Saturday’s Weather Xtreme — Strong to Severe Storms Possible Today; Dry For a While Afterwards

POTENTIAL FOR STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS TODAY
A strong cold front will be working through the area throughout the day today that will bring rain and thunderstorms to Central Alabama, some of which could be strong to severe, with the main threats being damaging thunderstorm wind gusts and a few tornadoes (update as of 12:30 am Saturday morning).

Prior to 6 am, SPC continues an Enhanced Risk for severe storms for the northwestern corner of the state north of a line from Pleasant Site (Franklin Co.) to Florence (Lauderdale Co.). A Slight Risk is up south of that to a line from Crossville (Lamar Co.) to Decatur (Morgan Co.) to Hazel Green (Marshall Co.). A Marginal Risk is up for locations south of that to a line from Emelle (Sumter Co.) to Hanceville (Cullman Co.) to Bridgeport (Jackson Co.).

After 6 am, all of North Alabama will be in a Slight Risk, including the cities of Florence, Russellville, Athens, Decatur, Hatselle, Cullman, Huntsville, Guntersville, Scottsboro, and Rainsville. Nearly all of Central Alabama will also be included in the Slight Risk, including the cities of Hamilton, Tuscaloosa, Demopolis, Birmingham, Hoover, Clanton, Selma, Gadsden, Anniston, Talladega, Alexander City, Auburn, and Montgomery. A Marginal Risk will be up for the rest of Central Alabama, roughly locations south of the I-85 corridor, including Troy and Eufaula.

The main window for the threat of strong to severe storms will start in the extreme northwestern parts of the state around 4 am and will be exiting the area in the extreme southeastern parts of Central Alabama by around 6 pm. Once the line of storms move through your area, cooler and drier air will start to work in behind the line and the air will become stable.

A Wind Advisory is in effect until 12 pm for all of North Alabama (Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, and Morgan counties), and until 1 pm for the northern counties in Central Alabama (Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Clay, Etowah, Fayette, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Walker, and Winston counties).

Daytime highs will range from the mid-60s in the northwest to the upper 70s in the southeast. Temperatures will drop rather quickly behind the front, with overnight lows reaching the lower 30s to the mid-40s.

BEAUTIFUL WEATHER RETURNS FOR SUNDAY
High pressure will set up just off to our north on Sunday that will clear out our skies, and we’ll be sunny with highs in the lower 50s to the lower 60s.

HOW ABOUT THE WORKWEEK AHEAD
Looks like we’ll stay dry as a calm weather pattern sets up across the deep south. Monday will be mainly sunny, with highs in the lower 60s to right around 70 degrees. Tuesday will feature mostly sunny skies and highs in the mid-60s to the lower 70s. Wednesday will be mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 60s to the mid-70s.

High pressure over the southeast will keep a cold front from moving into the area on Thursday and Friday. While we’ll remain dry across the area, a few clouds may invade the Central Alabama skies. Thursday’s highs will be in the upper 60s to the mid-70s, and slightly dropping back into the mid-60s to the mid-70s on Friday.

ON THIS DAY IN WEATHER HISTORY
2010 – The “Pineapple Express” – a meteorological event where southwest winds bring warm, moist air to the U.S. West Coast – produced record rainfall to the Pacific Northwest during December 11th-12th. Seattle experienced record daily rainfall two days in a row. The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport recorded 1.42 inches of rain on the 11th, breaking the old daily record of 1.32 inches set in 1955. The next day, 2.19 inches fell, breaking the daily record of 1.70 inches set in 1966. The Stillaguamish River in western Washington state reached 21.06 feet at Arlington, tying the record set in November 2006. Flood stage for the river is 14 feet. The storm system also brought record warmth to the area. On December 14th, the temperature at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport reached 57, breaking the old daily record of 55 set in 2004.

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