Cold And Occasionally Wet Weekend

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RADAR CHECK: Rain was a no-show for much of Alabama during the morning, but showers are increasing quickly over the central counties of the state this afternoon. Temperatures are generally warmer than forecast due to the lack of showers; most places are in the 70-75 degree range.

HUGE CONTRAST: Oxford, Mississipi reports 43 degrees at mid-afternoon, which is remarkable for May 3. That is below their record low, and it being reported in the middle of the afternoon. But, cross the surface front and Muscle Shoals, Alabama is at 76 degrees.

WET NIGHT: Showers will continue to increase rapidly this evening over all of Alabama, and the large mass of light to moderate rain will invade the state as well. Bottom line is that rain is likely tonight… no severe storms and probably no thunder. Just a soaking; the NWS in Huntsville maintains an “aerial flood watch” for their county warning area… or the counties over the Tennessee Valley plus Cullman County. Rain amounts of 1 to 2 inches are likely between now and tomorrow morning.

TOMORROW: The rain will end from west to east during the morning and midday hours as a dry slot rotates into Alabama around a deep, cold core upper low over Arkansas. Here is the approximate time when you can expect the rain to end…

Tuscaloosa 8-9am
Birmingham 10-11am
Anniston/Gadsden 12 Noon-2pm

A good chance the sun breaks out tomorrow afternoon, but the day will be cold. In fact, both the NAM and GFS models are showing a high only in the upper 50s tomorrow… the record low maximum temperature for May 4, 60 set in 1967, will likely be shattered. It will be one of our coldest May days on record in our state.

SUNDAY: The cold core upper low will move right on top of us Sunday afternoon. This means another cold, unsettled day. The sun will be out at times, but occasional showers are likely. And, due to the cold air aloft, showers Sunday could produce hail or graupel (soft hail) even with no thunder or lightning. And, on top of that, we might even hear of a cold air funnel in spots due to the upper low. Those are rarely dangerous and don’t touch the ground since they tend to form with stable low level air, like we will have Sunday.

Not sure we will make it out of the 50s Sunday, but if we see a few decent intervals of sun we might make it to the low 60s.

RACE WEEKEND: Scroll down for a detailed post on expect conditions at the Talladega Superspeedway this weekend.

NEXT WEEK: The upper low will be near Rome, Georgia Monday, so we will maintain a chance of showers Monday, especially over the eastern two thirds of the state. We stay cool with a high in the 60s.

Tuesday the ULL will be north of Charleston, and most of the state will be dry with just a slight risk of a shower near the Georgia border. Then, we will be rain-free Wednesday and Thursday with a nice warming trend; a good chance we see low 80s by the latter half of the week.

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I had a great time today visiting with the 3rd graders at Vincent Elementary School… be looking for them on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News! The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow… Brian Peters will handle the videos tomorrow and Sunday… my next video will be up early Monday. Enjoy the weekend!

Tags: cold, showers

Category: Alabama's Weather