Soaking Rains Ahead For Alabama

**No afternoon Weather Xtreme video today; we are on a holiday schedule**

THIS AFTERNOON: High clouds are increasing across Alabama this afternoon ahead of a developing storm system to the west. Clouds thicken tonight.

SOAKING RAIN AHEAD: Rain becomes widespread across Alabama tomorrow, continuing tomorrow night. Based on strong dynamic support, the rain will be steady, and moderate to heavy at times. We will maintain a good chance of rain at times on Friday, although the rain won’t be as heavy or widespread. Rain amounts between tomorrow and Friday night will be in the 2-4 inch range along and north of I-59, where a flood watch is in effect. Amounts of 1-2 inches are likely for South Alabama.

Models have trended toward a more unstable airmass over the southern two-thirds of Alabama tomorrow, and SPC has expanded a “marginal risk” (level 2/5) of severe storms as far north as Fayette, Birmingham, and Prattville.

Strong vertical shear will support the potential for a few stronger, more organized bowing line segments capable of damaging wind gusts across West and Southwest Alabama tomorrow. Higher severe weather probabilities are over South Mississippi, however. The high will be in the 60-65 degree range across the northern half of Alabama tomorrow and Friday, and closer to 70 over the southern quarter of the state.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: A deep, cold core upper low will move over North Alabama Saturday. The day will be mostly cloudy and much colder along with a chance of some scattered light rain or drizzle. With very cold air aloft and some dynamic cooling, a few snowflakes are possible over the northern quarter of the state Saturday, but surface temperatures will be in the 40s and there won’t be any impact. The sky will clear Saturday night, and we drop into the 20s early Sunday morning. The day Sunday will be sunny with a high in the 50-55 degree range.

NEXT WEEK: Clouds increase Monday, and the next weather system will bring chance of rain Monday night into Tuesday morning, followed by drier air over the latter half of the week. Temperatures will be seasonal for early January.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the Birmingham Bowl tomorrow (Cincinnati vs Boston College; 2p CT kickoff), the sky will be cloudy with rain likely throughout the game. Some thunder is possible, but not especially likely. Temperatures will hover in the 58-62 degree range.

ON THIS DATE IN 1964: Bear Bryant said later that the only thing that could have messed up his eighth ranked Alabama team’s chances in the 1964 Sugar Bowl against 6th ranked Ole Miss in New Orleans would have been if it were to snow. Well, much to his chagrin, it did snow the night before the January 1st game in the Crescent City. It snowed an amazing 4 1/2 inches.

The “New Year’s Eve Snow” in the Deep South also dumped an incredible 19.2 inches at Muscle Shoals (still a record for the state of Alabama), 17.1 inches of snow on Huntsville. Much of Northwest Alabama was buried under 15-17 inches of snow. Roofs and awnings collapsed under the weight of the snow. The snow paralyzed much of the area for up to three days, closing schools and businesses. Birmingham picked up 8.40 inches of snow, the fifth biggest snowstorm in the city’s history. And, Alabama won the game by a 12-7 margin.

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Tags: ANC, featured, wet

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS