Cold Air Blows In On Friday

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BIG TRAVEL DAY: If you are hitting the road today (or headed to the airport), check the Weather Xtreme video for a detailed look at travel weather across our great nation on this Thanksgiving Eve.

STILL MILD TODAY AND ON THANKSGIVING DAY: Our weather here in Alabama will be rather benign through tomorrow, as the main weather problems in the nation will be out west in bitterly cold air, where blizzard warnings are up for much of Utah and the western half of Colorado. A surface boundary over Alabama (the really cold air lags far behind this front) will lift northward this morning as a warm front, and will keep very mild weather in place for the next 36 hours. A few widely scattered showers could pop up today, but much of the state will be dry with a high in the low to mid 70s. Pretty much the same story tomorrow. Very few showers, a few intervals of sun through the clouds, and a high in the mid 70s. Birmingham’s record high tomorrow is 78 degrees set in 1921… so it will be one of our warmest Thanksgivings on record.

TOMORROW NIGHT/FRIDAY: Showers and storms along the cold front will move into Alabama late tomorrow night and into Friday morning. While a strong thunderstorm is certainly possible, we don’t expect any serious severe weather issues as the front passes through. Much colder air slips into the state on Friday in the wake of the front. Looks like we hold in the mid 40s much of the day Friday, with a brisk northwest wind making it a very raw and uncomfortable day. The rain will taper off by the midday hours, but clouds will stick around through the afternoon, most likely.

IRON BOWL FORECAST: Watch the Weather Xtreme video and you will see there is great disagreement on exactly when the rain will end Friday. The RPM is the most optimistic, showing the rain over by mid-morning, but the NAM is the slowest, suggesting some rain lingering through early afternoon. Bottom line is that we won’t change the forecast. The weather will be cloudy, windy, and cold with a kickoff temperature near 46 degrees (1:30 p.m. kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa), falling to near 42 by the final whistle. I can’t rule out a little lingering light rain during the first half.

SATURDAY/SUNDAY: We will be in the mid 20s at daybreak Saturday, but a warming trend begins Saturday afternoon as we rise into the upper 50s. Low 60s are likely Sunday with a good supply of sunshine both days.

NEXT WEEK: A rather vigorous weather system will bring a round of showers and strong thunderstorms Monday night into Tuesday, with potential for 1 to 2 inches of rain, and maybe a few strong thunderstorms. Colder and drier air follows on Wednesday.

VOODOO LAND: The GFS continues to show an interesting storm system in the December 6-8 time frame with some potential for snow across the Deep South. Again, I would not buy one slice of bread or even a milk chug for anything that shows up beyond seven days. Just interesting to watch the trends. See the Weather Xtreme video for details.

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We are going to the holiday schedule… we will be doing one Weather Xtreme video per day through Sunday, but we will post updates as always on developing weather conditions here. Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Tags: cold front

Category: Alabama's Weather