Mostly Dry Weekend Ahead; A Few Showers Sunday
SUNNY SPRING DAY: A dry airmass continues to cover Alabama this afternoon; with a partly to mostly sunny sky temperatures are in the 70s at mid-afternoon. The sky will be fair tonight with a low in the 50s.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Dry weather continues tomorrow; with a partly sunny sky the high will be in the upper 80s. Then, on Sunday, expect a mix of sun and clouds with just a few widely scattered showers or thunderstorms. Most places will be dry, and the high will be close to 80 degrees.
NEXT WEEK: The week looks fairly warm with highs between 77 and 81 on most days. With a moist airmass in place, we will have a daily risk of random, scattered showers and storms. Highest coverage of rain will most likely come on Tuesday as a short wave aloft passes over, but even then it won’t rain all day. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.
ON THIS DAY IN 1987: An unexpected late season winter storm brought six inches of snow to Birmingham. Highest total in the state was ten inches at Valley Head, in DeKalb County. There was measurable snow as far south as Montgomery, Linden, and Camden.
ON THIS DATE IN 1974: The “Superoutbreak” of tornadoes ravaged the Midwest and the eastern U.S. Severe weather erupted early in the afternoon and continued through the next day. Severe thunderstorms spawned 148 tornadoes from Alabama to Michigan, most of which occurred between 1 PM (CST) on the 3rd and 1 AM on the 4th. The tornadoes killed 315 persons, injured 5300 others, and caused 600 million dollars damage. Alabama, Kentucky, and Ohio were especially hard hit in the tornado outbreak. In Alabama, there were at least eight tornadoes, including four extremely intense and long-lived storms. Eighty-six persons were killed, 949 were injured, and damages exceeded $50 million. Sixteen counties in the northern part of the state were hit the hardest.
An EF-5 tore through the town of Guin, in Marion County, killing 25 people and producing catastrophic damage. As it moved northeast, it bit into deep gorges and exposed ridges and destroyed much timber in the Bankhead National Forest. Shortly after this the tornado lifted, but another tornado moved northeast to strike south Huntsville. There was severe damage at the Redstone Arsenal and in south Huntsville. Staff members at the Weather Service Office in Huntsville were forced to temporarily abandon their hectic duties. Shortly after 11:00 pm, this final storm of the outbreak in Alabama moved across Monte Sano (elevation 1,640 feet) just east of Huntsville, and broke up over western Jackson County. Another violent tornadoe hit downtown Jasper; it moved northeastward and heavily damaged a four-block area in southeast Cullman.
BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute show anytime on your favorite podcast app. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Snapchat: spannwx
Look for my next Weather Xtreme video here Monday morning by 7:00… enjoy the weekend!
Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos
About the Author (Author Profile)
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.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
