Jason Simpson

Freddy the German World Cup traveler is having a generational run across the South. Books will be written about this. 😂

Alabama native Ella Langley has entered the chat.

NOT A WEEKEND WASHOUT, BUT SOME HEAVY STORMS STILL POSSIBLE ⛈️🌦️

If you have outdoor plans today or Sunday, do not cancel them—but definitely keep the WVTM 13 app handy. We are dealing with a typical summer setup where scattered downpours will cause some temporary disruptions, but it will not be a total washout for any Alabama community.

Here is what you need to know to plan your weekend and look ahead to next week's heavy rain potential:

☀️ The Weekend Breakdown
Saturday: Plain old hot and sticky away from the rain. Temperatures soar to 92°F, but the humidity will push the heat index near 100°F. Hit-or-miss storms (40% chance) will come and go, generally lasting 30 to 40 minutes.

Sunday: Very similar, but with a slightly higher storm coverage (50%). A decaying cluster of storms from the Midwest will fizzle out near the Shoals Sunday morning, leaving behind leftover energy that will trigger more afternoon and evening downpours.

The Threats: Any storm that pops up this weekend can pack a punch. We're talking torrential rain (up to 2 inches in under 30 minutes), localized flooding, gusty winds over 40 mph, and intense lightning. Remember: lightning can strike 10 miles away from the actual rain. If you hear thunder, head indoors!

🌧️ Monday: Widespread Rain & Flood Threat
A stalled cool front changes the game as we start the workweek. Deep tropical moisture overriding this front will bring widespread rain and numerous thunderstorms on Monday (70% chance).

The Setup: While everyone gets wet, a heavy band of persistent downpours will setup along and south of the Interstate 20 corridor. That means North Alabama - where it's rained nearly 2 feet since late May - you will miss the heaviest this time!

Rain Totals: Some spots in Central and South Alabama could easily pick up 2 to 4 inches of rain, with isolated pockets south of Birmingham closer to 5 or 6 inches by Tuesday night.

Flooding: NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has outlined a "Slight Risk" (level 2 of 4) for flash flooding on Monday - mainly south of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa nearer Montgomery, Selma, Demopolis and to the Gulf Coast on Tuesday.

🌤️ Midweek Drier Air (For Some)
By Tuesday and Wednesday, drier air works its way into North Alabama, helping to suppress storm chances around Birmingham and points north. However, the tropical setup sticks around South Alabama, keeping things stormy and muggy down there through the middle of the week before normal scattered afternoon patterns return by Thursday.

Be sure to check out the video forecast for the latest timing and radar updates! Have a great Saturday, stay cool, and keep an eye on the sky!

Tragic News Out of Virginia: Please join me in keeping the congregation of EastLake Community Church in Moneta, Virginia, in your prayers tonight.

During an outdoor service celebrating the church’s 20th anniversary this evening, a severe thunderstorm moved through the area. Strong winds hit and tore the support poles of a massive 1,500-seat tent out of the ground—causing the structure to collapse on the nearly 1,000 people in attendance.

One person was killed—a church elder—and 22 others were injured.

Saturday looks like a load of fun to be outside enjoying the weather for about 5 minute after the sun rises...

After that, get ready to sweat (even more).

Some scattered storms are possible, but Saturday is gonna be hot!

"That's a floater."

-Vulcan (Probably)

🚨 Behind the Imagery: What’s Piling Up on Alabama's Beaches?
If you’ve visited the beaches down around Gulf Shores, Fort Morgan, or Dauphin Island over the last few days, you’ve likely noticed a thick, golden-brown carpet of seaweed washing ashore—and maybe caught a whiff of that unmistakable rotten-egg smell.

Let's dive into the science of what this is, why it's hitting our coast right now, and how we use satellite technology to track it in real-time.

🌿 What is Sargassum?
This isn't your everyday beach seaweed. Sargassum is a unique, rootless macroalgae that spends its entire life cycle floating on the open ocean. It stays buoyant thanks to thousands of tiny, gas-filled bladders that look like little berries.

Out in the deep waters of the Gulf and the Atlantic, these floating mats are actually incredibly vital ecosystems—serving as a floating nursery for sea turtles, crabs, and game fish. But when it migrates to the coastline, it becomes a massive headache.

🗺️ The Satellite View (How We Track It)
To see exactly how much seaweed is heading our way, we look at the ocean from space using tools like NOAA’s AOML Daily MCI (Maximum Chlorophyll Index) and the University of South Florida's Sargassum Watch System (SaWS).

Because Sargassum is packed with chlorophyll, high-resolution satellites can isolate its specific reflection on the water's surface.

Look at the latest imagery from earlier this week: those intense red, orange, and yellow pixels packed tightly along the northern Gulf are dense mats of algae sitting right at our doorstep.

🌬️ Why is it piling up in Alabama right now?
It takes a perfect recipe of currents, wind, and "food" to bring this much seaweed to our beaches:

The Gulf Loop Current: Pieces of the massive Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt break away in the Caribbean and get pulled northward into the Gulf of Mexico by powerful currents.

Onshore Summer Winds: Because Sargassum floats entirely on the surface, it acts like a sail. Sustained south and southeast winds over the last couple of weeks have acted like a giant conveyor belt, pushing the mats straight onto the beaches of Baldwin and Mobile counties as well as Florida's northern Gulf Coast.

River Influx Nutrients: The high volume of agricultural and freshwater runoff coming out of the Mississippi River and our own Mobile-Tensaw Delta dumps nitrogen and phosphorus into the northern Gulf. This essentially acts as a massive fertilizer injection, allowing the seaweed mats to rapidly bloom and grow even thicker right as they approach the coast.

🏖️ What does this mean for your beach trip?
When these massive mats beach and sit under the hot June sun, they begin to decompose. This process depletes oxygen in the immediate shallow surf (which can drive away fish) and releases hydrogen sulfide gas—the culprit behind that heavy sulfur smell.

Coastal management teams track these exact satellite maps to get a few days' heads-up, allowing them to coordinate beach cleanups and manage the inundation risk.

Have you run into the Sargassum on the coast this week? Drop your beach photos and reports in the comments below! 👇

Storms and a sharp outflow boundary over Jefferson, Walker and Tuscaloosa Counties. New storms will likely develop near this mini cool front as it moves south through the Birmingham area Friday afternoon...

Shelf cloud and rain moving into Jackson County on Friday. Big and heavy but no severe storms expected! A few may be windy, but most will be below severe limits.

📸: Daniel Harbin

What a gorgeous day at Perdido Beach. 😍
Photo courtesy of my son who's living his best life!

FRIDAY MIDDAY:

These storms don’t look impressive on radar, but they are gusty! 35-45 mph gusts will be common as they move south - and that outflow (the wind) will generate more scattered storms farther south through the afternoon.