately need rainfall.  We’ve had a pattern favorable for scattered downpours but the concern is that a drier pattern may develop next week. Furthermore, August can be one of our driest months. Let’s hope Mother Nature wavers of-course over the coming weeks and brings us some beneficial rainfall. As of noon today, no storms were on radar but development may begin soon as temperatures rise into the middle 80s. Be sure to checkout myfoxstorm.com for the latest update.

Fox 6 Meteorologist Wes Wyatt

Twitter @weswyattweather

facebook.com/weswyattfox6

Colorado Wildfires - The View From Space

As Alabama braces for more extreme temperatures, folks out west are continuing to battle wildfires. In Colorado, wildfires have been ongoing for days. They continue to be tough to contain due to extremely dry conditions. The wildfires have reportedly destroyed more than 87,000 acres, forcing more than 32,000 residents to evacuate. Although it’s been dry, scattered thunderstorms and showers have developed across Colorado this afternoon. The Haines Index that is used to measure the conditions for wildfire growth has been at the max level for several days.

The top image is a high resolution satellite image produced by NOAA. If you look closely you can see some of the smoke plumes in eastern Colorado. Most of the features you see in the image are cumulus clouds. There also appears to be a large fire in southwest Wyoming. One of our staff members shared the bottom image. This shows the heavy smoke and low visibility at ground level.

She writes: This was taken from my sister's (Shannon Baer) back window. They live in Colorado Springs just east of the fire.

Meteorologist Kevin Jacobs

Fox 6 Weather

Parts of Alabama Still Dealing With Exceptional Drought Conditions

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “April showers bring May flowers.” Well, this year we’re talking about May showers. We only had one organized rainfall event during April and that was back during the 16th and 17th timeframe. Even then, the rainfall totals remained at or below a half inch on average.

When May rolled around the rainfall finally decided to show up. So far Birmingham has picked up over two inches, which places the cities monthly total above average. Now that another big rainmaker is on the horizon, it looks like that above average trend will continue. 

One part of the state that could really use the rainfall is the eastern portions of the state. I’ve included the latest drought monitor for our area and one thing you will notice is the huge rainfall deficit over eastern sections of the state. Southeast Alabama remains in an exceptional drought.

Fox6 Meteorologist Wes Wyatt

Twitter @weswyattweather

Interesting Article About Plants and Drought

Now that the temperatures have warmed up I know lots of folks have started planting, myself included. I found a very interesting article for the plant lovers out there. Some recent research conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln suggests that pre-stressed plants bounce back more quickly the next time they face a precipitation deficiency. The team of researchers compared the reaction of mustard plant that had had been pre-stressed and one that had not. They found that the trained plants, those that had experienced drought, induce certain genes to higher levels, thus allowing the plant to cope with recurring stress. This research also supports what nursery professionals tell us about transplanting and drought hardening. Apparently before you transplant its better not to water the plant being transplanted so it will become drought hardened before the big move. To see the news article from Science Daily click here. 

(Image: The included map is the latest Drought Monitor for the state. The far eastern part of our viewing area remains in an abnormally dry category. Extreme and Exceptional droughts are noted in the southeast part of the state.)

Wes Wyatt-Fox 6 Meteorologist

Follow Me on Twitter@weswyattweather

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The Texas Drought-Setting Records

I sure wish we could help our friends in Texas by piping over some of the rain water we’ve recieved. I had a chance to check out some of the Palmer Drought Severity Index values for Texas. This index takes into consideration temperature and precipitation. The index for August was a negative 7.75, an all time high for August but just under the all time record. The record PDSI is negative 7.80 from September 1956. When going back to October 2010, some rainfall deficits in Texas have topped the 20 inch range. Check out the following report from The National Weather Service in Fort Worth: http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=FWD&issuedby=FWD&product=DGT

Speaking of Texas...last week when we were talking game day weather I mentioned on the show a bit of sports related weather history. I talked about how the University of Alabama postponed the football game with Texas A&M in 1988. They later played that game in December. The delay was a result of powerful Hurricane Gilbert moving through the Gulf of Mexico. On Thursday I was in Northport speaking to a senior citizen group at Northport Baptist Church. A gentleman approached me and said, "hey there, I was the guy that made the call to cancel that road trip." Just thought that was an interesting encounter. I sure had a great time in Northport and enjoyed some great food!

 Wes Wyatt

Fox 6 Meteorolgist

wwyatt@wbrc.com 

 

Afternoon Forecast Thoughts..

Summertime weather in Alabama can be difficult to forecast at times, particularly in a pesky northwest flow aloft. Thunderstorm complexes that develop over the central Plains states oftentimes move southeastward for hundreds of miles before weakening. This was the case today as a thunderstorm complex moved across central Alabama, producing some wind damage and hail in and around the Birmingham metro. In addition, this complex brought some much needed rain to some parts of the state; the Birmingham airport received 0.63".  The Fox 6 weather watchers in Delta and Pinson recorded over one inch of rainfall.

Our forecast for this weekend calls for hotter afternoons as a ridge of upper-level high pressure builds east from the southern Plains. Cities such as Abilene and Midland, TX, climbed to a sultry 106 and 107 degrees, respectively, this afternoon! We will not see temperatures quite that high, but mid-upper 90s seem probable for Sunday - Tuesday as the ridge of high pressure remains anchored over the area along with mostly sunny skies each day.

For the latter half of next week, the aforementioned ridge of high pressure is expected to move east of the area, allowing for a return flow of moisture from the Gulf. Models continue to suggest a frontal boundary will approach the state Thursday.  This feature will provide extra lift in the atmosphere, and combined with daytime heating and increasing moisture, a general increase in the number of scattered showers and thunderstorms is expected. This threat may linger into Friday as the upper support driving the frontal boundary lifts to the northeast, thereby stalling the frontal boundary near the Tennessee Valley. Also, with greater coverage of rain and storms expected, temperatures will cool off slightly into the upper 80s or low 90s.

One last note: we welcome any and all rain because much of the state continues in some form of drought, as seen in the graphic below. The most severe drought conditions are over southern and southeastern Alabama, and abnormally dry conditions exist over central and northern parts of the state.

 
Isaac Williams
FOX 6 WBRC Blog Contributor

ANNISTON/OXFORD FIRE

 
We are seriously in need of some wet weather around here and the lack of rain has led to some dangerous fire conditions. A dry breeze yesterday contributed to the dangerous fire weather setup. These images were captured by a Fox 6 viewer along I-20 near the Anniston/Oxford area. Local firefighters battled a blaze that developed in the median on I-20 near the Anniston/Oxford Exit. These dangerous fire wetaher conditions will continue over the next few days.

 

Wes Wyatt

Fox 6 Meteorologist

wwyatt@wbrc.com

 

Drought Update

All of the rain that we have received lately has helped with the drought conditions. This improvement has been most noticeable over eastern sections of Alabama. Here are some official totals from the NWS for the month and year so far: 

Birmingham 

Month to date: 4.33” Normal: 3.62”

Since January 1st 20.74” Normal: 19.38”

Tuscaloosa

Month to date: 5.69” Normal: 3.98”

Since January 1st: 18.70” Normal: 21.14”

Anniston

Month to date: 4.89” Normal: 3.85”

Since January 1st: 20.19” Normal: 20.27”

The U.S seasonal drought outlook shows signs of some improvement over our eastern communities through July 31st. May is typically our 4th wettest month so it will be interesting to see how the numbers play out over the coming weeks.

Wes Wyatt

Fox 6 Meteorologist

wwyatt@wbrc.com