Archive for April 9th, 2012
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Frost Likely Early Thursday
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THIS AFTERNOON: Our weather doesn’t get much better. A cloudless sky, low humidity, and temperatures in the 70s. A delightful spring day in Alabama.
Tomorrow we stay dry, but high clouds will show up due to showers that will be as close as Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. We will call it partly sunny with a high in the upper 70s.
COOL CHANGE: The weather turns much cooler Wednesday as a long wave upper trough forms over the eastern U.S. We probably won’t make it out of the 60s Wednesday with a cool breeze, and the stage is set for a frost threat for much of North and Central Alabama at daybreak Thursday.
Looks like lows early Thursday will be generally between 32 and 39. The colder valleys of Northeast Alabama will have the chance of a light freeze, with frost potential elsewhere, especially in the low spots and protected areas. The ridges will most likely escape frost up in the inversion layer, generally about 500 feet and higher.
It is likely that a frost advisory will be issued for late Wednesday night and early Thursday, and growers will need to protect anything that might be harmed by frost. This will be our last frost threat until sometime this fall, probably in late October or early November.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Friday promises to be a beautiful day with ample sunshine and a high well into the 70s, maybe around 80 over West Alabama as we warm up quickly.
Over the weekend, we will be in a battle zone between a warm, dry upper ridge to the east, and a stalled surface front to the west. I think Saturday will be warm and dry with a partly sunny sky and a high near 80 degrees, but we just might have to mention some risk of a shower Sunday and Monday, mainly over the western third of the state. We stay warm with a high around 80 degrees both days.
LONG RANGE: The 12Z GFS shows some thunderstorm risk here around April 19, but this feature comes and goes, and generally speaking we don’t see any major severe weather threat here for the next two weeks. See the Weather Xtreme video for more long range ideas and details.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. We will record this week’s episode tonight at 8:30 p.m. CDT… you can listen live via uStream here.
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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow….
April 9, 1953, first documented Hook Echo
On April 9, 1953, Glenn Stout, head of meteorology and Don Staggs, a technician at the Illinois State Water Survey in Champaign, IL were testing a re-built weather radar unit. The radar was located at Willard Airport, south of Champaign IL, and was being used along with a rain gauge network to relate radar signals with rain rates. Staggs, the radar engineer, had stayed late to complete repairs on the radar. While testing the repairs, Staggs noticed an interesting radar return. It appeared to develop a tail, that resembled a hook. He began recording the radar scope using the mounted 35 mm camera. As a result, he captured a well-defined hook echo on film.
As Stout and other associates studied the thunderstorm, they noticed how the radar echo had taken on an unusual shape. They would learn later that at the time the “hook echo” developed, the thunderstorm was producing a tornado. Later analysis of the film taken during the test revealed that the hook shaped echo was closely associated with the tornado. Afterwords, researchers related this information to damage and photos along the tornado’s path. It was hypothesized that the hook was associated with the tornado that the thunderstorm produced. Analysis of radar film from the tornado that devastated Waco, TX on May 11, 1953, and the deadly Worcester, MA tornado on June 9, 1953, both indicated the same hook formation. It became apparent that tornadoes did display a unique echo and that communities could be warned when the echo appeared.
This was a major turning point in monitoring severe weather, demonstrating that tornadoes could be identified by radar. Radar indications of hook echoes would become one of the most important tools of meteorologists in issuing tornado warnings. This discovery helped lead to the first national weather radar network in the United States known as the WSR-57 radar network.
Frost Potential Early Thursday Morning
An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.
COOL MONDAY MORNING: Vic Bell, our Skywatcher up at Black Creek, which is northeast of Gadsden in Etowah County, reports a chilly 38 degrees at 6:00 this morning. Most places are in the 40s.
NO STORMS FOR A WHILE: The good news is that a very benign weather pattern will continue across Alabama through the weekend ahead with the main storminess in the nation well to the west of Alabama.
Today will be another delightful day, with a high in the mid to upper 70s. We will see scattered clouds tomorrow ahead of a push of cooler air, but the low levels stay dry and we don’t expect any rain.
BLACKBERRY WINTER: We almost always have a cold snap here in April… usually around Easter, and sure enough we turn much cooler Wednesday and Thursday. The NAM is printing a high of only 66 for Birmingham Wednesday, and the stage is set for a frost threat for Alabama. While there could be a touch of frost in spots early Wednesday, it now looks like Thursday will be the coldest morning. We project lows in the 32 to 40 degree range, and it is likely a frost advisory will be needed. While the coldest valleys across Northeast Alabama could briefly touch 32, most places will remain above freeze, with lows in the mid to upper 30s. This should result in frost formation in valleys and protected areas, so growers will need to take the necessary precautions Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
This will be the last frost threat for Alabama until the fall.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: We warm up again as an upper ridge builds across the Southeast U.S… we will see a high near 80 Friday, with low 80s Saturday and Sunday. The sky should be partly to mostly sunny as the stormy weather holds well to the west over the Southern Plains.
NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: The good news is that there is no sign of any significant severe weather threat for Alabama for the next 15 days, and we are in the core of the spring tornado season. I just have to wonder if the worst of the season is over; the threat in early March might have been the big one this season. But, that remains to be seen as we have to get through the end of April and May. See the Weather Xtreme video for details and all the graphics.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. On this week’s episode (we record tonight at 8:30 pm CDT), UPS driver Jimmy Jones, who was in the path of the April 27, 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado on I-359, will be our guest.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
I will be speaking today at the University of Montevallo… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!
