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Too Cold

| December 7, 2010 @ 5:58 am | 6 Replies

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.

FRIGID MORNING: Seems just like yesterday we were all griping about the weather being too hot. Now… we go into the deep freeze. Here are some 5:30 a.m observations from our Skywatchers…

Broomtown 14 (The wind has gone totally calm in this small community in Cherokee County)
Concord 21
Fayette 21
Coker 22
Collinsville (Vic Bell who is atop Lookout Mountain just above Collinsville) 22
Jasper 23
Wynnville (Blount County) 23
Pleasant Grove 24
Center Point 25
Springville 25

The wind is blowing, pushing the wind chill index down in the teens in many areas… so bundle the kids up for the bus stop. Today will be sunny with a high in the low to mid 40s.

TONIGHT/TOMORROW: An interesting vorticity maximum moves from near Oklahoma City to Mobile, and will push some clouds into the state late tonight and tomorrow morning. The air is very dry as you can tell, but this might squeeze out a few snow flurries tomorrow morning. Considering the track of the impulse, the best chance of seeing a snow flake or two will be over the southern half of the state… up this way the chance is pretty small. One way or another it won’t be an issue, just a novelty if we do see any flurries. In the wake of the disturbance, the weather will be even colder tomorrow. The NAM is printing a high of only 38 for Birmingham tomorrow, while the GFS is a little warmer with 41.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: After another hard freeze early Thursday, with lows around 20 (teens for the colder valleys), a slow warming trend begins Thursday afternoon when we reach the upper 40s. Friday will feature a good supply of sunshine with a high in the mid 50s.

OUR WEEKEND: A strong short wave will move through, meaning more changes. A surface low will deepen rapidly north of Alabama in response to the upper wave, and showers will break out across the state Saturday afternoon into Saturday night. The 06Z GFS is a little slower with the system, but one way or another we don’t expect really heavy rain, with amounts mostly 1/4 inch or less for most places. Seems like the main window for rain is from about noon until midnight Saturday.

Then, another Arctic shot arrives Sunday. There is still a narrow window when the rain could change to snow during the pre-dawn hours Sunday, but these situations rarely bring enough snow to produce any problems. The day Sunday will be cold, raw, and blustery with clouds, temperatures mostly in the 30s, and a chance of snow flurries.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: Looks like a hard freeze both Monday and Tuesday morning with lows around 20, and teens for the colder valleys. We probably have a hard time rising above 40 on Monday, but mid 40s are likely Tuesday afternoon as we begin a warming trend. The rest of the week should feature highs in the 50s.

Out in the land of voodoo, almost every operational run of the GFS looks different, which is not surprising, but we continue to note the GFS remains strongly negative, which more than likely means any warm-up will be short lived. It remains to be seen if the weather here will stay cold through Christmas, however. It will be a case of wait and see…

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 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 we recorded last night.

FOLLOW ALONG: Here are our weather team Twitter accounts….

James Spann Jason Simpson Ashley Brand
J. B. Elliott Bill Murray Brian Peters
Dr. Tim Coleman WeatherBrains Podcast E-Warn (AL wx watches/warnings)

I will be in Attalla this morning doing a weather program… I will be back in the office by early afternoon, and the next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 3:30 or so. Enjoy the day and stay warm!

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Category: Alabama's Weather

About the Author ()

James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.

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