Showers Increasing

Clouds are very thick across Alabama late on this Saturday morning.

On the weather maps, we find our cold front located between Greenville and Greenwood, in western Mississippi. In the mid-levels of the atmosphere, short wave trough was swinging out of Missouri, providing upper support for the surface front. A much stronger disturbance will swing out of the northern Rockies by Monday, setting the stage for a deepening trough that will bring potentially the coldest weather in a few years to Alabama.

Ahead of the front, a prefronal band of showers is over the northwest corner of the state, from Lawrence through Franklin and into Marion counties. This line was growing back into eastern Mississippi and will continue to produce rain through the afternoon hours.

Ahead of that, a few patches of rain had developed. One was approaching the Georgia border from Cherokee County south and southwestward into Tallapoosa County. Another was over Autauga and Elmore Counties in South Central Alabama, with heavier rain noted just west of Prattville.

Finally, a band of showers was growing in intensity from St. Clair County, through Shelby and into Bibb, Hale, Sumter and Marengo Counties. Can’t rule out a chance of some isolated thunder, especially the further southeast you go.

The main activity, with the front, extends from west of Corinth to near Oxford to near Greenville. This line was filling in nicely. It is pushing east and southeast at about 20 mph. It should reach Hamilton between 4 and 5 p.m.; Jasper between 6 and 7 p.m; the Gadsden/Birmingham/Tuscaloosa areas around 7 to 8 p.m. and Anniston to Alabaster around 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Temperatures were in the 50s and lower 60s with a southerly breeze blowing. A temperature drop of 15-20 degrees in six hours will follow the front. MEM has dropped from 63F to 48 in the past six hours. LIT dropped 20 degrees.

Winds will pick up out of the northwest behind the front and it will turn cooler.

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