The Long Dry Spell Continues

| March 21, 2007 @ 5:41 am | 4 Replies

An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes…

I have growing concern about the lack of rain here. Sure, this is incredible weather for the spring break crowd, but the rainfall deficiency for Birmingham is now over seven inches (7.05″), and the total for the year is only 6.57″. We have had measurable rain on only two days during the month of March, and the chance of a big rain event continues to look slim for the rest of the month. Remember, no soil moisture usually means a very hot summer, and those are not especially fun. I have always said heat waves and droughts are my least favorite kind of weather to deal with here.

SHORT TERM: A big upper level low forms south of San Diego during the next 24 hours, and a ridge pumps up across the southeast part of the nation. The ULL is no hurry to move, and we stay under the ridge through the weekend. This means more great weather; mostly sunny warm days and fair nights. Afternoon highs will slip into the low 80s, a good 10 to 15 degrees above normal for mid to late March in Alabama.

The system in the Southwest U.S. will finally lift northeast and weaken early next week, and will drag a band of showers into Alabama Monday night or Tuesday. The 00Z GFS sure looks dry; it suggests rainfall will be light and spotty. Then, later next week, a similar system will pass north of the state, and once again we just don’t see any setup for beneficial rain around here for the next 10 days or so.

LONG TERM: We continue to see hints of a pattern change as we get into April; looks like another Polar vortex forms over the eastern part of Canada, which will send much colder air down into the Northeast U.S. The leading edge of the cold air will get down into the Deep South, and has some potential to become nearly stationary, which just might mean a much better chance of some badly needed rain sometime in the April 2-7 time frame. Lets keep our fingers crossed. I would also not be shocked if some of that colder air ultimately slips into Alabama; we usually have a few good cold snaps deep into April.

PRIME TIME: Don’t forget our Storm Alert 2007 prime time TV special is on ABC 33/40 this Sunday evening from 6:00 until 7:00; if you missed our Storm Alert 2007 tour this year then you can see most of the video elements on this show. Of course, we will also do a feature on the March 1 tornado outbreak, which has just after the tour ended.

WEATHER PARTY: Get all the latest weather news over on our sister site, WeatherParty.com. Be sure and register while you are there; you can submit stories and vote on them to determine what is published on the front page.

I will have the next Weather Xtreme video posted by 3:30 this afternoon!

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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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