Monday brought cooler weather and a little rain across parts of Alabama, a much-needed respite from a heatwave last week in which several Alabama cities ranked as the hottest in the nation.
Jessica Winton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham, told APR on Monday that Huntsville would see highs in the upper 70s on Tuesday while Birmingham would see a highs in the lower 80s.
“Towards the middle of the week we’re actually back into a warming trend,” Winton said. “By Thursday Huntsville and Birmingham are both in the mid to upper 80s for a high.”
Winton said a high pressure system over the state last week coupled with already warm temperatures resulted in record highs that beat out the rest of the country for several days.
“And our flow was from the south and the east, and that brought a lot of warmer air,” Winton said. “…and we were already warmer than normal.”
Andalusia, Oakmulgee and Montgomery all hit 101 degrees on Tuesday, tying with Meridian, Mississippi for the hottest spots in the country, according to the National Weather Service. The Vaiden Field Airport in Marion recorded 105 degrees on Wednesday, topping the nation.
Oakmulgee and Guntersville both hit 103 on Thursday, according to the NWS. Guntersville and Uniontown held the hottest U.S. city record on Friday, both at 103 degrees.
Birmingham stayed above 90 degrees for 20 days, between Sept. 21 and Oct. 5.
Anniston saw a record high of 98 degrees on Friday, topping the previous 94 degrees recorded in 1954. Montgomery’s previous record of 97 set in 1954 was broken Friday when the city hit 102 degrees. Birmingham’s 99 degrees on Sunday broke the previous record of 93 set in 1904.
