Archive for June 5th, 2012
Dry Days Ahead
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RADAR CHECK: Only a few, small stray showers are on radar this afternoon… and those should fade away soon as drier air works in here from the north. The sky is generally partly sunny with temperatures in the mid 80s; Birmingham reports 85 degrees at 2:00. The sky will be generally fair tonight, and some of the cooler spots across North Alabama could reach the upper 50s early tomorrow.
REST OF THE WEEK: We expect mostly sunny warm days and fair nights tomorrow through Friday as a relatively dry airmass will stay in place. I guess you might see a tiny shower somewhere on radar each afternoon, but the risk of any one neighborhood getting wet is only 10 percent or less. Afternoon highs will be in the mid to upper 80s.
WEEKEND PREVIEW: Moisture levels will creep up a bit, so we might consider mentioning the chance of widely scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday, but most of the weekend should be warm and dry with a high in the 88 to 91 degree range. Weather looks great for the Regions Charity Golf Classic at Shoal Creek, and Riverfest at Gadsden.
NEXT WEEK: Moisture levels will rise, and accordingly it looks like we can expect a gradual increase in the number of scattered showers and storms over the first half of the week. See the Weather Xtreme video for details.
AT THE BEACH: Expect scattered to numerous showers and storms along the Gulf Coast from Panama City to Gulf Shores this afternoon and tonight, but showers and storms will be more widely spaced tomorrow and Thursday with about 5 to 7 hours of sunshine both days. Very similar weather for Friday and the weekend… partly sunny days with a few scattered showers and storms around, but nothing out of the ordinary for June on the Gulf Coast. Highs will remain in the 80s through the weekend, and the sea water temperature this afternoon at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is 86 degrees.
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. Scroll down for the show notes on this week’s new episode…
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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow….
Busy Day Ahead for Georgia
Storms have formed late this morning in the unstable air ahead of a southward moving cold front that is lying across Central Alabama.
They are heavy, but not severe.
There have been significant weather advisories for parts of Russell and Randolph Counties in East Central Alabama for the storms there between Alex City and Columbus GA.
There is also a weak surface low traversing from west to east across the state along the front. That is enhancing the storms.
The SPC has roughly the southeastern half of Alabama and the southern half of Georgia into northern Florida under a slight risk convective outlook. This is their standard forecast for severe weather. There is decent instability ahead of the front and decent wind shear, or change in wind velocity with height, to support organized storms, even supercells.
There is even a severe thunderstorm watch in Georgia and the extreme southeastern corner of Alabama as well as parts of northern Florida. The NWS in Atlanta has issued a few severe thunderstorm warnings.
There could be a few storms up to I-20 through 4 p.m., with the cells going downhill quickly after that. They should all be gone by 8:30 p.m. The best chance for storms will be southeast of that surface low as it tracks slowly east.
The stronger storms could produce gusty winds, heavy rain, lots of lightning and maybe some small hail. The Alabama tornado threat is nearly zero. There is a low threat in Georgia.
We Lose A Legend
Birmingham TV news legend Wendell Harris passed away this morning.
Wendell is circled in the image below… part of an ad run by WAPI-TV (Channel 13) in the 60s when the station converted local programming to color. (Image courtesy of Birmingham Rewound)
The lady next to Wendell is Rosemary Lucas, who anchored the weather on Channel 13 for many years, before a young man named James Spann came along in the late 1970s.
Wendell hired me to be the primary weather anchor for Channel 13 in September 1979 at the ripe old age of 23. I was too young, not that good, and not ready for prime time, but he gave me the chance of a lifetime. I will forever be indebted to Wendell, and I mourn his loss this morning along with his family.
Wendell worked for WAPI radio and TV for many years… through the 60s, 70s, and into the 80s. He covered the big stories here in Birmingham for so long… and knows the history of this city and state more than most simply because he lived it. He was the news anchor for many years as well; old-timers remember watching him nightly.
Wendell and I were transferred to KDFW-TV in Dallas in 1984, and we both found our way back home. At the time of his death Wendell was still very active in the community, serving on the Board of Trustees with me at Trinity Medical Center.
His daughter, Leisha, writes this morning…
“He has been an inspiration to all of us throughout his life but particularly with this hospitalization. He has shown strength, dignity and courage. I am forever grateful to have had him as my father and for the many friends who have kept him and all of us in their thoughts and prayers.
We know today that he is at peace and has been made whole.”
More later…
Lingering Storms Today; Then Drier
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.
RADAR CHECK: As the sun comes up this morning, we have two areas of storms on radar. One is over West Alabama, with moderate rain falling over parts of Greene, Sumter, Marengo, and Choctaw Counties. This is the thunderstorm mass that originated with the MCV over Arkansas last night. These storms are moving to the southeast, toward the southern half of Alabama.
The second area is over Northeast Alabama… where strong storms are over Madison, Marshall, Jackson, and DeKalb Counties. These storms are moving southeast as well. Looks like Northwest Alabama missed out on this last batch of storms this morning; that is where there is a gap in the activity.
If this configuration holds together, the Birmingham metro will be dry through rush hour.
LATER TODAY: A surface boundary will slowly move through, so scattered storms could redevelop by midday or early afternoon; the best chance of these will be along and south of I-20. SPC maintains their standard “slight risk” of severe for about the southern half of the state today as some of the afternoon storms could be strong, maybe severe in spots. The high today should be in the mid 80s for most places.
REST OF THE WEEK: Drier air should cover the northern half of Alabama tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday with mostly sunny warm days and fair nights. The chance of a shower is so small that it really isn’t worth a forecast mention, and highs will be in the 86 to 89 degree range. Any scattered showers and storms should be confined to the southern counties of Alabama.
OUR WEEKEND: Not much change. Moisture levels will increase a bit, so we might see a handful of showers popping up on radar during the afternoon and evening hours Saturday and Sunday, but the chance of any one spot getting wet should stay fairly small. We heat up a bit with a high around 90 degrees both days… not a bad weekend at all for the Regions Charity Golf Classic at Shoal Creek, and Riverfest at Gadsden.
AT THE BEACH: Expect scattered to numerous showers and storms along the Gulf Coast from Panama City to Gulf Shores this afternoon and tonight, but showers and storms will be more widely spaced tomorrow and Thursday with about 5 to 7 hours of sunshine both days. Very similar weather for Friday and the weekend… partly sunny days with a few scattered showers and storms around, but nothing out of the ordinary for June on the Gulf Coast. Highs will remain in the 80s through the weekend, and the sea water temperature this morning at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab at 6:00 was 82 degrees.
NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: Moisture levels should increase, and we could see a bump in the number of scattered showers and storms by the middle of next week… see the Weather Xtreme video for 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. Scroll down for the show notes from last night’s new episode… you can watch the raw, unedited video show from last night in the player below…
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!
