Big Storm Moves Out Of The Rockies

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TO THE WEST: The storm system that brought lots of snow to the Rocky Mountains yesterday is moving out into the Great Plains this morning. Blizzard warnings are up for parts of Kansas, around Goodland, and heavy wet snow is also likely up into parts of Nebraska (yeah, this is mid-October!). In the warm sector, a severe thunderstorm watch is up for parts of Oklahoma and Kansas.

AROUND HERE: One more nice day. Lots of sunshine today with a high in the mid 70s. Clouds will begin to return tomorrow in advance of the storm system, and a few showers could enter West Alabama tomorrow afternoon. We also note that tomorrow should be cooler thanks to an easterly flow; highs will drop into the 60s.

TURNING WET: The most widespread rain in Alabama should come from about 6:00 p.m. tomorrow through 12:00 midnight Friday night. The NAM is printing 1.03″ of rain for Birmingham with this event, and that sounds right on the money. There might be some thunder involved due to the dynamic forcing from a deep upper trough, but strong storms are not expected due to a cool and stable boundary layer. You will need to take the rain gear to the high school football games Saturday night; there is some chance the rain could be over by then, but at this point I would say that rain is pretty likely at most stadiums.

OUR WEEKEND: A dry slot moves over Alabama on Saturday, and the sky should become partly sunny during the day, with high in the mid 60s. Sunday looks like a bright sunny autumn day with a high somewhere between 65 and 70.

EARLY FOOTBALL FORECAST: This week we have a Thursday night special… Auburn plays at West Virginia (kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CDT ON ESPN) in Morgantown. The weather will be excellent; a clear sky with a kickoff temperature of 54 degrees, dropping through the 40s during the game. If you are making the trip you will need a warm jacket.

Saturday… Alabama will take on the Tennessee Volunteers at 6:45 (CDT) Saturday night on ESPN. The big cold core upper low will be a big player here… so we will mention a chance of showers during the game with temperatures falling through the 50s, possibly reaching the 40s by the fourth quarter. And, yes, a few snow flakes are possible in the Great Smoky mountains (the higher terrain) just east of Knoxville Saturday night into Sunday.

NEXT WEEK: Well… the GFS brings the idea of a widespread frost back on the table for early next week, and I do really believe that is a very good possibility. The 00Z run develops a deep upper trough over the eastern U.S. Monday; we might have a hard time getting out of the 50s, and by daybreak Tuesday temperatures will drop well down into the 30s over the northern half of the state with a big frost likely. The rest of the week looks relatively uneventful with a slow warming trend.

PRIME TIME SPECIAL: Join us on ABC 33/40 Friday at 7:00 for “Southern Skies of 2008″… this is our annual fall severe weather special. You will see some great Alabama weather stories, and learn more about getting your family ready for our fall tornado season, which begins in only 10 days!

STORM ALERT XTREME: Want to be trained as a storm spotter? Want to join the ABC 33/40 Skywatcher team? Our annual training event, Storm Alert Xtreme, is coming up on Saturday November 15 at the BJCC during the annual Birmingham International Auto Show. You will be trained by the best SKYWARN trainer in the nation, our own Brian Peters (he has trained over 6,000 Alabama storm spotters over the years), and learn from one of the most brilliant weather researchers in the country, our own Dr. Tim Coleman. We encourage all of our Skywatchers to attend this every year; you simply cannot get enough training. We will begin at 9:30, and be out by 3:30. And, everyone that attends Storm Alert Xtreme gets free admission to the Alabama International Auto Show. There is no admission charge, and no need to register. Just show up, but get there early for a good seat. We had a packed house last year.

TWITTER: Don’t forget, you can follow our news and weather updates from ABC 33/40 on Twitter here. And, my personal Twitter feed is here if you want to keep up with my adventures in life. Twitter is a short messaging service you can receive via the web, cell phone, or IM.

I am headed to Winfield this morning for a weather program… I will be back in the weather office by early afternoon, and the next Weather Xtreme video should be posted by 3:30. Have a great day!

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