Good Morning…

A glorious sound out there this morning from my open window…the pitter patter of a steady, albeit light rain.

At 5:45, radar showed the northern edge of the main rain area to extend south from a line from Carrollton to Warrior to Ashville to Gadsden and Centre.

North of this area, there were moderate showers over parts of Winston, Cullman, Morgan, Marshall and northern Blount Counties.

The heaviest rain was over South Central Alabama, in the vicity of a surface bundary that extends from near Meredian to Auburn. A surface low did develop overnight and was moving ENE along this front. South of the front, the airmass was unstable and thunderstorms were occurring in the Linden and Camden areas. Heavy rain extended from Camden up to Montgomery.

There could be some strong wind gusts from storms over South Central Alabama, but no significant severe weather is expceted. A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for Wilcox County, but it was allowed to expire at 5:30 a.m.

Areas south of a line from Pickens and Tuscaloosa through Jefferson into northern St. Clair and up along I-59 seem to have gotten between one half and three quarters of an inch of rain. An area of amounts approaching one inch is indicated by Doppler radar estimates over East Alabama’s southern Cherokee, Calhoun and Cleburne Counties.

0.67 inches here in Trussville.

Heavier amounts are over South Central sections of the state from Sumter and Choctaw Counties eastward through parts of Marengo, Wilcox, northern Monroe, Butler, Crenshaw and Pike Counties. Some 2 to 3 inch rainfall amounts are indicated to have fallen in some of these areas.

The boundary will edge to north of Montgomery this morning, with up to another inch of rain expected south of a line from Livingston to Clanton to Lafayette. The area from about Butler to Montgomery to Auburn could see another one to two inches.

In the I-20/59 corridor, rainfall is tapering from the west. Areas from northern Pickens through the Birmingham could see another quarter inch with East Alabama from south of Gadsden through Talladega, Anniston and Heflin getting another half inch.

The rain is ending from the west as the surface low passes. The low is now south of Tuscaloosa or just east of Meridian. This is good news for folks in Tuscaloosa for the big game. Rain showers will continue to taper over the next couple of hours in T-town. Some light rain or drizzle is possible during the game, so keep the rain gear handy. There will be a light north wind. Temperatures will fall back just a tad, but will stay in the 50s through the morning hours and on through game time.

Another surface low will develop in the northern Gulf and move across South Alabama tonight. So additional moderate to occasionally heavy rain will develop over South and Southeast Alabama tonight. As a big ipper level low sets up over the Ohio Valley, we will deal with some residual moisture and a little light precipitation through Monday. More in my next blog post.

So, be those who have received rain, be thankful for it. And get ready for some football!

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