ABC 33/40 E-Forecast

ABC 33/40 E-FORECAST
Afternoon Edition For Saturday August 18th, 2007
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ALABAMA ONE CALL

KNOW WHAT'S BELOW
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...Watching Dean...

Some of the all-time great hurricanes have traveled this path across
the Caribbean. 1988's Hurricane Gilbert would become the strongest
Atlantic hurricane measured until that time when the pressure fell to
899 mb in the Yucatan Channel. Hurricane Allen (class of 1980) dodged
and weaved through the islands of the Caribbean like a football
running back, never crossing land until it reached South Texas.
Hurricane Ivan passed this was three years ago on its way to a date
with Alabama weather history. And now we have Dean. Dean became the
17th strongest Atlantic hurricane we have ever observed this morning
when the central pressure in the storm dropped to 924 millibars. The
intensification has since leveled off as the storm goes through a
process we call eyewall replacement. It will tank up on the extremely
warm waters of the northwestern Caribbean tomorrow and Category Five
infamy looks likely.

MERCURY WATCH: At deadline time, the temperature at the Birmingham
Airport had reached 97F. There was still a chance that the
thermometer might read 100F before the day was out, perhaps starting
another triple digit streak. No one was at 100F at 2 p.m., quite a
change over the past several days. The heat has backed off just a tad,
but it is going to remain hot through much of the coming week. Heat
index values are high, with higher humidity levels to blame. Heat
index readings this afternoon were generally in the 100-105F range,
which is borderline dangerous.

THE FORECAST: It looks like the stubborn ridge of high pressure over
the southern United States will hold in place for the next five days,
keeping us mainly dry and hot. Afternoon highs will be in the middle
to upper 90s. Only isolated afternoon storms will be able to form,
and they will be few and far between. The GFS hints that the pattern
will begin to breakdown next weekend, with a large trough developing
over the eastern United States. This is quite a change from
yesterday's runs, which showed brief relief then a return to a large
sprawling upper high again. Hopefully the new developments will win
out.

ON THIS DATE IN 1983: Category Three Hurricane Alicia made landfall
on the Texas coast near Galveston. Winds gusted to 130 mph and the
storm surge was measured at twelve feet. Twenty two tornadoes touched
down during the storm, including a rare F2 twister that struck
Corsicana, Texas. A total of twelve fatalities and 1,800 injures
occurred with the hurricane. Total storm damage was $3 billion.
750,000 people were without power after the hurricane. Glass was
blown out of downtown skyscrapers in Houston, including the 71 story
Allied Bank Plaza building and the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Looting
occurred before police secured the area, and fifty people were
arrested. Fires broke out throughout Houston and firefighters were
hampered by low water pressure. Alicia was the first hurricane to
make landfall in the United States since Allen in August 1980, the
longest period of time that the U.S. went between landfalling
hurricane in the 20th century.

Bill Murray
bill@integralhospitality.com

ABC 33/40 7 Day Planner: http://abc3340.com/weather/7day.hrb
ABC 33/40 Weather Blog: http://www.alabamawx.com

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UNASHAMED!

Wouldn't it be awful to be ashamed of the most important things in our lives?

Many of us struggle when it comes to standing up for what we believe in.
Like our faith. There are times for all of us when we are tempted to be
ashamed of our faith. Or we downplay our faith so we won't offend someone.

Wouldn't it be great to live unashamed of our faith? Discover what it means
to live unashamed of the gospel and of Jesus Christ in a new sermon series
at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover. Worship and Sunday School
hours are 8:05, 9:30 and 10:45 a.m.

Hunter Street Baptist Church
2600 John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover
205.985.7295 or

http://www.hunterstreet.org
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TONIGHT
Mostly sunny, hot and humid. A few isolated PM storms.
Overnight Low 72
WIND: SE 5-10

SUNDAY
Partly cloudy, hot and humid. A small chance of an afternoon storm.
Morning Low 78 Afternoon High 99
WIND: S 6-12

MONDAY
Partly cloudy. A slight chance of a passing storm. .
Morning Low 74 Afternoon High 97
WIND: S 5-10

TUESDAY
Partly cloudy and very hot. Only isolated storms.
Morning Low 76 Afternoon High 99
WIND: S 5-10

WEDNESDAY
Partly cloudy, hot and humid. A slight chance of a storm.
Morning Low 75 Afternoon High 98
WIND: S 5-10

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Tonight on ABC 33/40!

6:00pm ABC3340 News
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