We have been waiting so long, but it is finally here. The first blast of Autumn comes in Monday night with a cold front that has come all the way down from Canada. Humidity will plummet in the wake of this front allowing our morning temperatures to dive into the lower 50s. Some inland locations could go as far down as the upper 40s Wednesday and Thursday morning! Afternoon highs will be in the lower 80s from Tuesday on. Enjoy the “true” start to fall!

This Week

I had the opportunity to visit the 3rd grade students at E.R. Dickson Elementary today. We talked getting into meteorology as a career, severe weather, and hurricanes. This was a great group and they had some interesting questions. They already know a lot about the weather.

I’d like to take a moment and thank everyone who participated in this year’s Gulf Coast Start! Heart Walk.

Hundreds of friends, familes and co-workers came together in Spanish Fort this weekend, to raise awareness and research dollars for the American Heart Association.

The weather was touch-and-go.  It rained for much of the morning.  But the sun came out just in time for the walk.

Fox10 News was a proud media sponsor.

I was honored to spearhead the event and several members from the Fox10 News family laced up their walking shoes for a great cause.

We had a fabulous turnout!

So far donations have totaled to just over $107,000.  However, the event goal is $370,000.  Yes, they are still taking donations if anyone is interested.

The American Heart Association is the largest voluntary health organization working to prevent, treat and defeat heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.  These diseases are the Nation’s No.1 and No.3 killers, and claim more than 865,000 American lives a year!

The American Heart Association cannot achieve its mission without you.

So thanks again for your support.

Here’s to living a more heart healthy life

Fall begins today at 4:18pm cdt according to the calendar, however the weather pattern remains very tropical and humid across the Gulf Coast. This is the exact time of the autumnal equinox. An equinox occurs twice a year, when the Earth’s axis is pointed vertically in relation to the sun. At this point, the equator points directly towards the sun. This is in reality, only an astronomical event. The nights are growing increasing longer. Temperatures tend to lag behind the frameworks of the seasons. Water and land temperatures take longer to cool, despite the longer periods of darkness.

There is a substantially better chance of seeing our first fall cool front in the last week in September, according to historical weather records. This event is delayed this year due to a persistent low that stalled over the Ark latex last week. A deep tropical air mass continues to hang tough over the south. We do see the opportunity to receive slight drier and cooler air by early next week in the extended computer models.

Last week, when I was in New York, I attended a taping for The Wendy Williams Show.

The syndicated talk show made its season debut on Fox10 in July, following a six week trial run last summer in New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Dallas.

Most people already know Wendy Williams, also known as the Queen of Media, from her days in radio.  She has what you might call an aggressive interviewing style.  Ok to be frank, she has no qualms with asking her guests tough and sometimes embarrassing questions…let’s just say…the juicer the better.

Wendy tapes live Monday through Thursday at 10:00 a.m and audience members are expected to arrive to the studio by 8:00 a.m.

There’s a check-in process.  You give your name to the person at the door, and walk through a security check point, before your escorted into a waiting room.  Certain VIP’s are taken into the “Purple Room.”  It’s a more intimate setting and puts you at the front of the line for entering the set.

I have to thank the producers of the show for giving me and my sister the VIP treatment

Kate Voegele performed her hit song”99 Times.”  Then actress Debbi Morgan, from “All My Children” stopped by.

But I was most impressed with Wendy.  She was such a gracious host.  It was something to see…staff members were fussing over her hair, wardrobe, and make-up in between commercial breaks as Wendy was trying to make her way through the audience to meet and greet.  I have been to other show tapings before and during the commercial breaks the talent sat in their chairs and had very little interaction with the audience members.

Overall, my short stint in NYC was a jammed packed with activities.

I was there for the start of fashion week, the memorial for 9/11, and the U.S Open tennis tournament.  It was both and exhilarating and exhausting.

Over the past few months, I’ve had the chance to give AT&T’s GPS service a test drive.  Navigator is a free download for the iPhone, but costs about $10 a month to use, added to your AT&T bill.

For my first test, I let Navigator pick the quickest route from Orange Beach to the Grand Hotel in Point Clear.  Given the iPhone’s short battery life and since the battery-draining “Location Services” must be activated for Navigator to find its way, I selected a relatively short route.

I typed in the street address for the Grand and off we drove. Navigator took me up Highway 59, then north on Highway 98, and west on Gayfer Street in Fairhope. According to Navigator, the Grand Hotel was located on Gayfer Street, east of North Section Street – not exactly the waterfront property folks have learned to love over the years.  Luckily, I knew where I was going.  When I did arrive at the Hotel, I found Navigator had placed me in the middle of the Lakewood Golf Club across the street.  Its accuracy left a little to be desired.

