Sunday Weather Briefing Video: More Sun, Some Storms Today

Die-hard Birmingham Stallions fans who checked the radar and headed to Protective Stadium were treated to some pretty comfortable weather for the final regular season game of the year yesterday, with cloudy skies, comfortable readings in the lower 70s, a few peeks of sunshine, and only one very light shower right before halftime.

THINKING BACK TO THE AMERICANS: I thought about how fortunate I was to be at the game watching the Stallions in our beautiful Protective Stadium. I wandered back to 1974 and the first season of the World Football League with our team, the Birmingham Americans. Were you around then? Do you remember QBs George Mira and Matthew Reed, WRs Dennis Homan, and Alfred Jenkins? They played their first game at Legion Field on July 10, 1974, against the Southern California Sun. The Americans won 11-7.

I remember listening to announcer Larry Matson on the radio the following week as the Americans traveled to New York to play a game where cars had to be pulled alongside the field to provide enough illumination. The Americans were down 26 points at the half but somehow managed to come back for the win. On September 7, 1974, I switched back and forth between the Americans game with the Chicago Fire at Legion Field and WWL in New Orleans as Hurricane Carmen came ashore. 54,872 fans braved torrential rains at Legion Field as the hurricane threw moisture into Alabama. The Americans prevailed 41-40 on a last-minute field goal. The financially beleaguered Americans would somehow win the inaugural World Bowl 22-21 against the Florida Blazers. The Stallions won yesterday with a last-minute touchdown and conversion, defeating their upcoming playoff opponent, the Michigan Panthers, after they missed a last-second field goal.

ON THE WEATHER MAPS: A broad trough covers the central part of the country. Several disturbances are poised to traverse the territory just north of Alabama. The first is passing to the northeast of the state this morning after bringing a couple of rounds of showers and storms to Alabama yesterday and overnight. The last of those are moving out of East Alabama this morning. Today will feature increased sunshine and warmer temperatures. Afternoon readings will be in the mid and upper 80s, with a few readings touching 90 degrees. Overnight lows tonight will be in the low to middle 60s.

NEW WORK WEEK: Monday and Tuesday will feature only scattered, mainly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. It will be warm on both days, with highs in the middle to upper 80s and near 90 degrees. A stronger disturbance on Wednesday and a frontal system will bring better chances of rain with a few showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be in the 80s.

END OF THE WEEK: By Thursday, the front will wash out over Alabama but remains a focus for showers and thunderstorms. They will continue into Friday.

WEEKEND: Those chances of rain and thunderstorms will increase on Saturday as another strong disturbance swings past. A frontal system may actually make it into South Alabama by the start of the week two forecast period.

VOODOO COUNTRY: Week two looks like it could start off dry with some less humid air. That dry air could set the stage for some lows in the upper 50s in North Alabama, but that may be wishful thinking. Highs will be in the 80s.

BEACHCAST: Showers and storms will be fairly plentiful along the beautiful beaches of Alabama and Northwest Florida today. The rest of the week looks pretty nice, with only a few isolated showers and storms. There is a high rip current risk today with 3-4 foot waves. It will be moderate the rest of the week. Water temperatures are in the lower 80s.

Click here to see the Beach Forecast Center page.

IN THE TROPICS: The North Atlantic Hurricane Season started officially yesterday. The global models don’t depict anything of interest into mid-month.

NATIONALLY: Severe weather today will be mostly across the Plains states, with an enhanced risk over Nebraska and neighboring parts of Kansas.

DANCING WITH THE STATS: 30F at Livingston MT Saturday morning tied the record for the date there.

WEATHERBRAINS: This week, the panel will entertain meteorologist Cameron Nixon. It will be a hoot! Check out the show at www.WeatherBrains.com. You can also subscribe on iTunes. You can watch the show live on our new YouTube channel for the show.You will be able to see the show on the James Spann 24×7 weather channel on cable or directly over the air on the dot 2 feed.

ON THIS DATE IN 2006: A tornado touched down at the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, damaging four jetways and sucking glass from Concourse C. The tornado occurred at 2:34 a.m. A nearby FEMA trailer park escaped damage. Follow my weather history tweets on Twitter. I am @wxhistorian at Twitter.com.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Severe Weather