AWN Statewide Forecast for Thursday Morning, May 21, 2026

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:02]It's time for [music] your statewide Alabama weather cast.

[00:00:07]>> [music] >> It's Thursday, the 21st of May. I'm James Spann. Every day, there will be a chance of rain, but understand the days ahead will not be a washout. The sun breaks out at times.

[00:00:19]So, let's walk our way through the upcoming holiday weekend. Now, it's raining this morning over the northern third of the state. We'll check some of the region's Sky Cam network views. This is coming from Florence, Renaissance Shoals. They've got a steady rain there falling, mostly light rain and 69 as the day begins. Down below, of course, that's the Tennessee River.

[00:00:39]Morgan County and Decatur, sprinkles, just a little light rain falling.

[00:00:43]They're also in the upper 60s. Now, in Huntsville, they're in the clouds, Monte Sano Mountain, socked in with clouds up on the big hill. They're at 67 with light rain falling there.

[00:00:53]This is the view coming from downtown Cullman. They've got clouds, very light rain and 69.

[00:00:59]This is a look into Anniston, Calhoun County.

[00:01:03]They're dry, 70°. The sky is mostly cloudy.

[00:01:07]Downtown Birmingham, the top of Regions Center looking south.

[00:01:11]70° there.

[00:01:13]Let's go to the Sky Cam at Demopolis, Marengo County, overlooking the Tombigbee River.

[00:01:20]Where they got a little light rain, not much. Some low clouds and fog. They're at 72.

[00:01:25]Montgomery, beautiful sky. That's gorgeous. They've got 72 this morning.

[00:01:30]Let's go down to Abbeville. Low clouds and some fog in Henry County, 71°.

[00:01:37]Downtown Mobile looking good, 75 in the port city.

[00:01:42]On the eastern shore, Fairhope.

[00:01:44]74° this morning. They're dry. The sky there is mostly cloudy.

[00:01:49]And everybody is going to be headed down here in coming days if they're not there already.

[00:01:54]That's the uh Gulf Shores Sky Cam this morning. Uh again, clouds, no rain. And listen, if you look at your phone app, it looks like it's going to rain every day, all day between now and Labor Day.

[00:02:03]Uh phone apps will lead you down a bad path. Uh could it be a few showers in the coast? Yes, no doubt about that. But they should be very widely spaced the next couple of days. Uh the more numerous ones should be inland, and you'll see a pretty decent amount of sun. Bottom line is the weather not that bad on the Gulf Coast through the weekend.

[00:02:22]So, note those colored clouds over Texas. Those are colder cloud tops, big storms blowing up on the Texas coast.

[00:02:29]But around here, the ridge is weaker. We have a southwest flow aloft, and that's going to open the door for a chance of rain every day. That's the radar early this morning.

[00:02:38]And you can see uh some light rain over about the northern third of the state, north of Interstate 20.

[00:02:43]Also, a little light rain around York, Livingston, Demopolis, and Butler. That rain will fade over the next hour or two, and then we'll see more scattered showers and storms forming this afternoon during the peak of the daytime heating process in this ocean of humidity across the deep south. Every day, some sun, every day, some rain. But it will not rain everywhere every day.

[00:03:07]Highs holding in the 80s right on through much of next week.

[00:03:10]Temperatures early this morning, upper 60s and low 70s. Highs today in the 80s in most spots.

[00:03:17]But boy, the the rain looks good here.

[00:03:19]Uh we need this going into summer. Uh for the Tennessee Valley, 3 to 4 in.

[00:03:24]Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Anniston, Gadsden, 2 to 3 in.

[00:03:28]South Alabama, rain amounts mostly 1 to 2 in over the course of the next 7 days.

[00:03:33]And again, as you look at modeling here, this kind of gives you an idea of what the radar might look like today. And you can see, it's not raining everywhere.

[00:03:39]That's 3:00 this afternoon. For some, the sun will be out. For others, maybe a decent downpour.

[00:03:46]And again, with these scattered storms that form in the late May, not severe by classic definition, but the big issue is lightning and you know the rule when you hear thunder just get in get in something car truck bus house anything.

[00:04:00]That's Saturday at 3 same thing notice it's not raining in many places.

[00:04:05]But in some places a decent downpour and that's basically the idea through almost all of next week is this pattern will be holding. So let's go to our 7-day forecast first off for the northern half of the state.

[00:04:17]Highs in the 80s lows mid to upper 60s every day some sun every day the chance of a few showers and storms most active during the afternoon and evening hours but like today there could be some morning rain around as well.

[00:04:30]South Alabama same concept highs mostly mid to upper 80s lows around 70 and every day some sun and scattered showers and storms around.

[00:04:40]That's the Alabama update this morning on the Alabama weather network.