A Little Rain For West Alabama

RADAR CHECK: We actually have some rain on radar over West Alabama early this morning…

Unfortunately it will tend to dry up as it moves east, but some communities in counties like Lamar, Pickens, Greene, and Sumter have received over .25″ in spots during the pre-dawn hours. Nothing to really dent the drought, but nice to get a little water in the ground.

The sky will be cloudy at times, and today’s high will be be in the low 70s for most places. Best chance of rain this morning will remain over far West Alabama, with only sprinkles to the east.

There is a good chance today will be the 51st consecutive day without measurable rain for Birmingham; we should tie the record of 52 consecutive day days (set in 1924) tomorrow, and break that record Thursday as drought conditions continue to intensify.

A drought emergency remains in effect for all 67 Alabama counties. No outdoor burning… it is illegal for any person to set fire to any forest, grass, woods, wildlands or marshes; to build a campfire or bonfire; or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest, grass or woods fire. Specifically, the regulation prohibits any prescribed burns, any campfire or bonfire, any trash or debris fires, or any other open burning. If convicted, the penalty for violating the No Burn order is up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500.00.

TOMORROW THROUGH FRIDAY: Sunny days, fair nights. We reach the low 70s tomorrow, but highs drop into the 60s Thursday and Friday, with lows well down in the 40s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Sunny cool days, clear cold nights. Sunday will be our coldest morning so far this season with mid 30s likely; colder places will see a light freeze. Highs over the weekend will be in the mid 60s.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school playoff games Friday, a clear sky with temperatures falling from 60 at kickoff into the 40s by the second half.

Alabama hosts Mississippi State Saturday (11:00a CT kickoff); the sky will be sunny with temperatures rising from near 59 at kickoff, to 65 by the fourth quarter.

Auburn travels to Athens, GA to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (2:30p CT kickoff)… a perfect day for football. About 65 degrees at kickoff, dropping back into the upper 50s by the final whistle.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: Things finally begin to change as the upper air pattern reverses over North America. It will be very hard to global models to be reliable with timing details on specific events in the medium range during a “pattern flip”, but the door will be open for frequent rain producing systems from mid-November through December. New ensemble guidance from the European global model (the ECMWF) is now showing over 6 inches of rain here during that period; some ensemble members are suggesting 10 inches or more.

AT THE BEACH: Showers remain possible with very little sun on the coast from Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach today and tomorrow, then expect sunny days and clear nights Thursday through the weekend. Highs mostly in the 70s. See a very detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

TROPICS: The Atlantic basin remains quiet; hurricane season runs through the end of November.

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. Scroll down for the show notes on the new episode we recorded last night.

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I am speaking this morning to a meeting of the Middle Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents in Hendersonville, TN… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Tags: ANC, showers

Category: Alabama's Weather