Gulf Shores, AL 36542 Weather

Key Messages

Issued at 612 PM CDT Fri Oct 23 2026

- Moderate to strong northeast winds will create hazardous conditions for small craft over most of the marine area Friday night continuing into early next week.

- A High Risk of rip currents is expected for beach areas from Saturday morning through Monday night.

Discussion

Issued at 1223 PM CDT Fri Oct 23 2026

Latest water vapor imagery shows an amplified ridge over the central CONUS, with troughing along the Atlantic Seaboard. At the surface, high pressure encompasses much of the eastern CONUS, with northeasterly winds over the local area. Currently, temperatures are in the mid 70s and with plentiful sunshine, expect highs to top out in the upper 70s to lower 80s. Meanwhile, the drier air filtering in has sent dewpoints into the upper 40s to lower 50s areawide. With the surface heating and boundary layer mixing, RH values will bottom out below 30 percent this afternoon. Winds have generally remained light, but cold air damming setting up on the eastern side of the Appalachians will tighten the pressure gradient and lead to increasing winds beginning tonight and continuing through through tomorrow. The combination of low RHs and strong winds may set the scene for fire weather concerns, so caution should be used if any outdoor burning is necessary.

Temperatures will be on the cooler side tonight, as radiational cooling sets up under clear skies and light winds. Lows will drop into the upper 40s to lower 50s, before warming into the 70s during the afternoon. Dry conditions will also prevail through the day, with sufficient mixing allowing dewpoints to drop into the 40s once again, leading to RH values in the 25 to 30 percent range. This pattern will generally continue into the weekend, with a moderating trend expected to being the new work week. Expect overnight lows to fall into the upper 40s to lower 50s each night, with highs near seasonal norms, in the mid to upper 70s. /73

Aviation

(00Z TAFS) Issued at 612 PM CDT Fri Oct 23 2026

VFR conditions expected through the forecast. A tightening of the pressure gradient over the northern Gulf is expected to bring an increase in easterly winds Saturday, especially over area closer to the coast. /16

Marine

Issued at 1223 PM CDT Fri Oct 23 2026

Light to moderate easterly to northeasterly winds this morning gradually become moderate to strong this evening into tonight and persisting through at least Monday. Moderate easterly to northeasterly flow prevails Tuesday into the middle of next week. Seas increase to 4 to 8 feet Saturday into Sunday, gradually tapering to 3 to 4 feet by Tuesday. A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect from 1am Saturday through 1am Monday.