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Cold Shot Moving Into Alabama

| December 10, 2012 @ 6:31 am

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NORTH BIRMINGHAM DAMAGE: Sure looks like a small, quick hitting spin up tornado has touched down in North Birmingham around Finley Avenue around 4:45 this morning.

These are scanner reports from Dave Echols and John Talbot…

“Birmingham Fire/Police Update: Command post at Old Finley/11th Pl North. Several houses with moderate damage, 3 confirmed houses with severe damage, 1 commercial structure with damage and a lot of debris throughout the area. Business “Motion Industries” in North Bham, roof blown off the structure. Farmers Market – 116 Finley Ave. Roof appears collapsed, significant damage to the buildings on that property. Several “Roll Down” doors damaged.Searching the area. EMA has been requested.”

The good news is that there were no injuries.

I have written this probably one thousand times here… “when it comes to thunderstorms, expect the unexpected.” There was no warning in effect when this damage happened, and we simply do not have enough skill to consistently warn for a small tornado along a squall line that lasts for a minute or two. Might happen one day in the years to come, but it will take a while. We have much work to do on micro scale events like this.

Below is a radar capture from @ariweather that shows a possible debris signature at 4:47 a.m…

STORMS MOVING OUT: That North Birmingham incident is the only severe weather report in the entire state, and no additional severe weather is expected as the storms move out later this morning. Rain will end from northwest to southeast later this morning, and much colder air will blow in.

TEMPS GOING THE WRONG WAY: Birmingham reports 61 degrees with rain at 6:00… that will be as warm as it gets for the rest of the day. We project temperatures falling into the 40s this afternoon over North Alabama with a chilly north wind. We will be very close to freezing early tomorrow morning as the cold air takes over.

TOMORROW: The day will be cold and dry, but the cold air is shallow, and we will still have a southwest flow aloft. This means clouds could linger; for now we will mention a mix of sun and clouds with a high in the upper 40s.

WEDNESDAY: The upper trough will pass through. Some rain is likely over the far southeast corner of Alabama around Dothan, but up this way the air will remain cool and dry, and the day should be partly sunny with a high in the low 50s.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: These two days will be cool and dry with a good supply of sunshine. Another freeze is likely Thursday morning; the high Thursday should be in the mid 50s, and close to 60 by Friday.

WEEKEND PEEK: Another weather system should bring a chance of showers and storms to Alabama late Saturday, Saturday night, and possibly into Sunday. For now the severe weather threat looks minimal, and rain amounts of about 1/2 inch are likely. The high over the weekend will be close to 60 degrees.

LONG RANGE: Generally speaking, the latter half of December will be colder than the first week of the month for sure, but overall the weather will be changeable, and trying to time out the specific rain events and cold air shots is almost impossible. See the Weather Xtreme video for the latest ideas and 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. We will produce this week’s show tonight at 8:30 p.m. CST… you can watch here.

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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon… and we will have updates through the morning as the rain moves out and the cold air moves in…

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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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