Wet, Unsettled Weather For Alabama Through Friday

RADAR CHECK: Rain is fairly widespread across Alabama this afternoon with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. The wet, unsettled pattern will stay in place through Friday.

Look for periods of rain tonight with temperatures holding in the 50s. Then, tomorrow, we could see a lull in the rain during the morning hours, but showers and a few thunderstorms will increase tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. SPC has expanded the “marginal risk” (level 1/5) of severe thunderstorms to include areas south of a line from Fayette to Cullman to Gadsden to Spring Garden.

A few thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon could produce strong gusty winds, but the overall severe weather threat is low with limited instability. There is some risk of a brief, isolated tornado over the southwest corner of the state.

Additional rain amounts of 2-4 inches are likely over the northern half of the state, and a flood watch remains in effect through tomorrow night.

The rain will end from north to south during the day Friday, and much colder air will roll into the state. Temperatures will hold in the 30s Friday for most places north of Birmingham with a brisk north wind. There could be a very small window for a little freezing rain over the northern third of Alabama Friday morning, but if that happens for now we are not expecting any impact.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will be a mostly cloudy day with a high in the 45-50 degree range. A wave could squeeze out a sprinkle or two Saturday night, but models continue to trend drier. Then, look for a clearing sky Sunday with a high in the mid 50s.

NEXT WEEK: For now the week looks dry with seasonal temperatures… highs in the 50s most days, with lows in the 30s. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.

TO THE NORTH: A major winter storm continues to bring snow and ice from Texas to northern New England. An ice storm warning has been issued for the Memphis area, where ice accumulation could exceed a quarter of an inch in spots… power outages are possible there. But all of this wintry precipitation will stay generally north of Alabama.

ON THIS DATE IN 1985: North Alabama was in the midst of a severe ice storm. During the event, up to eleven inches of ice and sleet would accumulate in Florence, making it the worst storm there since the big New Years’ Eve snowstorm in 1963. the brunt of the storm impacted areas north and northwest of Birmingham, including much of Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Cullman, Winston and parts of Walker County. A total of twenty buildings collapsed under the weight of the ice.

This was part of an Arctic outbreak that lasted from late January through early February 1985 produced nearly 400 hundred record lows, 15 all-time low readings, and over 50 new record lows. Four states recorded their all-time record low temperatures, including Tower, Minnesota, on this date with a reading of 60 degrees below zero, canceling Tower’s annual Icebox Days festival because it is too cold. Locations that reported their all-time record low or tied included: Cresco, IA: -36°, Osage, IA: -34°, Charles City, IA tied their record low with -32° and Lancaster, WI tied their all-time record low with -31°. International Falls, MN, and Glasgow, MT set records for February with -45° and -38°, respectively.

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