Living in Alabama during the transition from summer to fall is dreadful. One day it’ll be 86 degrees and that night will be in the low 60s, while the next day will be 74 degrees with thunderstorms and heavy rain. Most of us Alabamians are sick and tired of this bipolar weather.
Bipolar weather is common year-round in Alabama. Throughout late March and May is Alabama’s typical spring season, which is shared with the tornado season. Temperatures typically range from 60 to 70 degrees. During this season, it’s usually rainy and gloomy, with some days being sunny and bright. Tornado sirens go off frequently during this time, often resulting in false alarms. However, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Alabama, along with many other neighboring states, is located in something called Dixie Alley, and it’s known for its high frequency of tornadoes. According to Fain Storm Shelters, Dixie Alley is vulnerable to tornadoes throughout the year, especially in late fall and early winter. Most Dixie Alley tornadoes strike at night, making them harder to detect, which makes them more unpredictable and dangerous.
The following months after May get hotter by the second with temperatures averaging 90 degrees. July is the hottest month in Alabama, with temperatures reaching a whopping mid to high 90s, due to the humidity. This is when people are outside doing activities like swimming or kayaking to beat the heat. While summer temperatures usually stay on the rise until late September, it gets cooler in early October.
While the weather is fluctuating, more sicknesses like common colds and the flu often spread during this time, making many people sick. Our bodies have to try to adapt to the weather changing so often, which makes our sinuses and allergies worsen.
According to Piedmont Healthcare, weather changes can challenge our immune system and musculoskeletal system because our bodies get used to a certain climate, and when those things change suddenly, our body has to try to adapt. Unfortunately, sometimes our bodies have a difficult time adjusting, which can trigger an illness.
So why does our weather fluctuate so much? According to the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies (NCICS), Alabama is located at subtropical latitudes between the Gulf of Mexico and the southern end of the vast, relatively flat plains of central North America, which extends from the Arctic Circle to the Gulf of Mexico. Meaning the state of Alabama is exposed to diverse air masses, including the warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and dry continental air masses.
With this, we have the luxury of hot summers but mild, higher-temperature winters. Yet after winter, it gets even colder. In the last two years, it has snowed in mid-February. We, in fact, do not get the luxury of having snow during Christmas time, though.
According to NCICS, temperatures in Alabama have not risen since the beginning of the 20th century, one of the few areas globally to experience no net warming. However, recent years have been very warm, and the warmest consecutive 5-year interval was the most recent, 2016 to 2020.
As much as most of us Alabamians want the bipolar weather to stop, it seems almost impossible since we’re located in subtropical latitudes and being in Dixie Valley, but we can only keep dreaming.
