Colder Air Rolling In; Occasional Showers Stay In The Forecast
RADAR CHECK: Rain continues this afternoon generally south of a line from Wedowee to Marion to Butler; a few strong storms are in progress but there are no warnings in effect at mid-afternoon. SPC maintains a “slight risk” (level 2/5) for parts of Southwest Alabama, and a “marginal risk” (level 1/5) for the rest of South Alabama through the evening hours.
Temperatures continue to fall across North Alabama behind the cold front… some communities are now in the upper 40s. The sky will slowly clear over the northern half of the state tonight, with temperatures in the 30-35 degree range by daybreak tomorrow. Clouds and showers will linger over South Alabama tonight as the front becomes nearly stationary.
REST OF THE WEEK: With the front hanging around, there will be some chance of showers pretty much on a daily basis through Friday. During the day tomorrow, most of the showers will be found over South Alabama, but showers are likely statewide late tomorrow night into Wednesday morning as a wave of low pressure moves along the front. There will be a wide temperature spread across the state tomorrow… some communities over the Tennessee Valley won’t get out of the 40s, but near the Gulf Coast the high will be in the 65-70 degree range.
The front moves northward as a warm front Thursday. A few scattered showers are possible, and the high will be in the upper 60s over North/Central Alabama. Then, highs in the mid 70s are likely Friday, not far from record levels for early December in Alabama. Scattered showers and storms are possible Friday and Friday night, but it won’t be a “wash out”.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday and Saturday night continue to look wet and stormy as another cold front approaches. Rain amounts of 1-2 inches are likely, and strong storms are a distinct possibility as the air will be unstable. For now, we aren’t seeing signals of a major severe weather threat, but understand this event is still 5 days away, so we will watch model trends closely. Saturday’s high will be in the 65-70 degree range.
Cooler, drier air arrives Sunday… the day will be mostly sunny with a high in the low 50s.
NEXT WEEK: An upper ridge will build over much of the contiguous U.S… meaning mostly rain-free conditions. The high Monday will be in the upper 50s, then mostly in the 60s for the rest of the week. And, we are still seeing trends in global models that the ridge will hold through mid-December with temperatures above average in the December 14-20 time frame. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.
ON THIS DATE IN 1983: A pre-dawn tornado tore through Selma, killing an elderly man and injuring 18 people. This happened just three days after the Oxford tornado on December 3 which also brought loss of life. Some of the heaviest damage in Selma that morning was in the Rangedale Housing Project, Selma University and a Broad Street business district.
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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.Subscribe
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