The next test pitted Navigator against the “NeverLost” GPS system, hardwired into the Hertz rental car I was driving from the Pittsburgh airport to southwestern Pennsylvania.  Like the first test, I was familiar with this route as well, but there was an en-route challenge to both GPS systems.  Part of the trip involved a toll road that was still under construction. Would they be able to cope?

Leaving the Pittsburgh airport was routine with both systems, though I appreciated the timely reminders from NeverLost about upcoming turns.  The two female voices used by NeverLost were crystal clear as opposed to the sometimes-muffled voice coming from Navigator through the mini-speakers on the iPhone.  When it came to the map display, there was no contest between the two.  NeverLost looked like PacMan versus Navigator’s 3D street imaging.

When I drove onto the toll road, Navigator pulled way ahead in the competition.  Because Navigator downloads maps as needed along the route, it recognized the new stretches of highway and the detours needed to guide me to them.  NeverLost turned into EverLost as it tried desperately to keep me from driving through cornfields, or so it thought.  It finally gave up and warned me to return to the paved road.  In this case, Navigator knew exactly where I was, and how to get where I was going. It also offered to check for traffic along the route.

To its credit, AT&T has come out with several refinements to Navigator in the past few months which are available free via the App Store application on the iPhone. Neverlost didn’t show evidence of that flexibility.

The next time I really need to find where I’m going, I’m bringing my iPhone, Navigator and, for a long trip, an extra battery. 

BTW, I stopped in an Apple Store on my way back to the airport to lust after check out the iPhone 3GS.  The “S” really does stand for speed.  It booted faster, wrote pages faster and shot some really great looking video.

A low pressure area is cut off from the jet stream over north central Louisiana. This feature is creating a deep moist flow across our area, and it’s the classic environment for repeated rains. At the mid point in September, we have recorded 4.93“ of rain at Mobile Regional Airport. That is 1.87” above normal so far this month.    

The southwest flow at the surface is also making for muggy overnight temperatures. Lows have been ranging from the low 70’s inland, to the upper 70’s near the beaches. Typically, cooler weather usually arrives sometime during the last ten days of the month of September. We do see a cool front arriving mid week next week in the extended computer models.

There aren’t any features pushing our way in the next several days that would kick this pesky low out of our forecast area. We do think the low will gradually weaken by Saturday and Sunday, lowering our rain chances. The good news is that we are not seeing any organized activity in the tropics today…

College Football Is Back! Here’s the forecast for some of our local teams this Saturday:

Alabama vs. Virginia Tech at 7pm in Atlanta

The Tide is going “Hoakie Hunting” this Saturday in Atlanta. At game time the temperature will be in the low 80s with a possibility of some isolated showers. Of course, this turkey hunt is indoors at the Georgia Dome, so weather will have no effect on the game, just on your tailgate plans! It should be interesting to see how Saban handles Beamer Ball!

Auburn vs. Louisiana Tech at 6pm in Auburn    

The War Eagles are welcoming the LA Tech Bulldogs to the plains this Saturday. Weather shouldn’t be much of a factor with temps in the low 80s and partly cloudy skies. How will the Chizik era begin in Auburn?

South Alabama vs. Hargrave Military Academy at 4pm in Mobile

This is the inaugural game for the Jags! Hargrave Military is their first opponent at Ladd-Peebles. Never hear of Hargrave? Well believe it or not, this school has sent dozens of players to the NFL draft. It will be a tough test for Joey Jones and his boys and it’s possible that test may include some rain. We have a chance for some scattered showers on Saturday with temps in the mid 80s at game time.

LSU @ Washington at 9:30pm in Seattle         

The Bayou Tigers are going cross country to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Huskies. As you might guess, it will be cool and damp. At game time it will be right around 60 degrees with light showers. Don’t worry LSU fans, Tigers are one of the few species of cat that likes water!

September is a month of big changes here on the Gulf Coast. Usually those changes are slow to come, but by the end of the month autumn is knocking on our doorstep.

Check this out:

Our average highs/lows on September 1^st are:    89°/71°

Our average highs/lows on September 30^th are:  84°/62°

All-time record high in September: 103° (9/5/1925)

All-time record low in September:    42° (9/29/1967)

That’s nearly a 60 degree spread between all-time high and low!

Of course, we can’t forget that September is the height of hurricane season. On average, three named systems form in September and every once in a while one of those storms is ours. We have anniversaries for hurricanes Ivan and Frederick this month.