By Associated Press
Montgomery AL – After weeks of record-setting temperatures in the state, Montgomery residents welcomed the breaking of a different benchmark over the weekend: record rainfall for the date.
Scattered thunderstorms have doused parts of Alabama with much-needed rain in recent days and the batch of 100-degree plus days and heat-related deaths seems to be over for now, weather and health officials said Monday.
State Health Officer Don Williamson said Monday afternoon no heat related deaths had been reported from the weekend and the death toll from the weekslong heat wave remained at 12.
"It looks like this week the temperatures are coming down, so it might be that we are getting a break now from some of the danger from heat-related illness," he said.
According to the National Weather Service, Montgomery had 1.50 inches of rain on Saturday, breaking the old record of 1.26 inches received on August 25, 1896. The city's three-day total was 1.68 inches, while Birmingham's was 3.46 and Troy had 1.22 inches of rain.
Tara Golden, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Birmingham, said forecasts are low to mid-90s for the rest of the month.
"We're seeing more of the afternoon showers and thunderstorms and those are expected to continue for the next several days," she said.
Montgomery resident James Messick said he welcomed the rainy reprieve from scorching temperatures. Plus, he's now spared the thrice weekly chore of watering the grassy acre around Dalraida United Methodist Church where he worships with his wife Dot, he said.
"It's a great relief and a blessing is what this rain is," Messick said Monday, recalling similar sentiments from a prayer service earlier in the day.
"They called for praises and everybody almost in unison says 'RAIN!!'," he said, laughing.
Williamson warned about getting too complacent and said people should remember that about 480 individuals sought heat-related medical care and about 120 were admitted to hospitals.
"People need to use judgment. In the summer in Alabama it's almost always going to be hot," he said. "Individuals still ought to use sense about outdoor activities and loose-fitting, light colored clothing are always the right idea in hotter temperatures."