NEW DAY, SAME FORECAST: Sun, clouds, hot temperatures, and high humidity, it looks and feels like mid-July in Alabama. Scattered showers and storms have been ongoing through the morning hours, but through the afternoon and evening hours, expect the coverage of rain and storms to increase.

Big heat, means big storms and summer storms produce tremendous amounts of lightning, gusty winds, and heavy rainfall. A few severe thunderstorms warnings are possible with winds the main threat. We also note a Heat Advisory has been issued for most of the state today as heat index values will be over 105° in many locations.

BIRMINGHAM ALMANAC: For July 16th, the average high for Birmingham is 91° and the average low is 72°. The record high is 105° set in 1980, while the record low is 55° set in 1967. We average 0.17” of precipitation on this date, and the record value is 2.65” set in 1971.

HIGHER RAIN CHANCES: Showers and storms will begin to increase in coverage tomorrow as the air becomes more unstable, and Thursday and Friday we expect numerous showers and storms. As always in summer, rain distribution will not be even, but the chance of rain for your front yard is 50-60% tomorrow, and over 70% Thursday and Friday. With the clouds and higher rain chances, afternoon highs will drop back into the mid and upper 80s Thursday and Friday.

WEEKEND AND NEXT WEEK: The weather stays unsettled with a good chance of occasional showers and thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday. The weekend won’t be a wash-out by any means, but rain is likely at times with highs only in the mid 80s. Again, rainfall distribution will remain very uneven across the state. This pattern will continue into next week and typical late July weather will be the story. No signs of excessive heat returning to Alabama the rest of July.

IN THE TROPICS: The Atlantic Basin is quiet and tropical cyclone development is not expected the next seven days.

BEACH FORECAST CENTER: Highs in the upper 90s and low 90s along the beaches. Expect storms on a daily basis and water temperatures are in the mid to upper 80s up and down the Northern Gulf Coast.

PLEASE pay attention to the Rip Current Flag System at each beach. Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Fort Morgan to Panama City on our Beach Forecast Center page. There, you can select the forecast of the region that you are interested in visiting.

WORLD TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation outside the U.S. was 121.6F at Ouargia, Algeria. The lowest observation was -93.8F at Vostok, Antarctica.

CONTIGUOUS TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation was 119F at Death Valley, CA. The lowest observation was 32F at Bynum, MT.