Get Ready For Wind And Rain

An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

MAJOR STORM DEVELOPING TO THE WEST: A big time winter storm will impact much of the nation with inclement weather during the next 48 hours; winter storm warnings are up from West Oklahoma to the Canadian border through tomorrow, and a nasty icing situation is developing over Iowa this afternoon. Blizzard conditions are likely for parts of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota by tomorrow with visibility near zero with impossible travel conditions. Watch the Weather Xtreme video for more on the winter weather threat to the north.

HERE AT HOME: Two big issues tomorrow; the first is the wind. Scroll down for Dr. Tim’s post; we expect winds averaging 15 to 30 mph through the day, with gusts to 40 mph. Ridges could easily see wind gusts to over 50 mph, and this will be enough to bring down trees and power lines in a few places. This is a good time to secure Christmas decorations or anything else that might have a hard time in wind like that.

The other issue is the threat of heavy rain. The NAM is printing 1.06″ for Birmingham; the GFS shows 1.39″. We figure most places will average one to two inches of rain, with potential for three inches in a few spots. The NWS in Huntsville continues a flash flood watch for all of their counties over the Tennessee Valley.

SEVERE STORMS? Very impressive dynamics will impact Alabama tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night, but the thermodynamics are marginal for severe weather. Classic high shear low CAPE event, which sometimes can bring surprises. We note the RPM model does bring surface based CAPE values up into this part of the state, and with screaming wind fields at the surface and aloft, we will have to watch for strong storms. SPC has the southern quarter of the state in a slight risk, generally south of a line from Butler to Greenville to Dothan.

The main window for the heaviest rain and strong storms will come from about 3:00 p.m. until 12:00 midnight. Out of all of these threats my main concern are from pressure gradient winds and the associated risk of downed trees. If you are traveling to a Christmas Eve service tomorrow night, be very careful.

CHRISTMAS CHILL: Much colder air invades the state on Christmas Day in the wake of the wind and rain. Looks like we hover in the low 40s all day Friday as very cold air moves into the state, coming over the snow pack to the north on brisk northwest winds. We might see a few peeks of sun, but the day will be generally cloudy. The 12Z model runs even hint at a few snow flurries over extreme North Alabama Friday morning; that sure would be nice if it happens.

COLD WEEKEND: Cold air stays in place over the weekend with a mix of sun and clouds and a high in the mid 40s. We do not expect any precipitation on Saturday or Sunday.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: Cold and unsettled weather continues into early January. We will deal with Gulf lows around the middle of next week, New Year’s weekend, and the following week. The global models are trending very cold in the January 1-5 time frame; I can’t imagine us making it through the next 3 weeks without some risk of wintry weather around here based on the pattern, but there is simply no way we can be specific now. Watch the Weather Xtreme video for more details.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. You can even listen here on the blog; look for the player on the top left.

FOLLOW ALONG: Here are our weather team Twitter accounts….

We are going to a holiday schedule, meaning just one Weather Xtreme video per day through the New Year’s weekend. Of course, the blog will be updated with fresh information as events unfold tomorrow; I will probably have the video posted by 9:00 a.m. or so. If you are headed out of town, I hope you and your family have a safe, peaceful and very blessed Christmas. Thanks for being a part of our blog family!

Category: Uncategorized