Clearing Later Today; Dry Tomorrow

RADAR CHECK: We have a little light rain and drizzle on radar early this morning across Central Alabama… that will end in a few hours as drier air filters in from the north. In fact, we expect clearing by midday, with much of North/Central Alabama in bright sunshine this afternoon. Cool air remains in place, and the high later today will be close to 50 degrees for most communities.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Tomorrow will be dry with a sunny sky; we start the day in the 25-29 degree range, but climb to the mid 50s by afternoon. Clouds return tomorrow night, and the high resolution NAM model hints we could see some patchy light rain Sunday morning. Otherwise, Sunday will be mostly cloudy with a high in the upper 50s.

STRONG STORMS NEXT WEEK: Clouds will hang tough over much of Alabama Monday with some risk of showers; then on Tuesday we look for showers and storms to become more widespread with the approach of a cold front, trailing from a deep surface low near Chicago.

While the main surface low will be well to the north of Alabama, there will be a rather robust upper trough involved, and we will need to monitor the system for the potential of strong to severe thunderstorms. At first glance it looks like a classic cool season “low CAPE, high shear” event with limited instability but strong veering of the wind with altitude in relation to storm motion.

For now it looks like the main window for stronger storms will come during the afternoon and evening hours Tuesday, but it is simply too early to really know the small scale conditions we will have and the magnitude of the threat. Just something to watch for now. Rain amounts of 1/2 to 1 inch look likely with this system.

The latter half of the week will be dry and colder; by Friday (one week from today) looks like we will have highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.

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I will be at a career day program today at Vestavia Hills Cahaba Heights Elementary… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Tags: ANC, clearing

Category: Alabama's Weather