Summer outlook calls for above average mosquito activity in Alabama

Have you found yourself swatting away a ridiculously high amount of mosquitoes over the last couple of days? If so, you’re definitely not alone.

That’s especially true if you’ve been out and about during the predawn and evening hours -- when mosquitoes are most active.

The extreme level of mosquito activity can be attributed to a couple of things, but the heat, oppressively high humidity and daily rain are the main drivers behind the spike of late.

Mosquitoes thrive in warm, moist -- essentially tropical -- climates. That is pretty much what we’ve had in place for the last several days across central and southern Alabama. Temperatures have been near 90°, dew points have been above 70° and we’ve had tropical showers and storms to provide ground moisture.

The outlook for temperatures keeps upper 80s and lower 90s in play for the next week, but the humidity levels will drop behind Wednesday evening’s cold front. Dew points will go from the upper 70s (YUCK!) to the middle and upper 60s for the next six days or so.

While that is still considered “humid,” it is a noticeable difference from where we’ve been lately.

We also eliminate the chance of rain and storms for the most part through the middle of next week. There may be a few isolated showers and storms over the weekend into early next week, but those chances are running at less than 30%.

If you add the lower humidity values with the drier forecast, you get the recipe for less mosquito activity.

That doesn’t mean the mosquitoes will magically poof away. It simply means you may be able to get outside during the mornings and evenings and not be attacked as much as you might have been recently.

If you do wind up seeing an isolated shower or storm, just know the likelihood of mosquito activity going up is certainly higher. Also, any location near a body of water is already predisposed to having a high concentration of mosquitoes.

Looking ahead at the remainder of the summer, the forecast calls for a pretty good shot at above normal rainfall and above normal temperatures overall. Using that outlook along with other variables,

highlights not only Alabama, but the entire Southeast as having “slightly” higher than normal mosquito populations throughout the summer.

So while there may be a reduction in mosquito activity over the next week, it would probably be wise to not get used to it! Unfortunately...

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