Raw Day For Alabama

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.

THIS MORNING: As expected, we have a little light wintry mix on radar this morning across this part of Alabama. Our Skywatcher up in Northeast Etowah County, Vic Bell, reports snow flurries and 32 degrees. Looks like mostly light rain over West-Central Alabama, with the possibility of some sleet mixed in. We will maintain the chance of a little light rain or light snow this morning with no accumulation and no travel problems. This is thanks to the short wave we have called “Andrew”; otherwise the day will be rather cold and raw, with lots of clouds and temperatures going nowhere.

Tomorrow should be bright and sunny, but still chilly with a high in the mid 40s. Friday will be dry, with a gradual increase in clouds and a high in the low 50s.

HISTORIC NEW YORK CITY BLIZZARD: Watch the Weather Xtreme video and you will see that our old pal Andrew will help to generate a very intense surface low just east of Long Island tomorrow, which will have the potential to bring a whopper of a blizzard to places like Philadelphia and New York City, with 1 to 2 feet of snow and winds approaching hurricane force. This one has the potential to totally shut down airports and make life very miserable, complete with power outages.

BERTHA: Our second wave (I named them yesterday morning for some strange reason if you missed it) will pass south of Alabama late Friday night and Saturday morning. The 06Z GFS has come in line with the ECMWF and the GEM, keeping most of Alabama dry, and we will probably take out the mention of sprinkles and flurries if the 12Z run holds the trend.

So, for now, the weekend looks mostly dry. The high Saturday will be around 50, followed by a pretty decent day Sunday with a partly sunny sky and a high in the mid 50s.

CLARENCE: The third wave is the one to watch. The 06Z GFS is trending north, and hints at a deep surface low in the North-Central Gulf of Mexico, with potential for heavy rain over South Alabama, and significant snow for this part of the state. Still, this is no forecast. Just model output. Let’s get past Andrew this morning, and Bertha Saturday morning, and we can really focus on Clarence. Nobody knows who gets the snow for now, just understand the idea is on the table. The 06Z GFS hints the best chance of precipitation would come Monday night. Stay tuned.

LONG RANGE: Spring weather fans will be delighted to know the Arctic Oscillation has flipped positive at mid-March according to the GFS, meaning warmer weather will finally arrive. Of course, at the same time the storm machine doesn’t go away, and we have to wonder if the tornado season will really crank up about that time. The 06Z GFS shows a less intense “Dolly”, but I get the idea we will be shifting from the winter weather mode to the severe weather mode in the weather office in coming weeks.

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.

LIVE CHAT: We are now offering a real time chat here on the blog… open blog comments will stay in place, of course, but this will allow a more immediate method of communication for weather geeks. We do have moderators posted over there, so be sure and play nice. Members of our weather team will be there from time to time to answer questions; we will post those times we are available here on the blog.

I am on the road to Fayette this morning; I will be speaking at Bevill State Community College at mid-morning. Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Category: Uncategorized