The Thursday afternoon ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes:

Coming to you this afternoon from the ABC 3340 Weather Center where I’m filling in for James Spann who is off speaking to a group of meteorologists in Jackson, MS. And he has able help in the form of J. B. Elliott who is navigating for him so he doesn’t get lost.

And here in Central Alabama the mild weather is returning once again. Our seasonal temperatures are lows around 32 and highs around 52. Looks like the Birmingham airport bottomed out around 38 or 39 with an afternoon high close to 60. So we’re back into mild conditions after a couple of days of cool weather. And it looks like very mild weather will be the rule for the next three days as Central Alabama stays outside of the onslaught of colder air coming into the western US.

The trough and southwesterly flow aloft will keep us mild but moisture is also on the increase. Beginning tomorrow an isolated shower is possible through Friday and into the weekend, but I think we’ll be essentially dry with a good amount of clouds. With a good surface southerly wind the temperatures will climb toward the 70 degree mark on Saturday and Sunday.

The front which remains poised to our northwest for the weekend makes its move on Monday. The front should come through Central Alabama by Monday afternoon with colder air coming behind it. I think Monday will also be mild but cooler with the clouds and rain. Rain is likely to linger into the morning hours Tuesday along with clouds. And the cold air arrives in earnest on Tuesday with highs across Central Alabama in the 38 to 45 range. Wind chills will make it feel even colder with a strong north-northwest wind which will stay with us into Wednesday.

The end of next week should be dry as temperatures slowly moderate. In the longer term, more cold air is forecast to come our way, so the trend of a much colder second half of January that what the first half has been seems on track.

At the moment with the latest GFS model run there does not appear to be any significant winter weather threat. However, this appears to be a situation with a relatively thin layer of cold air when you compare 850 millibar temperatures and the 1000-500 millibar thickness values. While the latest GFS seems to lean away from any wintery weather, it’s still the kind of situation that bears watching so we don’t get caught short.

James will be back with the next Weather Xtreme Video tomorrow morning. I’ll be filling in for him tonight and then I’ll be back over the weekend.

-Brian-