Warmer Days Ahead for Alabama Starting Today; Severe Weather Threat Wednesday

The groundhog was considered a delicacy for some in the nineteenth century. On this date in 1898, seven men in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania met to eat groundhog and drink beer. It would lead to the groundhog’s famous weather prognostication.

BIRMINGHAM BILL: Our local groundhog will see his shadow when he emerges from his burrow at the Birmingham Zoo this morning. Folklore says that we will have to suffer through six more weeks of winter. Will that be true? We will see.

A RESPITE FROM WINTER: On the weather maps this morning, we find a large trough covering the eastern part of the United States. Another is approaching the western United States. In the middle, ridging over the Southern Plains will be expanding and increasing in amplitude. This ridge will give us our current warmup. Today will be a beautiful early February day, with lots of sunshine pushing temperatures into the middle 60s. Temperatures will be in the 40s overnight under fair skies.

NEXT WEATHERMAKER: The next weather maker will be low pressure that will form over Kansas later today. That low will be near Kansas City Monday morning. Clouds will be on the increase through the day on Monday and rain and storms will move into Alabama Monday night, lasting into Tuesday morning. The low will pass to our north on Tuesday, and the trough will trigger another low to form to our west. Highs on Tuesday will be in the upper 60s and lower 70s.

Wednesday evening instability values off the European Model

SEVERE WEATHER THREAT: The forecast is very complex for this week’s system. The second in the series of lows should be near Nashville Wednesday evening. As it passes to our north, instability values may be in the 1,000-1,500 joules/kg. This is sufficient for strong storms to form. The weather system will feature really strong winds aloft. The combination will result in a severe weather threat. The greatest threat appears that will be between 3 p.m. Wednesday and 3 a.m. Thursday morning. The threats will be damaging winds and the possibility of tornadoes.

REST OF THE WEEK: A third low may form over southern Mississippi Wednesday night. This low could keep a soaking rain in place across Alabama on Thursday. It will be cooler, temperatures falling back into the 40s during the day on Thursday. The rain should end from the west Thursday afternoon, but a few light showers or some light snow could affect the state Thursday night as temperatures fall back into the 30s. Not a forecast yet, just a possibility. Friday highs will be in the 50s and 60s.

WEEKEND OUTLOOK: We could deal with another chance for rain on Saturday, quickly moving out Saturday night. Highs will be in the lower 60s. Sunday will feature clearing skies with slightly cooler temperatures in the 50s.

VOODOO TERRITORY: The week of the 10th looks very mild across Alabama and the South, with plenty of 70s and even a few lower 70s to go around. More rain will be likely, with another bout of storms around Wednesday the 12th.

WEATHERBRAINS: This week, the panel will entertain a crew of emergency managers to talk about the latest emerging technologies in warning about severe weather. She has done some amazing work in using storytelling to help people prepare for disasters. Check out the show at www.WeatherBrains.com. You can also subscribe on iTunes. You can watch the show live at live.bigbrainsmedia.com You will be able to see the show on the James Spann 24×7 weather channel on cable or directly over the air on the dot 2 feed.

ON THIS DATE IN 1898: The naming of hurricane after women has always been the center of great controversy. In the Southern Hemisphere near Australia, tropical cyclones were once called willy-willies. The winds in low-pressure systems in the Southern Hemisphere spin opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere. Willy-willies generally move on a southwest course until they reach Australia when they turn more south and southeast. An Australian meteorologist named Clement Wragge is credited for giving girls names to tropical cyclones by the end of the nineteenth century. On this date, Wragge’s weather journal showed a willy-willy named “Eline” Follow my weather history tweets on Twitter. I am @wxhistorian at Twitter.com.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS