Freezing Temps Tonight, Then A Big Warm-Up By Christmas Day
SEVERE CLEAR: A very dry airmass covers Alabama and the Deep South this afternoon… we have a cloudless sky with temperatures a little below average for December 22, mostly between 48 and 54 degrees. Tonight will be clear and cold with freezing temperatures likely; the low early tomorrow morning will be in the 20s for most places.
WARMER DAYS AHEAD: Sunny weather continues tomorrow with a big warm-up. After a sub-freezing start, the high tomorrow afternoon will be in the low 60s. Then, look for mid to upper 60s Friday with a partly to mostly sunny sky.
Christmas Day will be dry and warm with a high in the low to mid 70s. The latest NBM (National Blend of Models) is printing a high of 74 degrees for Birmingham Saturday. If we reach that, it will be a tie for the third warmest Christmas Day on record (tied with 1987, when the high was also 74). Temperatures have reached or exceeded 70 degrees in Birmingham on December 25 ten times since 1900…
2016 78
2015 77
1987 74
1982 73
1942 73
1964 72
1926 71
1922 71
2019 70
1901 70
Sunday will be dry as well… we are forecasting a partly to mostly sunny sky with a high in the low 70s.
NEXT WEEK: Mild weather will continue across the Deep South thanks to an upper ridge over the northern Gulf of Mexico. New global model data suggests some rain is likely over the northern 2/3 of the state by Wednesday… See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.
While we will see temperatures above average next week, brutally cold air will cover parts of the northern U.S. and the western half of Canada…. many places there stay below zero all week. We will keep an eye on that airmass since at some point it will have to move.
BAMA QUAKE: A magnitude 3.1 earthquake happened just after midnight last night in Chilton County… the epicenter was between Maplesville and Billinsgley. It was felt across most of Chilton and some of the adjacent counties.
ON THIS DATE IN 1929: Weather records show that 5.5 inches of snow fell at the Birmingham Weather Bureau office on December 22, 1929. On December 24th, there was still 2.5 inches of snow on the ground at 7 PM. However, most of the snow melted Christmas Day when the temperature climbed to 51 degrees.
ON THIS DATE IN 1989: Extremely cold air rolled into the Deep South. A dusting fell across most of North Alabama but parts of Sand Mountain had one inch of accumulation, including two inches in Crossville. Even more amazing was the snowfall that was occurring along the Gulf Coast, the Florida Peninsula, and up the Georgia Coast. Snow and ice-covered the ground in New Orleans. It snowed in places like Dauphin Island, Gulf Shores, Panama City Beach, Tampa and Daytona Beach. It was the most widespread snowstorm in the history of Florida. Two inches fell at Savannah and 3.9 inches in Charleston, South Carolina. As the low moved up the coast, it intensified, dumping an astonishing 15 inches of snow at Wilmington, North Carolina and 13.3 inches at Cape Hatteras.
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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow…
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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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